Annual Reports

STATE AND PROGRESS FOR THE YEAR ENDED APRIL 30, 1998

In this period under review, many Sierra Leoneans including all member associations of CADS were rendered destitute and hopeless, left to grapple with the resulting consequences of an extremely violent coup d'etat led by Major Johnny Paul Koroma on July 24, 1997, ousting the government of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. The coup had its devastating effect on CADS operations. Crops already cultivated by the communal farm associations at Mobekay, Gbonkowailay, Batcomp, Malon, Warayma, Kuranko, Masimbara, Makabie, Malaisoko, Makaray, Rowal, Matimba, Masenk, Makoloh, Foindu, Mawoma, and Masoko were destroyed during the violent war that ensued between rebel soldiers who took over power and the ECOMOG troops backing the ousted Government of President Kabbah. The center and its farm associations lost thousands of dollars in office equipment and crops. Indication in dollar amount of investment made to develop the communal farms during this period is over $19,000. And office equipment to the value of $11,000 were also lost during the violent coup.

Planning Sessions for a New Global Finance and Credit System January 17 - 22, 1998

CADS was invited to be represented and the President/CEO of CADS Mr. Kenday Samuel Kamara participated in Planning Sessions for a New Global Finance and Credit System organized by the Emergency Earth Rescue Administration (EERA). Sessions held at the Heathrow Park Hotel, London, United Kingdom. Travel expenses ($5,000.00) paid for by the Margaret Ann Isely foundation, USA. The Margaret Ann Isely Foundation was a major funding partner of CADS, financially supporting CADS to promote peace and development issues.

Margaret Ann Isely was a visionary with a passion for life. Her spontaneous kindness and tenacious commitment to the earth and all of its creatures, inspired thousands of people to also "make a difference". She was president of the successful Vitamin Cottage Health Food Stores, and Treasurer of the World Constitution and Parliament Association (WCPA).

The Margaret Ann Isely Foundation was established to support Margaret's final vision and her wish to speed the process of retrieving Earth's excess carbon dioxide through the Phytoplankton Project. Margaret's heartfelt desire to avert catastrophic global climate change through the Phytoplankton Project may also be a catalyst for returning needed oxygen to the atmosphere and not, coincidentally, for mending the Earth's Ozone Layer.

Training Seminar on Sustainable Rural Community Development - The Salzburg Seminar.

The Salzburg Seminar is an international forum begun in 1947 by three Harvard University Students to promote dialogue among the young expanded geographically but has retained a core of American Studies. Each year the United States Information Service in Israel (USIS), facilitates the participation of Israelis at sessions of the Salzburg Seminar. These prestigious academic gatherings meet in Salzburg, Austria, for approximately one week each throughout the year. The Salzburg Seminar seeks the participation of articulate mid-career women and men of all nationalities and political persuasions; most fellows are between thirty and forty five years old. There should be a direct connection between the applicants' profession and the subject of the seminar they apply to. Proficiency in spoken and written English is a prerequisite for admission. The primary purpose of Salzburg Seminar session is to promote the exchange of ideas, experience and understanding, and to build links among professionals around the world.

In February 7 - 14, 1998 CADS, represented by the President/CEO of CADS Mr. Kenday Samuel Kamara participated in the Academic Core Session 353 on Sustainable Rural Community Development conducted by the Salzburg Seminar, Schloss Leopoldskron, P.O. Box 129, A-5010 Salzburg, Austria. The President/CEO was sponsored by W.K. Kellog Foundation, One Michigan Avenue, East, Battle Creek, MI 4901-4058, USA with a $6,500.00 scholarship. Over 60 professionals from across the globe participated.

Drawing on examples from Latin America, Africa, the United States, and Central and Eastern Europe, the session sought to understand how vibrant and sustainable rural communities in these regions have learned to encourage and value greater participation by their citizens, including women and youth, while at the same time respecting different social, cultural, and economic perspectives, values, traditions, and aspirations. (Certificate of Fellowship awarded).

The CADS Calendar Project:

The CADS Calendar project was designed to help the center raise some funds to support its work. It was a two-year in one calendar designed to also promote the various programs of CADS as the center's programs are summarized in the calendar. 10,000 calendars were printed and sold locally.

Production Cost: Le550,000
Sold at: Le500 per calendar
Total Sales: 7,345 calendars @ Le500 = Le3,672,500

STATE AND PROGRESS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH APRIL, 1999.

In February, the Government of President Kabbah that was in exile in Conakry, Guinea was restated when ECOMOG troops intervened militarily and drove the AFRC government of Johnny Paul Koroma which held the country for 10 months under sanctions of the United Nations Security Council. CADS was able to start its operations by hosting its 2nd Annual Sensitization Conference on May 3rd, 1998 at the Miata Conference Center, Youyi Building, Freetown - Sierra Leone.

Keynote Statement Made by the President/CEO of CADS Sierra Leone: Kenday Samuel Kamara, on the Occasion of the May 1, 1998 Sensitization Conference held at the Miata Conference Center in Freetown.

Mr. Chairman, Deputy Commissioner - NCRRR, NGO Desk Coordinator, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow Colleagues in CADS - Good Morning. Today we again feel safe in our troubled country to gather here to talk about development issues and the action CADS is taking to address these issues. And I personally thank you, and for and on behalf of my staff and our beneficiary members. You are welcome to our 2nd Annual Sensitization Conference celebrating nine years of service to our troubled country.

