We Yone Child Foundation and Mercy Ships Holland Join Forces to Complete Construction of School and Community Facilities

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Last updated: 2024/04/04 at 10:47 PM

By Sallu Kamuskay Published April 4, 2024 4 Min Read

4 Min Read

We Yone Child Foundation and Mercy Ships Holland Join Forces to Complete Construction of School and Community Facilities

In a display of international cooperation and dedication to improving the lives of underprivileged children, We Yone Child Foundation, a charitable organization based in Sierra Leone, has partnered with Mercy Ships Holland to complete the construction of a 9-classroom school, a kitchen, a hall, a computer skills training center, and a community bridge in the George Brook Community, Dwarzark.

The project aims to provide sustainable education and care to children in the community, as well as empower young and old people by addressing transportation challenges and improving access to essential services. The lack of road networks in the area has posed significant risks, including difficulties in referring sick cases to hospitals in Freetown central, leading to unwanted deaths.

Harmen Westerduin, Primary Caregiver at Mercy Ships during an interview with Salone Messenger said “ I met Santigie of We Yone Child Foundation after I saw a child at a dumpsite, I felt something needed to be done and so I search for charity organisations working with young people where I came across We Yone Child Foundation”. He noted. Harmen Westerduin also added that they are here for little over a week working with We Yone Child to help finish the construction of the school and community bridge.

Santigie Bayo Dumbuya, the founder of We Yone Child Foundation, along with community members, warmly welcomed a team of 9 foreign experts from Holland and volunteers from Mercy Ships Global Team who will be contributing their skills to complete the construction. The team includes carpenters, painters, and electricians who are dedicated to making a positive impact in the community.

Isatu Kargbo, a family member living in the community noted that she is very excited and thank We Yone Child Foundation for building a school for the children, she noted that before this time, their children use to be at risk and expose to negative things because of the distance they cover to go School, “The school in the community has helped us keep eyes on our children because we see them going to school and they are around us” she ended.

Isatu

The initiative to build the school was spearheaded by Santigie Bayo Dumbuya and UK volunteer Sophie Radice in 2018 after recognizing the urgent need for a secondary school in the area. A fundraising Website called makeImpactsl.org intended to raise funds for all the projects including building the We Yone Secondary, community bridge, skill training center for the Dumpsite and Kroobay young people to take them off the street was set.

Currently, hundreds of children have to travel long distances daily to access secondary education in downtown the city due to the lack of facilities in their community.

The We Yone Secondary School is expected to serve between 300 to 500 children in the George Brook Community, providing them with a safe and conducive environment for learning. The construction of the school has been made possible through the generous contributions of various donors, including the Paul Hodges Trust, Wegdam Foundation, Monica and Douglas Taylor Foundation, Edgewater School Elementary School Canada, and Sergei Boissier.

The completion of these facilities represents a significant step forward in improving education and access to essential services for underprivileged communities in Sierra Leone. The collaboration between We Yone Child Foundation and Mercy Ships Holland serves as a shining example of how international partnerships can make a real difference in the lives of those in need.

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By Sallu Kamuskay

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Sallu Kamuskay is a Sierra Leonean communication strategist, fixer, blogger, youth organiser, event manager, spokesperson, and public relations expert. His work has been regularly referenced and published by national and international media and public policy institutions. Sallu Kamuskay was a child during the brutal war in Sierra Leone. Growing up in the midst of conflict, Sallu witnessed unimaginable abuse of children and gross violations of human rights. The horrors he witnessed during the Civil War had a terrible impact on him at a very tender age. But despite the shock of the war, Sallu never lost hope. He started on a journey of recovery, studying, and working for a better future. At age 15, Sallu entered into the world of activism and advocacy. Sallu Kamuskay was the Vice President of the Young Leaders Organisation, a member of the National Youth Council. The Young Leaders is one of the oldest youth-led organisations in West Africa. The organisation was formed by a group of young leaders, and launched by the then Head of State/President of Sierra Leone. Sallu was part of the group of young leaders who participated in and contributed to the establishment of the National Youth Council. The Commonwealth supported the training for trainers programme with line ministries and youth stakeholders in which key, representatives of youth council, student union and civil society/private sector youth platforms were engaged and empowered in the effective engagement and inclusion of youth. Sallu is co-founder and Executive Director of the Salone Messenger, a global multimedia and public relations firm based In Sierra Leone. Sallu has worked on various developmental and policy issues such as Poverty, Climate Change, Human rights, Child Rights, Education, Health, Gender Equality, Civic Engagement, Government policies, Information Communication Technology for Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, and has also been contributing to various global events and advocacy campaigns. Sallu Kamuskay is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Salone Messenger, a global Multimedia and Public Relations Firm based in Sierra Leone with the latest news and information, on top stories, business, politics, entertainment, and more. Sallu is working with a leading technology company in Africa, Techfrica, that has recently developed and launched a social media, messaging Supfrica with over 150,000 downloads on the Google play store in less than 4 days. He is the Adviser and Media coordinator for the App to give people the platform to connect and communicate to help shape their future with a very fast internet that allows users that live in deprived and hard-to-reach areas with poor internet facility to be able to communicate as it allows and stronger on 2 and 3 G network reception. Sallu has over 9 years of experience in youth engagement, inclusion, and coordination both at local and global levels, giving voice to young people and engaging young people to build a better world. He has served as coordinator for the Wave Alliance which brought together youth-led organisations who attended an international training in South Africa organized by the International Organization – Waves for Change. Sallu is working with the MLT, Waves For Change, and the Government to develop safe spaces for young people, with a view to contributing to the overall development goals of young people including health, as well as to community rebuilding. Sallu is currently the Programme Director for the Wave Alliance, which is a coalition of youth-led and community-based organisations that have successfully introduced evidence-based Surf Therapy programs to young people in communities, with a focus on mental health, peace building and sustainable development. Sallu is currently the focal point and face of Africa’s Faces Social media platform which is a global Social media platform that brings together people from across the world to share their moments, connect, share videos, and interact with friends giving more preference to excluded continents like Africa. Sallu Kamuskay has devoted his time to working for or contributing to a number of national and international organizations and companies, including the Techfrica Technology Company, United Nations, ECOWAS, European Union, Commonwealth Africa Initiatives. This work has led him to travel to a number of countries to contribute to global youth platforms. Sallu is the lead Coordinator for Peace Tour programme, an initiative supported by the European Union, Africa Union, ECOWAS focusing on uniting and empowering young people and local communities. Over the years, Sallu Kamuskay has been using his Techno phone to be able to tell stories, the phone he used to tell the story of Gbessay during Ebola who was admitted at one of the Ebola treatment centers after rumors that she had Ebola when the actual sickness was ulcer, she was almost abandoned at the treatment canter with no medication provided to her. She could have died. Sallu told the story via social media and was able to secure funding from the United Sierra Leone to buy her medication and advocated for her. She was later discharged and taken home, He did the same to a patient that died and was abandoned in the street, Sallu Kamuskay used his phone and shared the message across, the corps was later taken and buried. It could have been more disaster without his voice. The story of late America Stress 3-year-old daughter. The hero’s daughter was abandon after his father's death. He shared her sad story and was able to get a sister who has taken the child as her own and is currently providing her with educational support. The article of America Stress can be read on the link below http://ayvnewspaper.com/index.php/k2-categories/item/7350-america-stress-a-hero-to-recognize. Sallu Kamuskay feels the stories of Gbessay, America stress and that of many others need to be told. The media house we have cannot better tell these stories, they are better reporters than telling human interest stories. He created the Salone Messenger platform and brought together passionate storytellers to be able to tell these compelling stories.