Supportto40FarmerstoFightagainstHungerinDembeliaSinkuniaChiefdom-Sierra

Leone.

JoinSYSOtofighthungerandmalnutritioninSierraLeone,savelives,save

communitiesandschoolgoingchildren.

“Ibelievethechildrenareourfuture,Letthechildren’slaughterremindushow

weusedtobe.Peopleneedsomeonetolookupto.Showthem allthebeauty

theypossessbygivingthem asenseofpridetomakeiteasier”byWhitneyHouston.

SUMMARY

SierraLeoneisranked179outof188intheHumanDevelopmentIndexandthethird

hungriestcountryintheworldsaysGlobalHungerIndex.Therearemorethan6.4

millionpeoplelivinginSierraLeone,52.9percentofwholivebelowthenationalpoverty

line.Roughly60percentofthepopulationlivesinruralareas,themajorityofwhom rely

onsubsistenceagriculturefortheirlivelihoods.Malnutritionhasbeenthegreatest

causeofchildmortalityinSierraLeone,accountingfornearlyhalfofallchilddeaths.

Almostone-thirdofchildrenunderfivearechronicallymalnourished.

Agriculture,however,has faced manychallenges in recentyears due to lack of

equipment,poorqualityseeds,lackstoragefacilities,deforestationandclimatechange.

Riceproductionhasdeclinedsosignificantlythatonlyfourpercentoffarmersproduce

enoughtomeettheirneedsinSierraLeone.

Sinkunia Young Stars Organization (SYSO)is committed to reducing hungerand

malnutritioninSierraLeonebyprovidingqualityequipments,viableseeds,foodforwork

andtrainingtofarmerstoincreaseyieldinawaythatnooneshouldgotobedwith

emptystomach.Withthatchildrenwouldbeabletogetqualityeducation

CHALLENGE

AccordingtoFAO,WFPandGOSLshowthatmorethanhalfofthepopulation-3.5million

peoplearefoodinsecureinSierraLeone.Eatingsignificantlylessfoodandlessvaried

andnutritiousfood,andunabletocopewithnewshockssuchasdrought,floodsand

fluctuatingfoodprices.

Thenumberofseverelyfood insecurepeoplehasincreased by60 percentsince

2010.Outof149 Chiefdoms110 Chiefdomshad food insecuritylevelsabovethe

nationalaverageof50percentinSierraLeone.Mostofpeoplewhoareinextreme

povertyarehungryandmalnourished.Thelargestgroupsofpeoplewhoareinextreme

povertyareSmallholderfarmersindevelopingcountries.Theydonothaveenough

incometogrowenoughfoodtosupplythemselveswithenoughtoeatyearround,and

theyearnsolittleincomefrom whattheysellthattheycannotaffordtopurchasefood

from othersourcesoncetheirownsupplyrunsout.Foodfrom thepreviousharvestruns

outandfamiliescutbackonmeals.Thisperiodmaylastformonthsdependingonthe

sizeofthepreviousharvest.Overaprolongedtimeparentsmayhavetopullchildren

outofschooltoearnincometopayforfood.

Only4percentoffarmersusechemicalfertilizer,10percenthasaccesstoimproved

seedvarieties,99percentusemanualtoolsandoldagriculturalsystem leadingtopoor

production.

Accordingtothe2017GlobalHungerIndex,SierraLeonefacesanalarminglevelof

hunger,withapproximately38percentofchildrenyoungerthan5yearsofagesuffering

from stunting,amanifestationofchronicmalnutrition.

SOLUTION

Theprojectwillhelp40farmersandtheirfamiliesoutofextremepoverty,provide

sustainablefoodfor40families.Providingthem withfarm tools,viableseedsand

training on new agriculturaltechniques willincrease their productivity thereby

householdswillnothavetotraveleightmilesormoretobuyorsellfood.