Knowledge is like light. Weightless and intangible, it can easily travel the world, enlightening the lives of people everywhere. Yet billions of people still live in the darkness of illiteracy and poverty - unnecessarily. Knowledge about how to treat such a simple ailment as diarrhea has existed for centuries - but millions of children continue to die from it because their parents do not know how to save them. That qualifies the reason for our Annual Sensitization Conference - to continue the process of education. To continue the process of enlightening Sierra Leoneans and our government to the true principles of survival and national prosperity through pursuit and implementation of plausible and sustainable alternative development strategies our center exists for. In providing such crucial channels of participation, this needs articulation and advocacy for individual citizens and policy makers in our government to fully understand the rubrics of our CADS agenda and we must strive for participatory process of the eventual sustainable development of our country driven by the knowledge of the citizenry.

With the growing complexity of the challenges confronting our country, the CADS agenda values the expanding role of civil society in governance and development, and a strong need for research-based knowledge on the crucial challenges facing our civil society, especially our rural communities which are often slighted and neglected when it comes to development issues. How we are going to strategize to get the message of our CADS agenda for practical and sustainable development heard nationally and internationally, is all we care about now.

Therefore, bringing together today civil society activists and practitioners, our rural beneficiaries as well as government leaders, to understand the core issues facing our society and to generate new knowledge and innovation in practice consistent with the objects of CADS is all what we have so far to strongly project our message.

Our CADS national strategy recognizes the critical role of rural communities in the development process of our country. Since 1996 when we had actually focussed our energies to participate in the sustainable development of Sierra Leone, we had contemplated on many alternative strategies we believe would alleviate the inadequacies of our society.

Our unique approach towards agricultural sector development - the Communal farming System agricultural sector development strategy is one of our very serious agenda. Last year, notwithstanding the extreme violence that overwhelmed us, we had tested our CFS strategy in the rural communities of Koya and York and we are satisfied with the results even though out of the 17 communal farms we cultivated only 5 we harvested because the other 14 participating farm associations abandoned their villages because of rebel activities in their areas. We were however able to prove that the CFS approach would certainly help in agricultural sector development. The outcome of that crop season for the five communal farms we were able to harvest benefited the participating farmers and their communities - 70 acres of swamp and upland rice and 28 acres of vegetables were cultivated. And at the harvesting season these cultivated acreage through the CFS system provided food and seeds to our beneficiaries during that darkest year in the history of Sierra Leone.

The CFS strategy therefore provides for the center to work directly with the farming associations, entering into a CFS joint venture agreement which dictates the center providing farm inputs to small farmers in the various rural communities of Koya and York Rural, through the farm associations in return for the small farmers who are members of the communal farming associations to provide the land and labor. The CFS strategy itself encourages farmers' independence. The center works through farming associations headed by the community chiefs and/elders, and this provides the independence for village communities to work among themselves which makes the system itself very effective. The Chairmen or chairladies of the various farming associations in the Koya and York Rural receive the farm inputs provided by CADS as dictated by the CFS joint venture and they distribute these inputs to their small farmers subjects only when they have verified their small farmer subjects have secured farm lands and have the labor to carry out the work. As such the small farmers are subcontracted by their farming associations.

In general, the majority of small holders operates under customary land tenure laws in these rural communities which, among other things, permits and recognizes the rights of individual families to access community lands. These rights, covering allocation and usage are granted through tribal custodians of chiefs and elders, and remain valid so long as the land is tended.

The bottom line of the CFS agricultural development strategy is the sharing of harvested proceeds. According to the system, 45% of proceeds from harvested produce is received by each participating farmers. It is the responsibility of CADS also as an entrepreneurship development and business promotion nonprofit to helping participating farmers with the 45% harvested proceeds to start or develop their own post harvest businesses. CADS provides basic business training in six sessions held in each farming community. CADS does not just stop at having these farmers start businesses, future programs include monitoring through periodic visits to the farmers' post harvest businesses in order to ensure they maintain basic records, providing follow up training as necessary, and assist these farming enterprises in solving problems or in securing additional resources where possible.

15% from each participating farmers goes to the farming association. CADS ensures that the 15% received by the communal farming association from participating farmers are accordingly utilized by way of funding community projects like supporting health centers, provision of educational materials to disadvantaged rural school going children, feeder roads construction and/or maintenance, and micro loan financing of post harvest income generation activities like soap making, gara tye dyeing, blacksmithy, "Lumor" Public Market Trading, etc.

CADS is receiving 30% from harvested proceeds to be utilized in related administrative and extension services costs. CADS has a vision to be financially self sustainable in due course. The 30% is therefore a necessary derivation from the CFS joint venture to strengthen CADS in order to be able to independently pursue projects in future without having to suffer the usual delays and rigorous donor support procedures the center continues to experience.

And there is the 10% from each participating farmer's harvested proceeds CADS and the various farming associations jointly put aside. Each community association jointly maintain a bank account with CADS to save the 10% for the repayment of any loans taken during the implementation of the project . If there are no loans at all to repay, these savings obviously go back to the communities by contributing the 10% to a revolving fund maintained by each community association to further help finance post harvest income generation activities in their local communities. From this fund, small amounts of money are systematically disbursed to participating communal farmers. This surely makes the difference in their capacities to start and sustain individual productive and much needed post harvest businesses.

