Our History
“We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we work. We pay our respects to their Elders in each community, past and present.”
1987
In 1987, American Peace Corp volunteer, Jeff Hall was disheartened by the multidimensional poverty that faced many communities in rural Sierra Leone. As a Peace Corp volunteer, Jeff spent time in three communities - Foindu, Pejehun and Jokibu, all situated in the Kailahun District in rural Eastern Sierra Leone. After finishing his time with the Peace Corps, Jeff took his concerns back to the United States, where in the coming decade he would help launch a campaign that would provoke an incredible response from donors.
Jeff’s desire to see change sparked the movement that is now OneVillage Partners and was the start of extraordinary societal and economic change in communities in rural Sierra Leone.
1991 - 2002
The difficulties in Sierra Leone further erupted when conflict in neighboring Liberia, spilled over the border into Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Civil War was one of the bloodiest in Africa resulting in more than fifty thousand people dead and half a million displaced in a nation of then four million people. The conflict was particularly violent and long because both the opposing rebels and the Sierra Leone government were often funded by “blood diamonds” mined with slave labor.
The war launched Sierra Leone into the international platform that provoked an incredible response. Countries became invested in seeing a turnaround, and a call to action by many organizations sparked the idea that Sierra Leone as a nation, deserved its rights to economic, social and political freedom.
2004 - 2005
In 2004, after the war, Jeff Hall returned to Sierra Leone and found that his three closest friends from his time at the Peace Corps were still alive. Jeff listened to their stories and recognized that he was able to provide support in their recovery. This inspiring moment between longtime friends did not just kick start fundraising for rural Sierra Leone communities; it was the beginning of unique community-led development to improve wellbeing.
Jeff saw the need to support the three communities where he had built relationships - Foindu, Pejehun, and Jokibu. He recognized their potential to overcome their poverty-related challenges and hardships remaining from the civil war
. Today, these three communities are known as our heritage communities. Through partnerships that began in 2005 with our heritage communities, we saw an eagerness in rural Sierra Leone to enact change at the community level. Our heritage communities are the backbone of who we are today. Foindu, Pejehun and Jokibu are communities that are impacted by multidimensional poverty, but they are also communities rich in communal values and opportunity.
2010
Back in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, Jeff and his community had been raising money for the communities in Sierra Leone for several years. In 2010, One Village Partners became an officially registered nonprofit in the United States. Formalizing the organization allowed the continuation of providing monetary assistance, and the opportunity to create more partnerships with more communities. OneVillage Partners began increasing responsibilities, programs and activities – growing beyond the original partnership with the three heritage communities and spreading through the region.
After more than 10 years of innovative achievements, OneVillage Partners continues to adapt to the needs of communities throughout rural Eastern Sierra Leone.
Today, we have three offices located throughout rural Sierra Leone - one in Bunumbu, another in Daru, and our headquarters in Kenema. With a growing presence in the Eastern part of the country, we are able to establish new partnerships, reach more individuals with innovative and participatory programming, and support communities with information and resources to enhance their wellbeing.
As we celebrate how far OneVillage Partners has come over the years, we also recognize the need to do more. Since the very beginnings of our story, our work has been concentrated in Eastern rural Sierra Leone in the Kailahun district. Our 26 community partners in this region have seen significant progress in reducing multidimensional poverty for individuals and families. To build on the success of our model in the Kailahun district, we plan to expand our reach across all rural Sierra Leone in the coming years.
Learn more about our plans to expand our work by clicking below.
2014
In 2014, Sierra Leone was faced with a a deadly health crisis - Ebola. The Ebola epidemic was the most unprecedented and challenging outbreak in both Sierra Leone and Ebola virus outbreak history. In addition to the confirmed 8,706 cases and 3,590 deaths, Ebola devastated Sierra Leone’s already fragile health care system. The impacts of Ebola on Sierra Leone were severe, and because of their challenges in accessing healthcare, rural communities were left the most vulnerable. We were determined to be part of communities’ progress out of the epidemic.
After Ebola, OneVillage Partners shifted its approach from humanitarian assistance to intentional community-led development. This shift signified a change - one from being a charity and providing aid assistance, to being an organization upholding the values of community-led development. By embodying community-led values, the organization was now focused on catalyzing community-led transformational.
Evolving towards Community-Led Development
Where it all began…
Today
2017 - 2021
By 2017, our reach expanded beyond 400% and partnered with over 15 communities. Over the course of three years our Community Action Program and Nurturing Opportunity for Women Program (NOW) expanded drastically, and in 2020, we launched our Lead Program. Our work evolved to dramatically empowering communities to be the change they wish to see through developing projects they needed – from creating community wide latrines, building water wells, clean kitchens and community centers.
In 2021, Jeff Hall stepped down as Board Chair, and Pete Janzen became the first non-founder Board Chair for the organization. At the same time, Shétu Rose began her role as Vice-Chair. These changes ensured that the Board of Directors had a sustainable leadership pipeline for the years to come.
During this timeframe, in the U.S., our presence continued to grow throughout Minnesota. Our generous supporters raised over $1M USD for the first time in 2019, and did so again in 2021. This financial growth set OneVillage Partners up for its next chapter.
