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This year, the UN theme for International Women's Day is “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow” which recognizes the contribution of women and girls to build a more sustainable future for all. There is no doubt gender equality sits at the heart of a sustainable future, and that solar energy has a vital role in establishing both. With gender equality being at the core of its operations throughout Africa, Ignite Power is impacting millions of women, customers, and employees alike. This week, the company announced the conclusion of an extensive electrification project in Sierra Leone, providing 60 remote clinics and health facilities with lightning and electricity, with installations and end-user training done by an all-women team. The project was executed for We Care Solar, a global organization working to electrify last-mile health clinics and reduce maternal mortality in developing regions. The project is part of the Light Every Birth initiative by We Care Solar, aiming...

Just a few hours after a community fulfilled its obligation to bury those who died on the Wellington highway, politicians had already coopted the tragedy with promises they had no intention to keep.  Once all the flag-draped caskets were laid out, the victims (some still unknown) were interred at Waterloo, the same cemetery where Ebola victims and the 2017 mudslide victims were also laid rest, according to Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr. Anxious not to be painted as uncaring, politicians launched donation drives for survivors instead of stressing efforts to reduce road casualties, draw attention to the devastation caused by road crashes, and give recognition to the suffering of road crash victims and the work of support and rescue services. Before moving on to their suburbs, where neighbors don't plunder fuel tankers involved in road crashes or scavenge palm oil streaming from overturned trucks, politicians did remember to pose one last time for the mobile phones.  For peop...

  When Oprah Winfrey founded the Leadership Academy for Girls in 2007, she became a symbol in Johannesburg, South Africa, and for many schools across Africa. Sadly, the Oprah Winfrey Kindergarten and Primary School in Calaba Town, Sierra Leone (also founded in 2007) has never had quite enough to keep it running like the one that the famous American billionaire is personally invested in. Still, the community keeps striving to break the cycle of poverty. Calaba Town lies on the outskirts of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Built after the Civil War (1991–2002), the reconstruction town is home to internally-displaced people who relocated.   In 2009, the Madieu Williams Foundation funded a primary school named after American footballer's mother, Abigail D. Butscher, in Calaba Town.  Sierra Leonean-born Williams played in America's National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in 2004 and went on to play for NFL teams in Minnesota, San Francisco, and the footbal...

  Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health and Sanitation has issued a public notice about its COVID-19 vaccination drive. According to the notice, the first phase began on Monday, March  22, and will continue through Wednesday, March 31. Target beneficiaries are below: Health care workers (Public & Private) Every Health care worker irrespective of age. Military Officers Age 40 years and above Police Officers Age 40 years and above Fire Force Officers Age 40 years and above Prison Officers Age 40 years and above Teachers (Public & Private) Age 40 years and above Lecturers and Instructors (Public & Private) Age 40 years and above Social Workers Age 40 years and above Custom & Immigration Officers Age 40 years and above General Public Age 70 years and above The following health facilities have been designated as vaccination sites:  BOMBALI  Makeni Gov’t Hospital  Kamabai CHC KONO  Koidu Gov’t Hospital  UMC Jiama Sewafe MOYAMBA  Moyamba Gov’t Hospital  Njala U...

More than 800,000 people die each year as a result of unsafe sanitation and hygiene,  according to the World Health Organization (WHO).  That's why on World Toilet Day in 2018, Nine River (9River) Media pledged to fund the construction of toilets for hundreds of school children, who have no access to safely managed sanitation in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Few weeks ago, 9River and its charitable arm, the Hannah Deen for Social Care  organization , celebrated the completion of the first toilet block in Calabatown and Allen Town.  Work at the Vision Academy International School in Kola Tree, Calabatown, began at the end of 2019. Foday Conteh, the building contractor, worked with project manager Inyilla Borteh-Conteh,  and Mr. Lebbie, the town chairman.

Kadijatu 'KJ' Bah is a third-year student at Fourah Bay College. KJ was also the inaugural recipient of the Hannah Deen for Social Care Scholarship Award, funded by 9River Media, in January 2020. This August, KJ wrote about teenage pregnancy during the COVID-19 lockdown period,  peer pressure, and poverty.  In her second interview, KJ continues her conversations with young people in her coastal community in western Freetown, Sierra Leone. Listen to what the Save the Children Sierra Leone volunteer says about the negative impact of the pandemic on children and families.   Other articles by Kadijatu 'KJ' Bah Teenage Pregnancy in Sierra Leone