Fambul Tok Donates Covid safety materials to communities

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Solomon Yarjoh

         Fambul Tok donates Covid 19 safety materials to Communities

Fambul Tok, with support from the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) has rallied to the clarion call of the president of Sierra Leones to join in the fight against Covid 19 by distributing safety materials such as Veronica buckets, bowls, cakes of soap and face masks to different communities in the country.

Distribution of items
in Kailahun

Receiving the items in Kailahun, a member of the Inclusive District Committee, who is also representing Fambul Tok at the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) in Kailahun Samuel Borbor Vandi said: Fambul Tok played a very big during Ebola period and again it has joined the fight against Covid 19 in the country.

Samuel Borbor Vandi went on to state that the fight against the pandemic requires everyone’s effort and therefore the Government has called on civil society organizations in the country to come onboard.

safety materials

A member of the EOC in Kailahun who doubles as the Development and Planning Officer, Kailahun District Council, Adu Vandi Kondorvoh said the intervention of Fambul Tok is timely for the fact that the district has started registering cases of the disease, and with consistent handwashing practices in communities, the chain of transmission will be curtailed.

Team Lead Fambul Tok in Kailahun District, Lucia Brima had this to say: Our organization’s support to communities will go a long way to safe guard our people from the disease. As we distribute the items, we will also convey messages on how to prevent someone from contracting the disease and remain safe.

In Koinadugu District, Paramount Chief of Wara Wara Yagala, Gbawuru Mansaray was overwhelmed when he was presented with some of the items. He said he has no doubt in the organization as it played a great role towards Ebola few years back. He cautioned communities to use the items judiciously to prevent them from contracting the virus.

Peace Mothers District Coordinator, Koinadugu, Hawa Conteh said as most communities in the district are vulnerable, the items will help  protect people from contracting the disease as long as they comply with measures relating to safety.

Customized Peace Mothers soap

In Moyamba, a member of the Inclusive Committee, Gerald Foday said the distribution of the items will help prevent communities from contracting the virus. He said it takes courage and efforts for any organization to engage communities at this crucial moment.

‘Working in communities is good but it is also very important to walk along them in crisis period so that you are part of them and your presence is always felt’, Gerald stressed.

District Coordinator, Emergency Operations Centre, Moyamba, Hon. Joseph Kaindor was grateful to Fambul Tok when he was briefed on the roles the organization continues to play in the district and the country as a whole. He called on other organizations in the District to emulate good examples of Fambul Tok in walking alongside communities especially in turbulent times.

Paramount Chief of Kaiyamba, Foday Momoh Gulama appreciated the efforts of Fambul Tok. He said “this is the type of effort we want to see in communities”

Regent Chief of Fakunya, Chief Jola, was full of joy as all of the communities benefitted from the items. He said “ even though I am new here but I have been briefed on the activities of Fambul Tok in Fakunya chiefdom. I heard about the Fakunya chiefdom plan launched in 2015,this is really good initiative by the organization to include communities in development processes”.

Also, Peace Mothers in various districts are re-doubling their efforts to produce sanitized soap towards handwashing practices in the country.

 

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Peje West chiefdom welcomes People’s Planning Process(PPP)

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Solomon Yarjoh

 

Fambul Tok’s desire to bring the people closer to governance and to involve them in all round planning begins to take root in Peje chiefdom. In collaboration with its partners, Inclusive District Committee, religious leaders, section chiefs, chiefdom speaker, members of the chiefdom committee, CSO representatives, youth leaders, representatives of the ward development committee members and their councilors, Peace mothers and religious leader’s the chiefdom’s peoples planning process kicked off earlier in the year. The meeting gave Fambul Tok the approval to cascade the PPP in the chiefdom.

 

FT staff facilitate a meeting

‘We want to see our chiefdom developed and dwell in peace and harmony.’ This was the impression given by the people of Peje West chiefdom as they held consultations for the development of their peoples planning process. Peje West chiefdom is part of constituency 009 in Kailahun district in eastern Sierra Leone. The constituency is made up of Peje West and Yawie.

The Paramount Chief, Dr. Shamsu Mustapha Ngebeh (VI), was crowned on the 25th January, 2020. The chiefdom went through elections for leadership and the contest was characterised by divisive politicking that undermined the long standing common ancestral ties and enviable unity in the chiefdom. There was one death in the elections violence.

