We Yone Child Foundation through its skill development programs at the Wegdam Vocational Institute and Technology have on Saturday 29th October 2022, empowered children, women, and girls who have dropped out of school as a result of early pregnancy or forced marriage and children in street situations at the George brook community in Dwarzak
This is a second chance to empower them with employability skills.
The graduation event was punctuated with happiness, solace, and extreme relief that was displayed by the beneficiaries.
The Chief Executive Officer of the organization, Santigie Bayo Dumbuya in an email to Salone Messenger said “The reason we focus on skill development is that skills can contribute to structural transformation and economic growth by enhancing employability, labor productivity and helping countries to become more competitive”
They are operating two skill training centers in the Freetown slum of George Brook community and in Karene District Kamakwie where they are empowering young people in the following categories; Tailoring and dressmaking, Microsoft computer packages, Hairdressing, Beadwork, Catering, and food presentation.
Since 2018, they started this to address the issue of menstruation by producing reusable sanitary pads to help girls attend school even during their time of menstruation creating equal opportunities for schoolgirls and breaking the taboos. Today the program has developed rapidly into a Hub for the empowerment of young people.
We Yone Child Foundation also serve as service providers where other organizations both local and international contract us to train their beneficiaries.
They have courses that last for 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and three years.
The Founder and CEO extended his unfeigned thanks and appreciation to the Wegdam Foundation, Consortium for Street Children, and The Paul Hodges Trust for such a tremendous feat. He added that the support received from the aforementioned organizations has helped in giving life-changing skills to vulnerable people which in turn benefit over 100 families.
About We Yone Child Foundation
We improve the lives of vulnerable children and their families in Sierra Leone through quality education and life empowering opportunities.
We Yone Child Foundation (WYCF), founded in 2009, is a registered, tax-exempt charity in Sierra Leone. Our full-time job is running our primary schools in Kroo Bay and George Brook, Freetown.
We Yone Child Foundation History
In 1996, twelve-year-old Santigie Bayo Dumbuya was among several boys who were taken from Kamabonko Village to fight for the Revolutionary United Front during the Sierra Leone Civil War. Fighting near the Guinean border, by the age of fourteen Santigie had sustained multiple bullet and shrapnel wounds.
In 1999, Santigie’s unit was stationed near a team called Sanyah.
‘When we entered the town in the evening the heavy gunfight sounded like music, but full of death and sorrow. What I saw on that day was so terrible. Some of my close friends were killed. During the fighting I saw a female child at the age of 5-6 years old crying. I saw two people lying on the ground, one was already dead and the other is struggling to die.’ Santigie remembered his village and the person whom he was raised to be – ‘that was the day of my revolution and my heart was inspired.’
He dropped his gun and ran through the crossfire to save the girl. With no food or water, Santigie carried her for two days and two nights to safety. He saved her life.
Santigie never saw the girl again. He went to Freetown to recover from the war, complete his education and founded We Yone Child Foundation (WYCF) in 2009. Santigie decided to focus WYCF’s efforts on Kroo Bay and George Brook. the appalling conditions in these two communities called for action and no other organization was producing results.‘We Yone’ means ‘our own” in the locally spoken Krio language. It is the perfect description for the way we feel about the children we work for every day.
We Yone Child Foundation Mission
Provide sustainable education and care to underprivileged children, and overcome the social and environmental problems that deepen and perpetuate the cycle of poverty.
