Imagine being a student starting your first day of school not having a backpack or school supplies. For so many students around the world, this is a harsh reality. Imagine facing hard labor as a farmer living in extreme poverty without access to basic hygiene items to help you thrive. This is a devastating reality for the farmers from our partner community located a Foindu Village in Sierra Leone. For this reason, Impact Sierra Leone (ISL) started the Donation Drive Day of Hope Outreach event to collect school and hygiene supplies.
Since 2021, we have donated school materials, clothing, hygiene items and other supplies. These items have had a positive impact on their learning. School attendance has increased, and students have been able to perform better academically. The hygiene items we collected will go to our farmers from our partner community which will be instrumental in preventing the spread of disease and promoting good hygiene practices – a need identified during a visit by ISL’s, executive director, Dr. Adama Kalokoh during ISL’s annual end of year outreach trip to Foindu Village in 2021. In the same year, ISL launched its Seeds of Life program. Two of ISL’s Seeds of Life initiatives, Education and Youth Empowerment as well as Healthy Futures and Wellness are being addressed with our Donation Drive.
To reach our goal of 500 backpacks and 300 hygiene kits for young men and women, ISL hosted its first in person Donation Drive Day of Hope outreach event on Saturday August 12th in Washington, DC. Additionally, ISL created an Amazon virtual wish list with supplies to purchase. Although ISL did not reach our goal for the donation drive, we were still able to collect over a dozen backpacks filled with supplies and build momentum for our promotion of quality education. Several donors purchased and donated school supplies and hygiene items online. ISL was able to collect various items such as notebooks, pens, folders, glue sticks, scissors, pencils, calculators and more for the students. ISL will provide a portion of the school supplies collected to students in Maryland and the remaining will be shipped directly to Sierra Leone. The supplies that are shipped to Sierra Leone will be presented to children and families during our annual Christmas Day of Hope. We were able to assemble over 200 hygiene packs so far and will distribute locally and ship to Sierra Leone. ISL will continue collecting supplies through the end of September to ensure we reach our goal of collecting 500 backpacks.
ISL aims to bring hope and smiles to many communities across the globe through our acts of kindness. We are achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Reduce Poverty, Promote Good Health and Well Being, and Quality Education.
Spread the word to your family and friends! Go to www.impactsierraleone.org to make a donation. Your support will help grow our Seeds of Life Anchor Program and positively impact the lives of hundreds of children, women and men.
