Home > Ventures > action > action international

action international

The purpose of action international is to deliver projects in the developing world which are run and managed by local people, for local people. This ethos provides long term employment opportunities for adults as well as services to positively impact the lives of children and young people.

The Kabor Project

We have a fantastic team in Sierra Leone who have been running The Kabor Project since 2004, providing vital support and training to some of the most disadvantaged children, young women and adults in our world today. Kabor is a unique local project, led and managed by local people seeking their own solutions. We are in this for the long term and want to see substantial, positive change in the area.

Our colleagues in this region of the world share our passion and energy for children and young people and seek to protect and support those in their local community who most need it. The team are providing skills and training which is changing the lives of children and young people in a country where one in four will not live to see their fifth birthday.

In Spring 2011 our charity manager visited the project, along with one of our trustees, to catch up with the team on the work they have been doing. Please click here to read their story - there are some stunning photos and stories from their time with our African colleagues.

•  
   
• The Kabor Story
  
  

  asphaleia action's dream was first realised by a staff member of asphaleia who was a refugee from Sierra Leone herself. She wanted to go home to her local community and work with war-affected women and their babies in Freetown, to enable them to develop skills and training so they may change their lives from ones at risk of exploitation, into ones of hope.

  In Sierra Leone 70% of the population live below the poverty line, whilst infant and maternal mortality rates are the worst in the world. Despite ending eight years ago, the Civil War has destroyed much of the infrastructure including schools, health facilities and rural areas have been seriously affected.

  The young women Kabor supports have all been affected by the Civil War. Some have lived on the streets as prostitutes, whilst others were kept as ‘bush wives' by the rebels during the war and dragged across the country as the war fronts shifted. All of them have suffered from a form of anxiety, depression or low self-esteem as a result of their past lives.

  Shame and fear have made these young women reluctant to return to their communities rendering them vulnerable in terms of lack of protection and increased exploitation. The status of women in Sierra Leone is immersed in cultural discrimination by traditional laws and customs which compound gender inequalities and gender based violence. The factors of poverty affecting their lives are characterised by severe malnutrition, poor health conditions, early pregnancies, lack of knowledge on the causes and effects of diseases such as HIV and Malaria, high youth unemployment, low literacy and skills levels, low agricultural productivity and low capacities of community structures to lead development initiatives.

  All the girls have access to counselling, childcare support in the Kabor crèche and general support and advice. The young women are all tested for HIV upon arrival and there is an on-site nurse who is responsible for the health care of the staff, the young women and their babies.

• Development
  
  

  The Kabor Project has developed significantly since its beginnings.

  The team are now running a learning centre in Masiaka town. This centre teaches girls tye and dye and tailoring. The dresses they make they sell in local markets and all monies that they make go back to Kabor. They are also hoping to begin bricklaying and construction classes for the girls soon. Zainab has identified a potential restaurant space where the local beneficiaries can put their skills to use and cook for profit in Masiaka.

  Women are coming together at the centre across cultural, tribal and social divisions to educate themselves, work together and pass on the knowledge to other women.

  The project also supports a local village called Mateneh, where 30 acres of land was bought and is being farmed by Kabor, providing food for the villagers. The women in the village also receive training. After a recent donation the village now has a supply of clean water due to a new well being built.

  If you want to know more about our work in this region, please add yourself to the action e-bulletin mailing list.

  Support our work in Sierra Leone

  Our international work is funded solely through donations and gifts. Please visit our support action page to find out how you can give to this project.