Dignity. Purpose. Transformation.
Women of Hope Sierra Leone (WOHSL) began in 2008 working with a small group of women in Makeni. Over the years, they have grown and expanded, seeing the need for ministry in many areas. They now serve over 800 women with disabilities in four communities in northern Sierra Leone. The mission of WOHSL is to promote the transformation of Sierra Leonean women with disabilities, and their families, so that they may reach their fullest potential - spiritually, socially, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and economically. Knowing that people are complex beings, and understanding that every aspect of a person’s life is interconnected, WOHSL addresses the complex needs of women living with disabilities through wholistic and hands-on programming and support services. “We cannot separate our economic success from our emotional health, or our physical health from our spiritual condition. At Women of Hope Sierra Leone, we address all of these areas of life as a whole, knowing that the Gospel, when fully lived out, impacts EVERY area of life.”
Sierra Leone WOH Staff:
(back row) Sonia (SRC), Margaret, Mariama F., Mariama S. (SRC) Amadu
(front row) Adama C., Adama B., Isatu, Hawa, Patricia
A testimony of Hope
WHOLISTIC PROGRAMMING
Transformation Training
Transformation Training, the signature training program for women in Sierra Leone, is a 16-week wholistic health and discipleship course that women can opt to go through. During this training, women learn about their inherent value as Image-bearers of God and engage in a variety of topics such as:
hygiene & health
diarrhea prevention and treatment
how to handle stress and anxiety
Biblical conflict resolution
taking care of their emotional health
marriage and child-training
small business skills
a chronological narrative of the story of Redemption, demonstrating God’s value of women
and much more!
At the conclusion of the 16 weeks, the women are celebrated with a graduation ceremony with family and friends, often the first celebration most of them have ever had for their own accomplishments. An assessment is conducted following the course, allowing the women to articulate the changes that they have seen in their own lives as a result of all they have learned. Transformation truly takes place as women find community, belonging, and learn how valuable they really are.
Fair Trade Cooperative
At our headquarters in Makeni, women can come to work at the Fair Trade Co-op, creating beautiful products to be sold in an on-site shop there in Makeni and internationally in AHIs occasional Pop-Up Shops. Skills training classes are taught periodically to engage new women with skills to create additional products for sale in Sierra Leone and around the world. Women who work in the co-op are able to leave lives of begging and prostitution and provide for themselves and their families through the income they receive in sales.
Advocacy and Emergency Assistance
Women living in extreme poverty are often the victims of injustice due to corrupt landlords, angry neighbors and domestic violence. They are also at risk for severe illness or other medical emergencies without the ability to pay for the care they need. Our advocacy support team responds to urgent needs, helping women obtain legal or medical assistance as needed, and ensuring that women in crisis are supported and resourced for the health and well-being of themselves and their families. Our God is a God of justice, and we work with Him in obtaining justice for the women in Sierra Leone. (Ps. 10:18, Ps. 37:28, Isaiah 58)
Discipleship Opportunities
Following Jesus to Abundant Life is a 15-week discipleship curriculum is a practice-based, formation course that will help them learn more about God and what it looks like to follow Jesus, directly from God and His Word. The Holy Spirit will be the Teacher, and the facilitators are only there to provide some structure. Following time in God’s Word and listening to the Holy Spirit speak to their own hearts, participants will dive deeper into the topic through stories, parables, and discussion, learning how to apply the concepts from God’s Word to their own life context.
The GROW Program (Gathering to Receive, Opportunity to Work) is a discipleship and economic empowerment program. Women meet in small groups twice weekly for one year. They will listen to God’s Word on a handheld audio device using pre-recorded Bible stories, and discuss what they have heard using pre-recorded questions that pertain to the story. Each woman is given a small business grant, and during their biweekly meetings, they will save money in a collective GROW Fund Box and encourage one another in their personal economic endeavors.
Monthly Support Gatherings
One of the benefits of Women of Hope Sierra Leone that the women talk about the most, is that they have found a place of belonging and acceptance. Years of rejection have made many of the women hide in their rooms for years, never interacting with other humans. But when they find out about WOHSL, they venture out, and find community and a family who understands them and their struggles. This is often the first step in a woman’s journey of healing and transformation. Each month, women with all types of disabilities gather together to learn, discuss, and support one another.
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