Whenever we conduct a survey, we are sure to feed the information back to communities so that they too may learn from our findings.
OneVillage Partners catalyzes community-led transformation in rural Africa.
Working in Sierra Leone, West Africa, we partner with rural communities to 1) train, empower, and mobilize leaders to design projects that address their community’s most pressing, self-identified problems, and 2) create new opportunities for women through economic empowerment and financial literacy training. We believe that letting communities lead, rather than telling them what they need, creates dignity and leads to equitable and sustainable development.
OneVillage Partners is the Sharpening Stone. This is a concept so integral to our work that there is no better way to explain it, than as it is shared in the communities we partner with.
Here is local volunteer leader Mohamed sharing the story of the Sharpening Stone and his personal transformation into a leader.
Trained volunteers share a handwashing station, designed and made with locally sourced materials to meet the particular challenges and needs of their community.
Addressing the immediate needs of a community is important, but it doesn’t create a long-term solution. Building capacity within a community by developing representative leadership creates lasting change. We focus on long-term solutions to the challenges partner communities face. Our work is community-led and that means we help communities to imagine a future where they work together to thrive without external support. We do this through implementation of our two interconnected programs: Community Action and Nurturing Opportunities for Women.
We believe OneVillage Partners ‘does development differently’: we equip communities to envision and lead infrastructure and well-being projects in their villages by supporting all community members to build inclusive leadership, gender equity, social cohesion, and resiliency within their communities.