 

“Fambul Tok’s intervention into our communities is very timely as there are serious cracks that need urgent fixing for promoting peace, effective governance and development. We are very confident that this new strategy of inclusive People’s Planning Process will help to promote peace, healing and sustainable development in our chiefdom”: explained Pastor Jonathan K. Musa during the consultations at Bunumbu on the 20th February 2020.

Prior to this period, Peje West had had a fair share of bitter experiences both during the gruesome rebel war and the Ebola epidemic.  “There are vestiges of ruined infrastructures and deep seated grudges among our community members. I accepted the divine call to assume leadership with the conviction that my people, more than ever, needed my vast experience, knowledge and skills in mobilizing the much needed human and material resources for the positive transformation of our chiefdom for the common good of the average citizen and the district at large. This dream remains alive! Therefore, the coming of Fambul Tok and its partners with this inclusive approach to healing and sustainable development is very timely for Peje West Chiefdom”: Paramount Chief Ngebeh (VI).

 

Voting by raising hands to accept the process

“We the people of Peje West chiefdom want to lead in our own recovery from conflicts and address future crisis prevention – and we have demonstrated that we can. We want to be the ones to determine our needs and goals and to be participants in the larger crisis prevention efforts in our chiefdom”: said Peje West mammy queen.

 

In the aftermath of the conflicts resulting from the EVD scourge, as a chiefdom and community, we need to continue our efforts to prevent future health related crises and ensure social cohesion and recovery, through continued community engagement, as well as inter-communal and intra communal surveillance on early warning signs, while at the same time, helping to solve our petty community grievances, she said.

 

In that light we stay committed to facilitating conflict resolution within our communities and redouble our efforts at working with the Community Welfare and Mediation Committees to address existing community conflicts

 

We also want to maintain increased awareness, education and communication on infectious disease outbreak (Ebola) and other health related matters in our communities with emphasis on ensuring greater participation of women and youth. To provide basic education services across Peje West Chiefdom. Effort will be made to ensure that all schools operate in an Ebola-free environment that is safe and supportive of pupils, students, teachers and visitors, they listed as part of their priorities.

 

Now with the COVID 19 pandemic, our resolve remains the same. We shall be steadfast in upholding the EVD protocols and any additional one that are useful in prevention of COVID 19 infections. Our by laws are being invoked.

 

The main trust of our plan will be on community resilience and crises prevention; water and sanitation; education; and agriculture with focus on our cash crops of coffee and cacao. Upland and Swamp land farming, Small scale village savings and loan scheme, Cultivation of cacao and coffee, Rearing of domestic animals on small scale, Adult literacy Programme for women, Feeder road construction and maintenance tools.

 

 

 

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Peace Mothers join fight against COVID 19

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Solomon Yarjoh

 

Peace Mothers in Kono , Kailahun, Pujehun and other districts have decided to join the fight against the pandemic COVID 19 that entered the country barely three weeks ago. This is as the result of earlier experiences gained by them during the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone in 2014.The epidemic left a negative trail as nearly 4000 lives perished.

During the Ebola fight peace mothers in  some chiefdoms stood  up and ensured the disease did not enter their communities. One of such is Libeisaygahun chiefdom in Bombali district (now Karena district).

Surrounded by a number of Ebola affected chiefdoms, Libeisaygahun was the only chiefdom that did not record a single case. How did one chiefdom, surrounded by other communities with Ebola outbreaks, managed to remain Ebola-free?  Fambul Tok Peace Mothers worked in collaboration with community members to compliment the national effort to eradicate Ebola disease in the country by engaging in house-to-house visits to educate (sensitize) community members.

In Kongbora chiefdom, Moyamba district, Peace mothers sensitized communities on safety methods and encouraged members to abide by the rules and bye laws of the chiefdom. Not a single case was recorded till the end of the crisis. Other peace mothers in Koinadugu, Bombali and other areas also joined in that fight to save their communities.

Initially, Government supplied cakes of soap to communities but some people had the myth (conspiracy theory) that it was infected and if they use them, they would be infected too. They did not trust the Government. Pujehun and Kono Peace Mothers played major roles as they produced sanitized cakes of soap that were supplied to households for hand washing purposes. Every household received a pack of soap. They accepted it in good faith without strings attached to it.

