EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS

We plan to build a 20-bed shelter for young female victims of violence (gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, rape, etc). The current 12-bed Commit and Act shelter is the only help available for abused girls in the Bo district. We are receiving heavily increased demands for relief services and desperately need a larger shelter to provide medical and psychological treatment, legal aid, education, and basic needs (food, water, clothing, hygiene).

We provide the only access to physical respite, legal counsel, and psychosocial treatment for abused girls in Bo, Sierra Leone. Due to space limitations at our shelter, we have had to turn away desperate girls, sometimes pregnant or with young children, forcing them back into the abusive structures from which they are fleeing. The proposed new shelter will serve up to 340 girls per year, which is 140 more than we currently assist.

The new shelter will provide safe housing, medical and psychological counseling, education, legal aid, and basic needs to abused girls. The girls will eat, sleep, and attend school daily. They will have regular visits with physicians, social workers, and psychosocial counselors. They will receive legal counsel and attend court hearings. With these needs met, girls that leave the shelter will have a high likelihood of self-advocating, seeking help, and continuing their educations.

The larger shelter will house 20 abused young girls at a time (340/year) and take them out of crisis into stability. The next step of the project is to provide education, vocational, and job training. This project’s ultimate aim is to end the cycle of violence, reunite families, and equip young women with the skills to improve their lives and their communities.