The year in review - 2021

As another year draws to a close, it’s once again time to pause and take stock of all that has been achieved over the past 12 months. Despite the huge uncertainties caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Sierra Leone has thankfully continued to have a relatively small number of confirmed cases; this has meant that we have been able to deliver the majority of our programmes as planned this year, albeit with some adjustments to keep our team and community safe. 

2021 has been a year of growth and evolution for the AdAmi Project. This year we have worked with just over 100 young mothers in Bo and Kenema district, providing them with scholarships and materials to return to school or to pursue vocational training, as well as delivering wider complementary activities including individual and group mentoring, childcare support and family mediation interventions. This is enabling young mothers like Wadiatu to return to school, having been trapped in child labour by her abusive aunt following the death of her parents. We hope that the project is just the start of Wadiatu’s journey towards a brighter future for herself and her child. 

In September we also awarded our first ever college scholarship to an inspirational young woman called Nasi. She joined our programme in 2019, having been forced out of school due to her pregnancy. With our support she passed her final school exams with flying colours and is now studying Business Management at a local university. She has become a role model in her community and has even taken the initiative to begin mentoring other vulnerable young mothers. 

In another exciting development this year, we have set up a local AdAmi Project office and hub in Bo town. Plans are in motion to open a drop-in centre for young mothers in the community, the first of its kind in the district, where they will be able to access free, confidential and impartial advice. A key part of this service will be working with other organisations and agencies in the region to set up an effective cross-referral service, so we are harnessing assets and resources which already exist in the area, rather than duplicating efforts. We have also recently launched a new radio club at the hub, which will encourage a group of new young mothers in Bo town to reflect and discuss on live issues relating to gender and justice - you can read more about this in our recent newsletter. 

There have, of course, been some challenges and frustrations in 2021. The year started with great excitement at the planned launch of our new grassroots, girls-led, AdAmi Girls Network, an initiative dreamt up by the young mothers with the goal of amplifying their voices and awareness of women’s rights in their communities. The network was due to be funded by the UK Aid Direct (formerly DFID) and our team of volunteers spent hundreds of hours preparing for the work. When the UK Government announced its cuts to overseas aid this grant was cancelled and we were devastated. This felt like a huge set-back for the project, the team in Sierra Leone were especially deflated, as excitement and expectation amongst the young women and their communities had already been built up.

We have used this as a learning opportunity and have taken the time to thoroughly plan the project. We are committed to setting up the network in order to support brilliant young women like Kadiatu, who, on her own initiative, set up a young mothers’ club in her community. The young women meet together regularly to support each other - one of their weekly activities is a self-led study group where they explore different issues which affect them. Knowing the importance of peer support like this, we will be launching the AdAmi Girls Network on a smaller scale in 2022, and are hoping to attract further investment to support it.

Despite the loss of expected income from the UK Aid Grant and the challenges around Covid-19, we are delighted to have grown our network of donors and supporters this year. This is enabling us to reach more and more vulnerable young mothers, so that they and their children can be happy, healthy and safe members of their communities. We are grateful for the commitment and hard work of our team in Sierra Leone and the UK, the women who mentor the young mothers, the girls themselves, who continually inspire us with their determination to overcome adversity, and of course for your generosity and support.

I hope you are proud of all the achievements you have helped to make happen this year, and I look forward to keeping you updated on the exciting developments to come in 2022.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and New Year.