A Sneak Peek at 2020
In 2019, OneVillage Partners ended the year proud of all our collective accomplishments, grateful to those who made it possible, and we enter 2020 committed to deepening our impact in our partner communities and beyond. In the coming year, OneVillage Partners will be continuing to empower local leaders for positive, lasting change in their communities, and most excitingly, we will be establishing partnerships with new villages, expanding our programs to thousands more individuals. Here’s a sneak peek at OneVillage Partners’ ambitious 2020 plans!
1. Opening a new office and establishing our presence in a new area of Eastern Sierra Leone.
OneVillage Partners will be opening an operational hub in the town of Daru, in Kailahun District, and partnering with two new communities in the area. This is very exciting for OneVillage Partners because it marks the first time we will be expanding our programs to communities outside of our current operational area. We will work with two new villages who, up until now, have been unfamiliar with OneVillage Partners’ programs. With help from some of our current Community Action volunteers, we will be training two new Community Actions groups, comprising of 24 men and women, to lead development projects for their communities, impacting thousands of more people.
2. Inspiring leadership, engagement, and development in six partner communities through the Lead program.
In 2019, OneVillage Partners piloted the Lead program with three communities where we trained groups of volunteers on proposal writing and granted funds to the communities with the most compelling proposals. The community of Grima wrote a proposal to expand the Maternity Ward at the local health clinic, and the community of Mamboma will be outfitting a skills training center to train youth on income-earning jobs skills. We are very excited to see the communities complete these projects this year.
What’s more, six more communities will be entering the Lead program in 2020, where we will have the opportunity to train community volunteers on proposal writing and further enhance their project monitoring and cultivate their leadership skills.
3. Continuing work with current partner villages to create resilient and thriving communities through Community Action.
In the coming year, we will be working with Community Action volunteers in four partner villages and guiding them through the process to develop projects that will improve the overall wellbeing in their communities. Between these four communities and projects that are continuing construction from last year, we expect our partner villages to fully implement up to seven projects in 2020 that will address their self-defined challenges and contribute to their visions of community development.
4. Helping women achieve financial literacy in five communities through Nurturing Opportunities for Women.
Nurturing Opportunities for Women (NOW) teaches previously marginalized groups of women the skills they need to achieve financial independence, gives them an equitable voice in household financial decision-making, and builds confidence to speak in public. This year, 120 women across five communities will be encouraged to challenge gender norms at the household level, so gender equity can be achieved at the community level.
5. Strengthening women’s economic participation through NOW: Business Skills.
With the success of NOW: Business Skills in the past two years, OneVillage Partners will be expanding this program across nine communities, giving 240 new participants opportunities to improve their business skills, increase earnings, and ultimately give women more financial freedom.
From all of us at OneVillage Partners, Happy New Year and thank you for your ongoing support to help communities achieve their self-defined visions of prosperity!