Women of Hope Moves Forward

While our first month or so here in Sierra Leone was a lot of re-evaluating and preparation for getting the program on its feet, this past month has been very busy and full.  We have been able to get the Women of Hope office up and open for business.

75 Teko Rd, Makeni

We also interviewed many candidates for the staffing positions we needed and hired 3 additional office staff and 2 full-time guesthouse staff.  

The office staff - Hannah, Zainab, "Aminata Alex," Adama and Ruth

Ruth and Hannah are our Field Officers.  They will be having the most direct contact with the women in our program and will be working out in the field in the women's homes and doing training.  Adama is our Logistics Coordinator.  She will coordinate all of the events and activities that we organize for the women, as well as handle logistical arrangements for training events and so forth.  Zainab is the secretary and receptionist and will handle much of the office work.  "Aminata Alex" is our driver and office assistant and has officially dubbed himself a "sister" to blend in better with the rest of the staff.  It takes quite a man to work in an office with all women, and Alex takes it all in stride with a smile.  :-)  

We did have a set-back when the Country Director that we hired discovered on the day before she was to start that she would not be able to take the job.  It threw our first week of training and orientation, and gave us a lot to pray about, but we are taking additional applications now for more interviews - and we trust that God has a plan in all of this.  With our time growing shorter to train and invest in the woman who will hold this critical position in the program, we ask for your fervent prayers as well, as we seek God's plan for this role.  

The key strategy that we will employ to minister to and empower the women in the program is the Community Health Evangelism model, a grass-roots, holistic development model that trains women in the community to go out and train other women in spiritual concepts, health promotion and disease prevention and other community development concepts. This past week we had the first Training of Trainers (TOT) for the CHE strategy, led by Solomon Van Kanei, the consultant who has been working in CHE for the past 20 years.  

Learning the concepts

Adama, our Logistics Coordinator, takes notes during the training on her Braille frame.  Having a woman with a disability on staff has been educational and enlightening for everyone and a good forum for discussions on the issues faced by women with disabilities.  

The whole CHE training team