Sierra Leone: A Collective Nation

Research suggests that appeals for giving in international aid are less likely to succeed if audiences constantly see images and information that they find too negative. This is true in many cases where calls to actions and charitable donations do not focus on the growth of a country, but rather the demoralizing images and descriptions of constant need.

In Sierra Leone, a country that has been deeply affected by a civil war, political turmoil, Ebola and the recent Coronavirus, it can be easy to permanently portray and label it as a helpless country - one that cannot improve without international aid. As an organization working in rural Sierra Leone, and seeing poverty related issues daily, it can be easy to showcase the negatives and forget to show our supporters how far the country and our communities have come. In the aid and development sector, there is an inclination to use certain negative visual cues to influence or request for support. However, we believe that in order for our supporters to truly see what we do, we must first showcase the communities’ progress before their need.

So yes - there is need for clean water, better sanitation and healthcare, but there has also been major improvement in communities’ access to water, communities have built maternity clinics and women are empowered to create financial decisions for their households. We cannot acknowledge the current needs if we do not celebrate how far these communities and the country has come. We want to highlight that it takes a network of organizations (local, national and international), and resources to showcase Sierra Leone’s growth as a country.

We believe it is the system of organizational networks that create a space for dialogue for our communities, staff, donors and supporters to understand that we make conscious decisions to share the collective work of growth in Sierra Leone.  We often see the negative dialogue of the “poor Sierra Leoneans without food or water” – a dialogue which is not effective long term for communities, nor for our supporters and donors. We want to deliver a method the refrains from the overuse of negative description and imagery to reach our audiences.

Later this month, we will be releasing our annual report which will highlight the impacts we have seen in 2021 working with our partner communities. We acknowledge that much has been done with the support of OneVillage Partners’ donors, supporters, staff and communities. We also choose to acknowledge the diverse networks of support in Sierra Leone that have not only influenced, but also impacted Sierra Leone as the country it is today. As an organization, we proudly recognize that we are part of a greater system that has collectively worked to change how Sierra Leone is viewed in the development sector. After all, it feels incredible to be a part of something greater – a collective. We believe it is really important to both highlight was needs to be done in Sierra Leone and also acknowledge what already has been done.

What will be the result of this?

We show that Sierra Leone is not a country in a constant state of begging, rather it is a nation that is growing, shifting norms and creating rooms for change, through the collection of networks in communities and aid.