Therefore, as a proven agricultural development strategy for sustainable rural community development, the center had submitted a presentation of this strategy to the 30th Annual International Conference of the Community Development Society in Kansas City, Missouri, when this society called for papers. The presentation made by CADS was thus approved by the CDS and was proudly selected and will be sponsored to attend the conference. And I will be attending this conference scheduled to be held at the Omri Hotel from July 18 - 21, 1998 in Kansas. In a letter addressed to me, this is what CDS has to say:

Dated: April 30, 1998
Attn: Kenday Samuel Kamara
The Center for Alternative Development Strategies CADS Sierra Leone
45 Bathurst Street - PMB 1290 Freetown - Sierra Leone

Dear Kenday: I am pleased to inform you that the proposal, "Communal Farming Systems," you submitted for the annual conference of the Community Development Society has been accepted by the Program Committee. By Ma1 you will be able to find the complete program on the CDS www site [http://www.comm-dev.org] and learn when your proposal has been scheduled on the program. I will also be sending you a second letter with this information and the session chair designated. Remember that all presenters are expected for the conference as participants. I have enclosed a page outlining the formats for concurrent sessions. Please take note of these format outlines for paper, panel, workshop, etc., sessions.

I strongly encourage you to plan your presentation or workshop session with these guidelines in mind. After all, those who attend the annual conference have great expectations for what they might learn and for actively participating in that learning activity, individually and jointly. The Program Committee wishes to stress its belief in the importance of following these guidelines.

The 1998 CDS annual conference will be packed with sessions and will include several innovative changes in the format. Your contribution will help all participants learn something new about community development to help improve their professional practice. And, as usual, we will learn from each other as participants and presenters exchange roles and knowledge.

I look forward to seeing you in Kansas, July 19 - 22, 1998 for an exciting professional development experience.

Cordially, Kenneth E. Pigg Vice President, Program

Furthermore, CADS has been considering many other programs like its Women's Development Program, a project which values strategic measures to make better the plight of women and children taking into cognizance five categories of policy approaches i.e. welfare, anti-poverty, equity, efficiency and empowerment.

There is also the center's micro enterprise Rehabilitation Fund (MERFUND), a program of business initiatives administered by the center's Micro Enterprise Administration to help rehabilitate businesses affected by the spate of massive looting and vandalizing of business houses when the government of President Kabbah was violently overthrown by the Armed Forces revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) that culminated in the disruption of political, economic and social order in Sierra Leone.

CADS is also concerned about the plight of the disabled in the country. Disability has been a pervasive problem in Sierra Leone. And the plight of the disabled is generally miserable, deprived, discriminated, neglected and ignored. They hardly have access to development facilities, employment opportunities and social amenities. Even parents neglect the welfare of their disabled family members. These victims are generally considered unproductive and a burden. CADS has therefore volunteered to cater for and effectively coordinate much needed assistance to these victims.

In summing up my statement, Mr. Chairman, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I think what we are doing in CADS is a laudable undertaking. I am particularly enchanted by the ingenuity and industriousness of my staff. Their work and the work of the entire center are what I would like to call a high degree of patriotism. The likes of us should be encouraged both in our country and abroad to achieve our national development objectives. But I must say this, we are not at all encouraged. Our fundraising efforts have all the time been futile. Even local and international aid agencies have been uncooperative in supporting our important work. And that is bad. And that's why when I extended our invitations to the NCRRR and the NGO desk of the Ministry of Finance, Economic planning and development, I had categorically asked these departments that certainly exist to coordinate support for the work of local nonprofits like CADS to come to our Annual Sensitization Conference to tell us what really are their roles in non-governmental work. I therefore hope we will know today what these departments have for us and our target beneficiaries, and what help they can generate nationally and internationally to support CADS in its genuine efforts in pursuing its national development objectives. Thank you all.

Statement Made by the Commissioner, NCRRR On the Occasion of the Annual Sensitization Conference of CADS On the Role of the NCRRR:

Mr. Chairman, the trustees, the executives of affiliated member associations and cooperatives of CADS, our good friend the Paramount Chief of Koya Chiefdom, the Press, distinguished Ladies and gentlemen, let me start by thanking the CADS Management for extending an invitation to National Commission for Reconstruction, Resettlement and Rehabilitation.

According to its mandate, the NCRRR has a key role to play in the planning and implementation of government's Resettlement and Rehabilitation Program. The NCRRR has been mandated to oversee the socio-economic recovery process of Sierra Leone, after over seven years of an unnecessary rebel insurgency and ten months of junta misrule.

Specifically, NCRRR has been charged with providing overall policy guidance and developing the program framework for the nation's recovery, seeking funding from donor nations and organizations for this purpose, coordinating the activities of all relevant actors and sectors, monitoring and evaluation of the entire recovery process.

