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Sierra Leone

GOAL began its work in Sierra Leone in February 1999, with an assessment, which was carried out by the GOAL emergency co-ordinator, Norman Sheehan. Since then, GOAL has established three major projects in the country - two in the capital of Freetown, and one in Kenema - South East of the capital.


FREETOWN

A GOAL team arrived in Freetown on March 9th, 1999. The country co-ordinator or Field Director is Irish nurse, Fiona Gannon. Fiona is based in Freetown with another Irish nurse, Mary Kenny. GOAL has four other permanent ex-pat staff – all of who are working on the project in Kenema. GOAL currently has two major projects running in the capital: the management of Camp Grafton for Internally Displaced Persons and the Street Children  Project.

 Mabella - Slum area in Freetown - one of the areas that receives relief aid from GOAL (photo, January 2000)


The management of Camp Grafton.

At Camp Grafton - which is on the outskirts of the capital – GOAL is feeding and caring for 12,112 Internally Displaced Persons. Here, GOAL also distributes blankets, cooking pots, sleeping mats and such items. The camp also has a primary health care clinic that was set-up by GOAL.

GOAL, together with other international NGOs working in camp management in Sierra Leone, continues to press the Government for a coordinated plan on the resettlement of these internally displaced people. It is hoped that many of these people will shortly be allowed to return to their homes, since many of their places of origin are now deemed "safe areas." The impact this will have on GOAL’s activities in Grafton Camp is, as yet, uncertain, since it may still fill a role as a transit camp – taking Internally Displaced Persons from other "insecure areas" in other areas around the city.


Street Children Project

GOAL has also been feeding 150 street children. It has initiated a mobile clinic for these children. The clinic visits six different shelters and distributes a weeks supply of food. This project is community based and includes non-formal education for the children. Pending on further funding, GOAL is also hoping to establish a Commercial Sex Workers Programme at these shelters.

 


GOAL nurses Mary Kenny and Ahmid Conteh at a mobile medical centre for the Street Children in Freetown (photo - January 2000)

GOAL social worker Mohammed Foday with Mary Kenny and some children at the Children's School at Guard Street. The children sleep at the school at night. (photo - January 2000)


KENEMA

In the Kenema district GOAL provides supplementary feeding to 2,500 malnourished children at 12 different sites and health care at two other locations. Supplementary feeding is also supplied for elderly and women who are pregnant and lactating.

You can help!

If you want to give some financial assistance to the GOAL Sierra Leone project, you may:

Send a donation to GOAL, P.O. Box 19, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

or

P.O. Box 2876, London WIA 5QX, England.

Or you can call us and make a credit card donation – and specify that it is for the Sierra Leone fund – at 00 353 1 280 9779.