About Us

 

Save the Needy started in 2011 with a passion from the founder and Director of the organisation, Violet Lenger-Fofanah. During the years of 'Conciliation Resources' monitoring visits and workshops in the Western rural and Bo Districts, Violet noticed most of the communities in Freetown and Bo lack certain basic facilities such as hygiene and sanitation, good infrastructures, good roads, quality education, Gender equality and human right sensitisation. With constant discussion with community members and school authorities, it came out clearly that the schools and vulnerable children and women are in dire need of support.

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In 2011 Violet took the opportunity to register the organisation as a community-based organisation, working with the community schools, vulnerable children and women knowing their felt needs.

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How did it start?

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In setting up the organisation, it has to be registered with the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs. The expenses was undertaken by the Founder of the organisation for two years until in 2013 we received funds from the JJ charity Trust,UK on small-scale commercialisation project. The project ran from 2013 – 2014. We worked with vulnerable women who are gardeners from Ogoo Farm and Sembehun Kokofle who couldn’t have the appropriate skills and tools to gain much profit from their business. 

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Just at the verge of ending the project we also applied to the Hilden Charitable Fund, the UK in 2014 – 2015 for child empowerment project. Funds were received during the Ebola outbreak and schools were closed down due to the epidemic, we agreed with teachers to do close door education on Ebola sensitisation and teaching in Maths and English in their various communities. When school reopened we donated school materials to vulnerable children who lost their parents from Ebola and those whose parents cannot afford the basic school materials. 

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In 2015 we appealed to Hilden Charitable Fund to assist us in promoting hygiene and sanitation in partner schools.  The rationale was to eradicate Ebola and teach the children how to manage and maintain their personal hygiene.  Since then the HCF has been supporting Save the Needy Sierra Leone on hygiene and sanitation in schools. We have built two toilets and the third is in progress.

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Save the Needy embarked on the promotion of reading culture in schools.  The List Family Foundation funded us to refurbish five libraries in Western Rural and Bo Districts. The rationale is to encourage the children to read and understand what they read.  Books were received from Book Aid International for ten schools.

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Since then we have been writing proposals to different charities for funding on different projects. Save the Needy Sierra Leone has thrived to have a regional office in Bo. There is three staff in the office which runs the activities of the organisation. The staff are Acting Project Manager, Project
Officer, Finance and Admin Officer and Volunteers.