Customised Peace Mothers soap

 

 

“We have decided to join this fight again as the disease is a pandemic in the world. We have just finished production of over a thousand cakes of sanitized soap to the supplied to households in different parts of the country” says Sia James, Peace Mother chairlady in Woama, Woafeh section in Tankoro, Kono district

In Upper Bambara chiefdom, Kailahun district, Nganyahun section Peace Mothers chairlady, Musu Kanneh, had a lot of experience in soap making. She travelled 17miles off from Pendembu, all the way to Kailahun town to offer her expertise to other Peace Mothers in soap production. Thousands of cakes of soap were produced.

 

“I know what happened in our chiefdom during the  Ebola epidemic as lots of people got infected because they lacked basic knowledge of hygiene. But through Peace Mothers campaign on safety measures we were able to cut the chain of transmission.  So this time round again Peace Mothers are determined to ensure they join the fight against corona virus.” Madam Kanneh stressed

Princess Gbonda, Peace Mothers chairlady in Kpanga Krim, Pujehun district explained that they played different roles during the Ebola crisis.

“ Pemagbe section here in Kpanga Krim chiefdom and Lower Pember in Malen chiefdom produced thousands of cakes of soap that were supplied to communities across the country.  This was achieved through the donation of local soap making machines from Fambul Tok,” she emphasized. She continued, “ We are determined to join the fight against corona disease as we did the last time to help with good hand washing practices”.

A Peace Mother inspects finished products

“The entire world should learn from peace mothers especially the role they played in sensitizing communities on safe hand washing and other hygiene practices that helped thousands of community members not to contract the Ebola virus and now the corona pandemic too”, Gbonda emphasized.

 

Fambul Tok Kailahun team lead, Lucia Brima said that Peace Mothers in different sections will be charged with the responsibility of sensitizing their communities  to protect themselves from getting the corona virus through simple hand washing techniques.  Hand washing and other precautionary measures will help community members  avoid the disease.

Madam Lucia Brima cautioned that people should visit health facilities if they are sick and frowned at self-medication or the use of traditional medicines

Meanwhile Fambul Tok Kailahun team has donated packages of soap to the Kailahun District Health Emergency Team to help fight the corona disease.

Posted in From the Ground: Program Updates from Sierra Leone, Kailahun District, Kono District, Organization, Peace Mothers, Pujehun District | Tagged | Leave a comment

Kaponpon Peace Mothers group restructured

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Solomon Yarjoh

Before the restructuring,we had a preparedness meeting in  Kaponpon which is the sectional headquarter town of Kaponpon section.The section chief welcome Fambul Tok staff members and said that on behalf of his people and himself they were happy that Fambul Tok has never forgotten about Kaponpon even though there has been long silence between the Kaponpon community and Fambul Tok,but they are happy that the organization is back to start from wher they stopped years back.

He said,’ I want Fambul Tok to know that the men of Kaponpon are more than ready to support our women any way we can to foster development in this community’.In the meeting issues affecting the peace mothers were discussed. Some of them include the long time absence of Fambul Tok staff members from their community and lack of support including financial,material and moral support from Fambul Tok as an organization.

 

The chairlady Fatmata Koroma thanked Fambul Tok team for their timely intervention in their community.She said since the organization entered Kaponpon community,things have changed for the better.The disunity and conflict which used to be amongst members of the community,especially the women,have been put to rest and all the women are now working as one  to foster peace and development in Kaponpon community.

She commended Fambul Tok for their commitment in establishing peace and development in the country as a whole.According to the chairlady,the issues discussed above were some of the reasons why the peace mothers in Kaponpon were dormant for so long.

The peace mothers coordinator of Fambul Tok,Hawa Conteh apologized to the peace mothers on behalf of the organization and the entire community for the break in communications and support.The Coordinator told members that,’the situation was beyond the control of Fambul Tok but we hope and pray that we will continue the good work and you the pece mothers will never stop doing the good things you have learnt from us even if Fambul Tok is not around.

