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Our Vision
- The Safe Haven Adaptive Response program vision to build two thousand [2,000] homes on a safe area, out of the flood zone and relocate families from the disaster prone areas to a safe place.
- Our Program vision to bring a better housing alternative for Families living in the disaster prone areas
- We dream of seeing a disaster free and a slum free society by creating safe and quality homes. This will give life, hope, and ensure peace to Sierra Leoneans currently living in high risky areas
- We vision to build a world class Empowering Children and youth education facility in Congo town and in the rural area
- We vision to make the city of Freetown safe and sustainable by changing the face of the slums in the city to a better, healthier and safer alternative in the rural
OUR IMPACT
Ensure a higher quality of life for slum dwellers in Freetown in this generation and for all future time
OUR OBJECTIVES
The specific objectives and purpose of SHARP is more particularly described as follows:
1. To organize exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to other organizations that qualify as an exempt educational or charitable organization.
2. To construct safe and affordable homes in order to help families living in disaster- prone areas by ensuring that a high level of quality and affordable homes are secured.
3. To provide building facilities, repairs, renovate, and maintain the school buildings by empowering children through the provision of access to safe schools and quality education.
4. To work in conjunction with other charitable organizations to empower school children through the provision of funding for necessary expenses including but not limited to materials, supplies, equipment, uniforms and other administrative costs.
5. To carry out activities related to supporting quality education like sports and games through improving the recreational facilities in the school.
6. To collaborate and compliment the Government of Sierra Leone’s effort towards the provision of affordable, free, quality education for schools across the country.
6. To also provide learning materials in the school and other schools with similar needs of urgent attention.
7. To provide guidance and advice to pupils who might be creating disturbances for the schools through the creation of a guiding and counselling unit for the above purpose.
8. To cater to and provide assistance for children with special needs such as children who are disabled and need special services.
OUR OUTPUT
A self-sustaining community established to provide affordable homes, a better quality of education, health, nutrition and income generating opportunities for families living in disaster prone slums
OUTPUTS
- Capacity building in Sustainable Community Development for slum dwellers
- Residential and other infrastructure established
- Primary, secondary and vocational education instituted
- Sustainable agricultural and environmental practices promoted
- Holistic health care systems established
- Entrepreneurship and economic development programs promoted
- Sustainable Living Center for innovation and promotion of cultural integrity established
Background
Sierra Leone just suffered an Ebola epidemic that engulfed all parts of the country and all segments of the population. Over 17 thousand lives were lost. In addition, several hundreds of thousands of lives were left displaced, and others were left critically ill in hospitals, including hundreds of the country’s most renowned doctors and nurses. Hundreds of thousands of students were put out of school, businesses were closed, the country was isolated, and it became very scary to the outside world. The economy was totally frozen for over two years. All these factors resulted in more deaths, diseases, hunger, poverty, illiteracy and created problems that will take decades or possibly never for the Country to recover.
In the process of recovering from the epidemic, the people determined to put the past behind and actively work towards a brighter future. Now another disaster struck, with floods and a major landslide that claimed the lives of over five hundred people and left thousands displaced and many in critical condition in hospitals. Over fifty homes with families inside, and churches and mosques with worshipers inside were covered by the mud and rocks that slid down from Mount Sugar loaf. Many more homes and communities were also flooded, and so many homes and properties were destroyed. The 2017 was the second mega flood after the previous that occur in 2015, which destroyed lives and left thousands displaced, many more hundreds were housed at the national stadium for many weeks.
Flooding in Freetown has become common, impacting over one thousand homes multiple times every year. People lose their lives, property is lost, and diseases spread. So many cries in the slums every year. This has been happening for decades and yet no action has taken place to bring this problem to an end. Experts warn the water level will rise in the future and this may cause even more problems and deaths. We need all our hands on deck to prevent this problem from happening and make Freetown a safer city
Some important fact
Freetown is a densely populated city with a population of about 1.5 million people. Freetown is almost surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Rokel River which makes very limited opportunities for the city’s expansion. The demand for homes in the city outstrip supply and had inflate the price to secure a house, left many tense of thousands in swampy slums.
81% of the country’s population is in extreme poverty and 60% of youth are unemployed which is one of the worst in West Africa. The country is also accounting for one of the worst illiteracy rate in the world. Many thousands who could not afford the cost for a good shelter in the city, built communities of zinc sharks on the shores and swamps that belt the city, risking their health and their lives and many communities were built on the water road makes them prone and vulnerable to any torrential rain
How it get started
The Safe Haven Adaptive Response Program started on August 15th 2017 as a quick response to victims of the mud slide And flashed flood in Freetown. It was initially started to get survivors basic and desperate needs to get dry after everything has been taken from them by the disaster
“Some of the victims are pupils of the empowering children school and their families”
We have a vision to build safe homes and Safe schools on a safer ground in the rural area
We aim to relocate families living in the disaster prone areas
We believe this will reduce the number of people dying from flooding disaster in Sierra Leone
Safe Haven Adaptive Response Program Sierra Leone Blog 