By the nature of its functions, the NCRRR is not an implementing agency, but achieves by working with implementing partners who have the capacity and experience to implement the recovery program. Implementing partners usually non-governmental organizations (NGOs) both international and local, line ministries if they have the capacity to implement projects and private contractors. Projects, formulated for the rehabilitation of infrastructure and resettlement of internally displaced Persons (IDPs) are not imposed from above but formulated with the participation of those who would be the beneficiaries.

Consequently, the approach that is practiced, which ensures that the target beneficiaries themselves are involved in their own welfare, is the bottom-up approach. This means that projects can only be formulated in the field, in areas that are affected by the war. After over nine months of AFRC/RUF catastrophe, we no longer differentiate between areas that are behind rebel lines and those that are not. The entire country has been devastated by the acts of wicked and unscrupulous people. If anything, the task confronting us is much greater and needs the urgent attention of the Government the people of Sierra Leone, the donor community and the NGOs.

To succeed in its mandate, the NCRRR is structured in a way that would enable it to reach the grassroots. Apart from the central office in Freetown, it maintains offices in the provincial headquarter towns and districts, adequately staffed with the necessary expertise to carry out its activities in the field. The officers of NCRRR work in close collaboration with the line ministries in the various regions of the country and the NGO community who usually maintain a very strong presence in the field. Since the activities of the NCRRR cut right down to chiefdom level, there is provision in the program of recovery to develop and work with chiefdom-Based Organizations (CBOs), all in the process of enhancing the participatory process in the program of reconstruction and rehabilitation. As we are all aware, no matter how elaborate our programs and projects, no matter how well they are formulated, they can only be implemented if the resource needs can be met, either from domestic or foreign sources.

Sad to say, when one takes into account the fate that befell this country during the rebel war and after, the ability to finance the recovery program from domestic sources is severely constrained. The two largest mines, rutile and bauxite from which the Government derived much revenue have not been in operation since 1995, agricultural output has also been low, because of the rebel war, and business has been severely affected. However, the government anticipates sourcing the international donor community for the resources needed to implement its recovery program; resources for this purpose had been trickling in through the international NGOs before the coup d'etat of May 25, 1997. This was facilitated by the UNDP, which convened a Round Table Conference on Sierra Leone's recovery program in September, 1996 in Geneva. At this meeting, you may recall, donors, both bilateral and multilateral, pledged a total US$232million (Two Hundred and Thirty Two Million Dollars) to the recovery program.

Following on the UNDPs efforts, the World Bank also convened a Consultative Group Meeting on Sierra Leone in March 1997, in Paris. At this meeting a total $642 million (Six Hundred and Forty Two Million Dollars was pledged towards the country's rehabilitation and economic reform programs. Now, let me take this opportunity to make some clarifications on certain issues that have been misconstrued. Many people in the past were of the opinion that the pledges made at these meetings were actual resources that had been bequeathed to the Government. Unfortunately, this was not the case. These were only pledges or promises made by the donor community. Until these pledges or promises were honored, they were just promises not yet translated to real resources.

Unfortunately, the coup cased a temporary abrogation of our programs, especially after the donor community suspended all assistance to Sierra Leone. Now that the democratically - elected government has been re-instated, the rehabilitation and resettlement program will be vigorously pursued by government. Where are we on the 90-Day Program??? Well, so far, there are no funds for this program, but donors are expected this week end. In fact, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the European Union, are already here, and we are anticipating as well bilateral sources for this program. To conclude, let me state once more, that for NCRRR to perform its duties effectively, it must have the cooperation of NGOs.

With regards to accessing resources, NGOs must prepare well thought-out projects in cooperation of the commission. The guiding principle is that there must always exist an atmosphere of respect and understanding between NGOs, the target beneficiaries and the Commission. I thank you all.

Statement Made by the NGO Desk Coordinator, Mr. A R Dumbuya on the Role of NGO Desk in the Ministry of Finance, Development and Economic Planning.

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen: It gives me great pleasure to be invited by the Center for Alternative Development Strategies to talk or brief you on the ROLE OF THE NGO DESK IN THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING.

The topic as I see it is purely factual and as such limited in terms of how the presenter would want the Desk Office to function. Mr. Chairman, before the Lakka Workshop of 7-9 June, 1994 and the eventual approval by Council of the Procedures, Policies and Guidelines for the Collaboration between the Government and Non-Governmental Organizations operating in Sierra Leone, NGO operations in this country was an every body's and all ministry's affairs. What this meant was that every ministry or department was doing some kind of registration and certification. This meant that organization "A" would be registered in one, two or three Ministries/Departments and the case may be. This proved tedious and cumbersome. It was this laborious process of registering in several Ministries/Departments coupled with other problems that prompted Government to mandate the then Ministry of Planning and Economic Development to play a coordinating role in all matters of NGO operations in Sierra Leone.

In sum, the Ministry was charged with the under-mentioned responsibilities:

a) Facilitate NGOs especially International NGOs in matters relating to the recruitment of their expatriate staff, extension of visas, duty free waivers, etc.

b) Register, (work with an Inter-Agency Committee comprising senior staff of line Ministries and SLANGO).

c) Certify d) Monitor and Evaluate NGO programs

e) Discuss NGO programs with a view to determining areas of operation, sectors, funding sources and amounts, to avoid duplication of efforts on the one hand and the equitable and efficient use of the captured resources on the other hand.

f) It also serves as an information dissemination desk.

g) Advocacy for partnership where the opportunities and institutional capacities exist.