SinkuniaYoungStarsOrganization(SYSO)helpstoaddressthisissuebyproviding

smallholderfarmersviableseeds,qualityfarm tools,foodforworkandtrainingon

currentagriculturaltechniquestovulnerablefarmers.Onlyseedsupplytofarmerswill

bereturnedtoSYSOafterharvestingwhichwillbesuppliedtoanothersetof40farmers

withinthesamecommunity,thisrevolvesonandonandonuntilthelastfarmerbenefit

from theproject.Raisingcommunityawarenessonthenutritionalvaluesofdiverse

dietsthroughgrowingdifferenttypesofnutritiouscropsandteachesthem somecrop

preservative methods and strengthens them through knowledge sharing on new

agriculturalideasandcollectiveresponsibilitythatwillleadtoincreaseproduction.

LONG-TERM IMPACT

Everyfarmingseasontheprojectwillhelpanothersetof40smallholderfarmersand

theirfamiliesdependingonthem movedoutofhungerandmalnutritioncausedby

abject poverty. Will increased households food security, income-generating

opportunities,increasepurchasingpowerwithimprovedlivelihoods.Foodfrom the

previousharvestwillservefamiliesthroughouttheyeartothenextharvestingseason.

Theprojectwilluseinnovativeandsustainablemethodstoovercominghungerand

malnutrition insecurityforvulnerable farmers in ruralcommunities through youth

involvementand qualified agriculturalofficialswithinthedistrict.Sustainablefood

productionwillincreaseschoolattendancebyschoolgoingpupils,reducemortality

deathrate.

RESOURCES

https://reliefweb.intreportSierraLeoneFoodAssistanceFactSheet-January30,2018

https://borgenproject.org10ImportantFactstoKnowaboutHungerinSierraLeone.

https://reliefweb.intIFRCSierraLeoneEbolaVirusDisease(EVD)outbreak-Emergency

planofActionFinalReport(MDRSL005).

https://eeas.europa.eu Launch of the 2015 Comprehensive Food Security &

VulnerabilityAnalysis(CFSVA).

Youcanview thefullprofileofSierraLeoneathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra

Leone

SINKUNIAYOUNGSTARSORGANIZATION(SYSO)

Sinkunia Young Stars Organization (SYSO)is a registered non-profitorganization

foundedonthe8thAugust,2008inSierraLeoneseekingtoworkwithindigenouspeople

intheircommunitiestohelpprovideandimprovetheirbasichumanneeds(Food,

Shelter,Clothing,EducationandHealth)andstrivetofightpovertyandrespondto

emergenciesduring disastersand crisis(outbreak)in orderto livein vibrantand

flourishingcommunities.

SinkuniaStarscameaboutwhenhungerandmalnutritioncausingstuntinginchildren,healthproblems,pooraccesstoqualityeducation,genderinequality,andthecryofourvulnerablewomenandgirlsbecamerampartinthisunderrepresentedandremotecommunitywhichtouchedthesouloffewYoungyouthscalled“SinkuniaStars”cametogetherwithideastoaddressproblemsaffectingSinkuniaandallotherdisadvantagedcommunitiesinAfrica.Since 2010 Sinkunia Stars have been effectively able to supporteconomicallydisadvantagedpeopleinlocalcommunitiesthroughScholarshipprogrammes,VillagetoVillageSensitizationprogramme onEbolaVirusDisease(EVD),Water,SanitaionandHygieneinprimaryschoolsandHIV/AIDS,Womenempowermentthroughskillsandcapacitybuilding,Soapmaking,EstablismentofYouthFarm,EnvironmentalProtectionCampaigns.WebelievedinempoweringhumanresourcestoboostAfrica,transformingtheyounggenerationintoresourcefulandimpactfulpeoplewhocantakeresponsibilitiesontheirownthroughqualityandeffectiveeducationattheendtheycanbeabletomanagetheirproblemsamicablywithouttoomuchdependency,soweallcanliveinapeaceful,healthierandvibrantcommunities.Wegratefullyappreciateandthanksallourdonors,supporters,fundraisersandfriendswhohavebeenprovidinguslighttoseeourpaththroughinmakingthishappen.“Thosewhobringsunshineintothelivesofotherscannothideitfrom themselves”.From UnknownAuthor.