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.