The Gbeka Community Gains Self-Reliance

Hawa Brima Gbondo is a 55-year-old farmer born and raised in Gbeka, a rural village of approximately 850 people in Eastern Sierra Leone. Community members support themselves primarily by harvesting rice, cocoa, palm oil, and vegetables. OneVillage Partners began working with Gbeka in 2015 to complete three self-selected projects: latrines, water wells, and a Skills Training Center. When OneVillage Partners arrived in Gbeka the community was split into competing factions that rarely listened to each other, much less worked together. Household disagreements, conflicts concerning land use, and political differences divided the town. The village authorities ruled unfairly; they assessed fines for offences at a lower rate for their relatives, while fining other community members a higher rate. Villagers were resentful, wouldn’t cooperate with local leaders and rarely participated in communal work or community meetings. They’d lost faith in their leaders and refused to contribute to local projects for fear of their money being misused.

Gbeka had become very dependent on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to sponsor infrastructure projects. The Chiefdom Speaker, Momoh Tarawally, bemoaned, “Our youth and the community prioritized their own interests and swept the town’s needs under the carpet. We thought that NGOs were the magicians to develop this community.” One NGO built latrines with minimal contribution from the community and later on many latrines collapsed. When Hawa’s household latrine collapsed she didn’t bother to rebuild it, even though she had the where-with-all to do so. It was then she realized she had become reliant on NGOs to address many of her challenges, rather than looking to herself and her community for support. “Seeing how I’d left my latrine in the rubbles tells me that we expected more from outsiders than ourselves. Although I had the money to repair that latrine, the culture of depending on NGOs kept me expecting miracles to repair it for me,” Hawa said. Hawa wasn’t alone in this mindset, the community took no ownership of projects provided simply as gifts.

Hawa believes that the first OneVillage Partners community meeting was the start of a change in Gbeka’s sense of unity and commitment to spearhead local initiatives. The Sharpening Stone Story (a story about the community leading the project work and OneVillage Partners supporting the project) inspired community members to take responsibility through financial contributions and mobilization of construction materials. Next, the community selected 12 volunteers (the Community Action Group, or CAG), who were trained in project design and management. Over the next three years, the CAG led local resource mobilization, household contributions, and project implementation for the three projects previously mentioned. Through this process, the community learned the importance of frequent meetings and adequate planning to achieve common goals. At the same time, Gbeka was inspired by the neighboring village of Sembehun that constructed a community meeting hall without any NGO support. Hawa stated with a smile, “Learning positive behavior from others is a very good step for our community’s development. A village with the vision of leading itself believes in what its people can offer which is something we are proudly motivated to do right now.” Gbeka had started to understand the benefits of community leadership over NGO dependence.

With their attitude reframed, Gbeka went to work putting systems in place to support their goal of self-reliance. The CAG and local leaders encouraged community members to contribute to projects in community meetings and Town Crier’s announcements. To fast track local contributions, authorities delegated the collection of funds to heads of every village quarter (neighborhood) with the help of the CAG. Chiefs also started planning local projects in community meetings and abandoned the previous system of making decisions without community consultation. Lastly, Chiefs implemented an equal standard for infractions, such as refusal to contribute to village projects. When the community saw positive and lasting changes in their leaders, and the resulting accomplishments, they began listening to and respecting their leaders, cooperating with each other, and sharing responsibilities.

Although Gbeka realized the benefits of leading their own development, it was a learning process which included a few set-backs. While some people voluntarily donated their labor, others expected payment for their efforts. Additionally, the community lacked essential tools needed for construction. Quarter heads varied in mobilization experience and skill level, resulting in some quarters loss of motivation and engagement. Several community members believed the CAG was solely responsible for implementing the entire project; at first, many people avoided community meetings and communal working days, expecting the CAG to do it all alone. The CAG persevered, continued with community meetings, and maintained open channels of communication. Their steadfast commitment paid off and through earnest dialogue and household visits the volunteers eventually changed the minds of the reluctant community members. It was a long process but everyone learned the importance of frequent meetings, open communication, adequate planning, and unfaltering persistence.

After challenging struggles, occasional disappointments, constant communication, readjustments, and very hard work, Gbeka was on their way to being less dependent on donors to meet their basic needs. From household contributions, the community bought construction tools and worked to rehabilitate a road connecting Gbeka to the nearby village of Goldie. “It was challenging to get used to taking local initiatives, but we have successfully rehabilitated a whole road with no NGO support,” Chief Momoh Tarawally stated. Gbeka community now plans projects with funding from households’ contributions, community savings groups, and fines. As a community, Gbeka constructed a storage space for agricultural products on its own, thereby protecting their crops and enabling them to sell their produce when markets are favorable. “Gbeka is much different than it was three years ago. I notice a group more united to work for our community without waiting for NGOs or relatives in the cities,” Hawa stated.

The process of project planning and implementation has increased the capacity of many people in Gbeka. “Community members now enjoy their skills of identifying challenges and solving their most pressing needs without NGO’s interventions,” Hawa said. Leaders hold regular meetings to determine budgets and report amounts collected for communal work. Meeting attendance has increased steadily over time and more people are stepping up their involvement. Women, in particular, are increasingly involved as their public speaking confidence increases. “Unlike before, I now have more chance to contribute in meetings without fearing the criticism of men,” community member Mamie John said.

“I am proud of what we have learned from One Village Partners,” Hawa said. “If villages like ours realize what they can offer to their own progress, they will not wait on NGO supplies and handouts.”