Mr. Chairman, you will agree with me that NGOs are institutions through which lots and lots of financial and other resources come into this country. The NGO Desk Office in an attempt at fulfilling its role has established a data bank which has helped not only the Government of Sierra Leone in knowing the quantum of Aid in the couture through these institutions but has also helped consultants, students and other interested parties seeking information on NGO activities in Sierra Leone. Minimum use has been made of the Desk Office by the agents for which it was created. For example, for most NGOs the collection of their registration certificate and the signed country Agreement is like driving them away from the NGO Desk Office. But for those who have made it a responsibility to liaise with the Desk Office can safely say that they have realized some benefits, either by way of relevant information or networking.

Finally, Mr. Chairman may I end up by encouraging NGOs to make the maximum use of the Desk Office which will prove beneficial to NGO operations. I thank you for sparing your time to listening to me. God bless you all. For more Information about the work of the NGO Desk Office, Contact:

The NGO Desk Office
Rm. W602 6th Floor - Youyi Building
Freetown - Sierra Leone Tel: (232 22) 240548

The General Secretary of the Council of Churches Sierra Leone (CCSL), Mr. Alimamy Koroma eruditely chaired the conference. Conference

Expenditure: $7,869.00 (Major funding for the state and progress of CADS for the Year Ended 30th April, 1998 came from the Margaret Ann Isely Foundation (MAI), USA.

Charitable and Humanitarian Endeavor

Because we are a humanitarian organization, existing to provide service for practical and sustainable development, we are often approached by many needy persons. And it was a pity to see an extremely disadvantaged orphan boy child knocking at our doors seeking assistance when in fact we did not always have the finances international NGOs like ICRC, Action Aid, among others, controlled. So by just looking at our finances, so meager as they always were because of extremely stingy donor support, it was almost a matter of saying "No, we could not help because our finances would not allow us" to the people turning to us for help. But, in the case of Ibrahim Deen Turay, we had found it extremely difficult to shut our doors to this young boy of 14, who was slowly dying of a broken leg that was going very bad, and needed an operation by a bone specialist to save his leg and his life. The entire operation including drugs, hospital bed, and living costs for the days in hospital plus the doctor's fees amounted to Le480,000. CADS donated this amount to pay for the operation.

Ibrahim Turay is a disadvantaged orphaned boy child that has a right to live. He would have as a matter of fact died of blood poisoning if CADS had not acted the way it to pay the Le480,000 to the bone specialist Dr. SUM Jah to save this boy child's leg that had so badly gone bad. The operation was carried out in July 8, 1998, and it saved the leg of Ibrahim Turay. CADS was proud to undertake such humanitarian gesture.

THE CENTER FOR ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES (CADS) SIERRA LEONE PROJECT FOR THE DISABLED.

Under this period under review again, a needs assessment statement dated May 25, 1998 was presented to the CEO of CADS by the Progressive Handicapped Development Association signed by the Chairman of the association, Mr. Thomas Sinneh Bendu. The statement generally described the plight of the disabled in Sierra Leone as being deprived, discriminated against, ignored and suffered neglect from both the Government and the people of Sierra Leone. Following this statement from the PHDA, CADS further consulted with the PHDA executive to design a project, titled CADS Project for the Disabled.

Presentation of CADS Sierra Leone:

CADS was thought of in 1989, and registered to start operating officially as a nonprofit in 1991. The idea of such an organization was born out of a series of groundwork in the form of baseline surveys on the needs of rural and urban communities where socio-economic structures have been devastated by political conflicts and decades of bad governance. The organization is a nonprofit venture using interdisciplinary strategies to solve rural and urban problems.

Presentation of the CADS Project for the Disabled:

Disability has been a pervasive problem in Sierra Leone. The many causes of disability range from accident, witchcraft, paralysis, and some times amputation of arms and legs. The ongoing conflict in Sierra Leone between the RUF rebels and the Government of Sierra Leone is now a major cause of disability as thousands of innocent, already deprived and disadvantaged rural poor are maimed and tortured everyday by RUF rebels, and most of these victims are rendered disabled. There are therefore various classes of disables - polio victims, the blind, the deaf and dumb, and the amputees. The worst form of disability however are the polio victims, the blind and the amputees/maimed. The deaf and dumb are independent disabled that can do most things for themselves without assistance.

The plight of the disabled in Sierra Leone is generally miserable, deprived, discriminated, neglected and ignored. They hardly have access to development facilities, employment opportunities and social amenities. Even parents neglect the welfare of their disabled family members. These victims are generally considered unproductive and a burden. The only institution that has proved so instrumental to alleviate the plight of the disabled in Sierra Leone over the years is the Roman Catholic Mission. This mission has religiously worked since its existence in Sierra Leone to seek the welfare of all categories of the disabled, educate them and employ them. But even with the good work of the Catholic Mission, greater attention still needs to be given to the disabled in Sierra Leone. There are thousands of them still in the streets as beggars/street mendicants. As such, the work of the Catholic Mission needs to be complemented by resourceful non-governmental interventions coordinated by NGOs like CADS Sierra Leone to implement projects that will enhance sustainability among the disabled, and improve their economic socio-economic conditions.

