As we reflect on 2020 and look ahead at 2021, we find ourselves embedded in the global call for racial equity and social justice. Last year, this call compelled us to pause and shift our perspective on how we think about ourselves and our impact on communities beyond our programs.

2021 is off to an exciting and busy start in OneVillage Partners partner communities! This year, seven communities will see their community projects completed, including a school, two clinics, and a skills training center; four communities will begin construction this month.

It goes without saying that 2020 was difficult for everyone, so we won’t dwell on the challenges. Instead, here are a few of the many accomplishments we are happy to reflect on and the things we are grateful for.

Hameedatu Turay is a Nurturing Opportunities for Women (NOW) Program Coordinator with OneVillage Partners. After one of her sessions, she spoke about the impact NOW has on participants' abilities to plan for the future.

This year, we celebrated Giving Tuesday by coming together for our Year-End Town Hall. We shared our partner communities' achievements and successes from this past year - including 184 graduates in the Nurturing Opportunities for Women program and more than 4,000 individuals with improved sanitation and water facilities.

As is typical in Sierra Leone, Grima’s leadership was restricted to men from traditional ruling families; women held just two leadership positions in 2015 when the community started working with OneVillage Partners.

On Thursday, November 19th, Minnesotans will celebrate their annual giving holiday, Give to the Max Day (GTMD). GTMD is a day where Minnesotans show their philanthropic spirit and raise funds for nonprofits across the state.

In the far east of Sierra Leone, the village of Grima completed a major public consultation withOneVillage Partners, a community-led non-government organization (NGO). The community members chose the priority issue that they and OneVillage Partners would address jointly with a development project.

Three communities that have been working with OneVillage Partners since 2015, and have completed the Community Action and Nurturing Opportunities for Women programs, were evaluated through the lens of OneVillage Partners’ Theory of Change components: Inclusive Leadership, Gender Equity, Social Cohesion, Resiliency, and Wellbeing.

Mamboma is a village located in the Peje Bongre Chiefdom of Eastern Sierra Leone’s Kailahun district. It was known for its corruption, embezzlement and unfair treatment of community members by their leaders. After the civil war, the community held elections, but were disappointed with the results; leaders continued to be self-serving.

On September 24th we gathered virtually with nearly 200 friends from around the world to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We recorded the 30 minute program if you missed the event.

Watta Moriba is a 46-year-old single mother of five who lives in Gbeka. Like many mothers, Watta wanted to educate her children and save for the future.

At the onset of the pandemic, it became apparent that activities with our flagship programs would need to be put on hold. But that didn’t mean we couldn’t still lean into our values and work with our community partners in other ways.

Lucy Baion, a 30-year-old farmer and single parent of three, lives in the small farming village of Grima in Kailahun district, Eastern Sierra Leone. Read her story of building financial security.

The OneVillage Partners NOW Coordinators are changing hearts and minds. They inspire women to dream bigger than they ever have before, and encourage men to understand to the benefits of an empowered woman. 

Sheku Gassimo, our Community Projects Manager, recently participated in a panel discussion on "The Unique Culture of Sierra Leone." Watch the recording of the panel today and learn more about Sierra Leonean culture!

If you missed the coffee break, you can watch at the link below to hear how our community partners are doing, updates on their projects, and ways in which we continue to respond to the pandemic throughout Sierra Leone.

Follow Hawa’s story as her community of Gbeka gains self-reliance from outside support.

Our hearts are breaking at the destruction of our communities, both here at home and abroad.

Team members across Sierra Leone and the United States sent selfies affirming what they are grateful for.