Madam Conteh said Fambul Tok believes in the adage that before you keep hunting for someone,its better you show him or her how to hunt for themselves,so that they will keep on doing it on their own and not depending totally on the help of others.In other words the people should continue their developmental activities and not wait for the help of government or developing partners to foster development in their community.The way forward was discussed by both the peace mothers and the Fambul Tok team

Peace Mother Refresher Training and Restructuring Meeting

Fambul Tok Valesius Kamara talked to the peace mothers on the reason and importance of restructuring the group.He pointed out some of the easons why the various groups were dormant,which  included relocation of members,lack of selflessness,disillusion of some members etc.

In addition,Lucinda Kelly admonished the group to select or re-elect people who will seek the interest of everyone.She adviced them to be role models and also indicated that peace mothers should not be fully involved in partisan politics and should work to maintain peace and development in their community

The peace mothers re-elected their former executive to serve the gruop with one additional female to serve as the Secretary general.This happened because in the formation of the then executive they were unable to have a female to serve in that capacity,so a male teacher was elected as a  Secretary.During the restructuring a lady who was a teacher and also part of Kaponpon community emerged as record taker and recorded proceedings of the day.She was already acting as the Secretary and that was how her name came up to be  Secretary to be assisted by the former secretary.The peace mothers of Kaponpon in Wara Wara Bafodia chiefdom restructuring took place on February 14,2020.

Kaponpon preparedness meeting in progress

Fambul Tok Issa Kamara thanked everyone present  for their efforts to make the meeting a success.Peace mothers treated themselves to light refreshment for their new executives and re-union with the Fambul Tok team.The meeting ended with traditional singing and dancing

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515 Peace Mothers trained in Koinadugu

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Solomon Yarjoh

 

Today in Koinadugu,Peace Mother head,Hawa Conteh,explained “we are crossing rivers and treacherous bridges in order to reach our compatriots in remote areas because we believe in the cause of the peace mothers. Accompanied by colleagues from Fambul Tok and with their material support we can change the lives of our women,who happen to live in one of the districts with the worst statistics in the country especially for women’s empowerment”

The 2020 elections were laced with incidents that trampled the rights of women-especially rural women.In addition the elections resulted in some community leaders switching roles and taking up political appointments.The women too- got affected. Some were so much empowered that they braved it up and succeeded in winning elective offices as local councilors. So the peace mother groups realized the need to restructure in a chess game that will drop weak links and fill vacuums.

 

Peace Mothers in one of the training sessions

We have requested Fambul Tok to follow us as we journey through this process in all nine communities in Koinadugu, she explained to Fambul Tok.The two objectives they set themselves are: to restructure and train peace mother groups at sectional level; and to    build the capacity of peace mothers to enhance effectiveness in promoting community initiatives.The team traveled nine sections in Koinadugu district in the last month.

In one month, nine peace mother groups have been restructured and trained on their roles and responsibilities to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of the groups in their various communities.The participants were drawn from  various sections ( Kondembaia, Heremakono 1, Heremakono 11, Kaponpon, Sokuralla 1 and 11, Koinadugy 11, Fadugu Mandingo, Fadugu Limba and Fangama) in the Koinadugu district. A total of five hundred and fifteen(515) members benefited from the trainings of which four hundred and ninety seven(497) are women and eighteen (18) are men – which include section chiefs,   town chiefs, youth leaders and other key personalities providing support to the women.The meetings were educative and interactive and most participants were able to express themselves and discuss burning issues affecting them in their communities. In discussing the way forward participants were able to develop their activity plans for 2020 farming calendar as most group members are engaged in farming activities

During the restructuring and training process the team delivered topics in promoting community development; roles and responsibilities; and improving work relationship between peace mothers and community stakeholders. The women displayed increased knowledge about the topics.

In interactive sessions, the women identified the issues that are undermining peace and development in the communities, such as lack of access to land and conflict between farmers and cattle herders and; some community men are not supporting women initiatives, with the underlining fear of losing total control(power).

The peace mothers believe after almost a decade of operations in parts of Koinadugu they have learnt several lessons. Among them are if you allow community women to identify their community needs, they will find local solution to solve them.

“We want to strengthen our work in the community and as peace mothers we believe that massive sensitization on the rights of women referencing the three gender laws and the newly enacted sexual offenses Act 2019 are pivotal”, said Mbalia Koroma, former acting section chief of Heremakono in Wara Wara Yagala chiefdom.

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