The Center for Alternative Development Strategies (CADS) Sierra Leone, in its drive to cater for the disadvantaged people in Sierra Leone has therefore targeted three groups of polio and maimed war victims whose problems and needs have been of immense proportion. Already CADS has identified and is organizing a group of disabled and maimed victims if the Eastern region of Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone and has so far registered 98 (ninety eight) polio and maimed war victims (62 polio victims and 36 amputees who are victims of the ongoing conflict in Sierra Leone). Also a newly formed association of disgruntled polio victims, who have organized and called themselves THE PROGRESSIVE HANDICAPPED DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (PHDA) at Kissy Bye Pass Road in Freetown, with a membership of 78 polio victims has affiliated to CADS. And CADS has also identified a group at Lumpa, a rural area in the Koya Rural, and has registered 197 polio and maimed victims (87 polio victims and amputees).

CADS has therefore volunteered to cater for and effectively coordinate much needed assistance to these victims. And according to baseline surveys conducted by CADS it is discovered that these victims are faced with myriad of problems:

I) Accommodation: A good number of especially polio victims registered usually sleep in open market places, abandoned vehicles ad dilapidated buildings. Even the few ones that have been fortunate to be housed have not been provided with proper accommodation. A classical example discovered, the International Organizations of Good Templars (IOGT) House of Jesus for the disabled in Freetown whose inhabitants are generally polio there is a total number of 90 (ninety) polio victims accommodated in their facility which is supposed to house only 40 (forty) people, the rest therefore sleep on bare ground. It is also no hidden secret that the few mattresses available in this home have been infested with bed bugs to the discomfort of the inhabitants.

II) Feeding: Another problem that is posing a threat on the lives of the disabled is the nutritional aspect. It is abundantly clear from surveys conducted that polio and war amputees do fend for themselves because there is no ready source of income. Some had to go from place to place to beg thereby becoming street mendicants. For most of them their disability had not permitted them to engage in any revenue generating activities.

III) Clothing and Medicare: the disabled, in the eyes of many, have been deemed to be a burden to society ad as a result providing clothing and assorted medicines on a free of cost basis will deprive the government of its much needed revenue. Therefore this problem has been left unattended to. There were reported cases of deaths ion the street corners of the city. Since nobody cares for the disabled so also there are no doctors to treat them for their various ailments. In fact, clothing has been considered to be a private affair of the disabled.

IV) Mobility: The issue of mobility has been most crucial for the disabled. For instance, consider a situation wherein the disabled had to cover a distance of just 100 meters from point A to point B. the time taken to negotiate such a distance with crude aiders/sticks as is normally the case is too much heartrending. There are virtually no wheel chairs for polio victims and the few ones available to those who could afford them have been in deplorable condition. On the other hand, for those wishing to board a taxi/bus to attend important businesses have not been treated well by the drivers of such vehicles.

V) Education: The disabled have got God-given talents which society have not been able to harness properly. Some already have the potential to succeed up to university level but because of their disability they could not do so. Since government has not set up the proper structures like the provision of wheel chairs and softer learning methods, the disabled have not been able to exhibit these talents for the benefit of society as a whole. In fact, others might fit into vocational institutions but because of their disability they become drop outs in society.

Recently, there was a panel discussion on disability on Radio FM 98.1. The panelists discussed wide range of issues on disability ad appealed to Government to impress upon the educational authorities that more softer learning techniques be put in place for the benefit of the disabled in our society.

VI) Employment: Even though some had to undergo all odds to achieve whatever education they might be able to achieve, it is disheartening to say that the demand for disabled graduates whether from university or vocational institutions is sometimes viewed as nil or very low in the Sierra Leone scenario. Despite the fact that efforts are been made to provide jobs for educated youth but their disability will render them unemployed because of the perception of normal people.

The Aim of CADS Project for the Disabled:

The overriding aim of this intervention is to develop a sustained socio-economic base for the disabled: Objectives: The objectives of this intervention are:

i) Trace, repatriate and resettle disable persons and maimed victims of the ongoing conflict in Sierra Leone.

ii) To provide decent accommodation for homeless disabled amputees and polio victims.

iii) To feed, clothe and provide Medicare and mobility for the disadvantaged disabled.

iv) To help the disabled to have access to more educational and training opportunities.

v) To cater for scholarships for the disabled.

vi) To establish and maintain a counseling committee so as you be able to counsel, advise, encourage and assess the capabilities o most of the disabled and maimed victims of the war in choosing, continuing and changing careers.

vii) To support and enhance health education services in urban and rural areas so as to help pregnant women and suckling mothers to get the right medical treatment and under-five care advise and treatment to alleviate the incidence of disability.

viii) To sensitize the Government and Non-governmental institutions including business houses to extend employment opportunities to qualified disabled.

ix) To establish recreational centers for the disabled in Sierra Leone.

Strategies and Methodology:

The project is designed to be in the following phases:

Phase I: Disabled and maimed victims of the war are identified and registered in Freetown and the Koya Rural. This phase is ongoing.

Phase II: At this stage, a rural and urban participatory appraisal is undertaken to identify and assess the developmental needs of the disabled community and maimed victims of the war within a self-sustainable focus.

Phase III: An interdisciplinary team has been at work to work with the disabled community and the maimed victims on the resource needs of the project target populace.

Phase IV: Generate required resources to address needs of the disabled and maimed victims. This is a strategy CADS is religiously pursuing.

Phase V: Establishment of Food Banks for the disadvantaged disabled and maimed victims.

Phase VI: Establishment of Emergency Shelter Centers for the disadvantaged disabled polio and maimed victims to better care for them while working on alternative for permanent placement into safe homes.

Phase VII: Establishment of Trades and Training centers for the skilled disabled artisans to engage them in productive and profitable employment; and to train the unskilled disabled to acquire trades skills.

Activities:

To implement this project, the following activities will be undertaken on the basis of the phases of the project.

Activity I:

i) A CADS registration team is still engaged on an ongoing registration process of disadvantaged disabled and maimed victims in the country.

ii) Basic resettlement assistance has commenced for disabled and maimed registrants (food, clothing, utensils, etc. are provided) with limited funds of CADS.

Activity II:

i) Recruit and train a Participatory Disabled and Maimed Victims Appraisal (PDEVA) Team. This has been accomplished.

ii) Carry out PDEVA in the rural areas of Koya and York districts and the Freetown Urban Area. This is on course.

Activity III:

i) Project staff (Disabled Project Coordinator (DPC), social workers and counselors) are assessing, together with the disabled community, their disabled needs for the implementation of the project.

ii) A report is compiled on the needs of the disabled and maimed community by project staff.

Activity IV:

i) Collaborate with partners and appropriate funding agencies for the successful implementation of the project. Partners and appropriate funding agencies are expected to fund specific needs of the target beneficiaries.

Activity V:

i) Build and equip two (2) Food Banks in Freetown and one (1) in Lumpa in the Koya district and another one (1) in York Rural.

ii) Secure food supplies (rice, bulgur, oil, beans, milk, etc.) to maintain the Food Banks.

Activity VI:

i) Build, equip and furnish two (2) Emergency Shelter Centers in Freetown and one (1) in Lumpa to accommodate at least 120 disabled victims in each of the three Centers.

Generally, the disabled in Sierra Leone are perceived by the entire society as incapable, condemned to a world of begging and handouts. This leaves the disabled desolate and isolated from society. CADS Sierra Leone is now prepared to cast off these wrong notions and to enable the disabled embrace a sense of self worth and personal confidence. Donors support therefore will certainly create a great world of difference among the disabled polio and maimed victims of the war in Sierra Leone.

Note: The center launched an aggressive fundraising campaign to raise funds for this project to get off the ground. Over Le1,000,000 was spent on mailings overseas to possible donors. Not a single positive response received.

WOMEN'S DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM OF THE CENTER FOR ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES (CADS) SIERRA LEONE

Background:

Women and children in Sierra Leone account for 70% of the population, and have as consequence, been targeted as the main beneficiaries of programs in the social sector (health, education and social welfare). Women have, because of their predominance in the agricultural sector, also been the target beneficiaries of various programs of the Government, however has been minimal. Therefore, to help address the situation of women and children in order to create the desired impact on their lives, the Women's Development Program of CADS was created in April, 1993.

The mandate of WDP is to advocate, coordinate and monitor more equitable allocation and rationale use of financial, human and organizational resources at all levels of society in favor of children and women. And, in order to facilitate the process and lay down guidelines for its activities, WDP has embarked on the development of a 5 - 10 year plan of action. The plan of action is derived from the systematic analysis of development policies and programs, which has led to the mapping out of appropriate strategies and implementation framework.

WDP Program Approaches:

The expected outcome of overall development is to make benefits available to all. This has not been the case and women and children have been list likely to benefit from development efforts. As a consequence, WDP has taken strategic measures to make better plight of women and children taking into cognizance five categories of policy approaches i.e. welfare, anti-poverty, equity, efficiency and empowerment.

WDP's welfare approach is non-controversial and focuses on the provision of welfare services like those in the area of health/family planning and nutrition. Its equity approach encourages women to be seen as active participants in development, and to gain social and economic equity, etc. for all women. The anti-poverty approach seeks to increases women's productivity through access to productive resources. This we are doing through income generation projects, etc. And our empowerment approach recognizes gender relations as an important variable that needs to be tackled within a wider context. It is important to appreciate here that all the identified stages above provide essential elements towards an overall concerted strategy by WDP towards women's empowerment and gender equality.

And there is an obvious inter-linkage between children's survival and development and the status of women. Empirical evidence shows that there is a direct correlation between the chances of survival and the educational level of a child and the well being and educational level of the mother.

Our WDP program interventions as a consequence have attempted to address child survival and development, through our women's programs. All the programs of WDP have the objective relating to participation. And all these programs address the strategic gender needs of women by bringing them into the decision-making machinery of WDP and the larger machinery of CADS. In a number of areas, due to the reticence of women, specific strategies are adopted to encourage their effective participation in the decision making. In some mixed program of the larger machinery, this problem is addressed by establishing committees for women. This enables women to interact and articulate their ideas before reporting to the larger mixed committees. And in some programs, women in various communities are proposed as members of WDP's decision making committees, proposed largely by virtue of their roles in their various communities in general, such as Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), Mammy Queens, Chair Ladies, etc.

Relationship between CADS and the larger CADS Organization:

WDP works in collaboration with CADS and the other specialized projects of CADS in addressing the needs of women and children. It is a department of CADS with greater autonomy in its operations and exclusively coordinated by women with the total responsibility to raise awareness recognition of the gender gap in Sierra Leone and take positive steps to narrow gender disparities, child abuse, and violence against women. CADS helps to investigate and to mobilize sources of funding and other resources both local and international in support of WDP projects. The center also helps to advocate for rational allocation and use of resources to gender and child related activities.

The Primary Goals of WDP:

A) To mobilize rural women to fight against poverty.

B) To responsibly collaborate with the efforts of the Government and of other NGOs, UNICEF and donor agencies in addressing the needs of women and children.

C) To encourage women in the rural communities of Koya and York districts to organize themselves into associations to engage in productive enterprises.

Specific Activities of WDP to Achieve these Goals:

Basically, WDP has focussed its attention to its anti-poverty policy approach to increase women's productivity through access to productive resources and has been very successful in implementing in partnership with its women member groups, the Communal farming System (CFS), the center's unique strategy in agricultural sector development. The CFS strategy benefited 17 rural communities in the Koya and York Rural, and WDP directly coordinated 7 exclusively women associations from the 17 participating rural communities.

Women's Action for Welfare and Awakening in Rural Environment Project:

WDP is also coordinating a Women's Action for Welfare and Awakening in Rural Environment Project in the rural communities of Tombo, Makoloh, Warayma, Fabaina, Makabie, Mawoma, Foindu, Masoko, Makairay, Petfu-Hamburg, Batcomp, Fabaina, Gbonkowailay and Brama Junction in the Koya and York rural districts. WDP believes mere money and material are not sufficient to develop the rural poor women. WDP has realized that awareness is a precondition for development. It is the basic need to awaken people and prepare them to identify their own problems and to prepare them to devise their own solutions and plan of action. WDP believes that the oppressed must not only recognize that they are oppressed but also must be aware of what they can do, legally, peacefully, and conditionally to overcome their oppression. In other words, WDP has also devoted itself to adult literacy program among the Koya and York Rural women.

In this WDP project, the rural women frequently meet to find mutual solutions to common problems. To learn basic skills to read and write. All participating women are gaining new attitudes, new skills and new information. This project, about six months old, has been very successful.

The January 1999 rebel attack of the capital city, Freetown and its Peninsula area which include the operational areas of CADS in the York and Koya Rural Districts, killing thousands of civilians within two weeks of extreme bloodbath, again crippled the operations of CADS. The center tragically lost one of its trustees, Mr. Momoh A. Mansaray, and one of its staff member, Mr. Abdulai Jalloh, Editor of the Sierra Leone Digest journal, both killed during the fighting between government forces and rebels of the RUF and soldiers of the AFRC.

No agricultural activity undertaken during this period because rebels of the RUF were constantly harassing civilians, attacking their communities and lopping off arms of their victims.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY FOR THE YEARS ENDED APRIL 30, 1998, 1999, 2000 AND 2001.

CADS program accomplishments during the fiscal years 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001mirrored years the center struggled with tireless enthusiasm to harness its limited resources to support programs that accounted for 95% of total expenses. Both revenues and program expenses did not exceed the budgets for the charted programs of the center, because of lack of substantial donor support. This had significant implications for the center's program activities.

With the limited revenue generated, CADS was able to engage in major programs on its Communal Farming System (CFS) strategy on agricultural sector development (1998/1999), the CADS Mariner project (1999/2000), the Beneficiaries Assembly and Annual Sensitization Conference (1998), and the Needs Assessment Program (2001). These investments challenged the center but did not adversely affect its post investment income generation plan - the center's CFS was income generating just as its CADS Mariner Project.

Grant making donor support from international foundations, corporations and individuals continued to be the lifeblood of CADS revenue base. But because of delay and frustrating constraints in getting donor support, the CADS program is effectively developing income generation strategies through entreprenuership endeavors, to generate sufficient unrestricted revenues by which CADS will be able to operate better.

CADS Strategic plan, as approved by the Board of Trustees, commits the organization to a strong continuing presence in the rural areas of Koya and York districts.

To meet its goals, as the organization tried in the fiscal years 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001, CADS will have to strengthen its capabilities relying even more heavily on the expertise of its staff and volunteers and on the generosity of grant making foundations, corporations and benevolent individuals.

Finally, a word on the limitations of a financial report: Achievements can be measured on a balance sheet but success can only be gauged in the communities and areas of activities where CADS is active. The CADS agenda has the potential to positively impact more lives and communities if supported by the donor constituency. The center's sustained commitment and tireless enthusiasm to developing sustainable alternatives for practical development remains standard.

Bankers: The Center for Alternative Development Strategies (CADS) Sierra Leone Account Number: 210 - 07704 - 01 Account Type: Current: In Account With: Union Trust bank Ltd. - PMB 1237, Lightfoot Boston Street, Freetown.

Annual Report 2000 | Annual Report 2001

To Know More About Our Programs, Send Us an Email at: CadsIntlPrograms@aol.com or Call Our CADS Global Network -- USA Office at:
1-720-351-5520 or Our CADS Sierra Leone Headquarters at (232 22) 224839.