Sierra Leone
Email: eehrsl@gmail.com
Website: http://eehrsl.wix.com/eehrsl
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eehrsl
Tel: +23276326294/+23276927990
Office Address: 12 Barracks Road Makeni, Bombali District- Sierra Leone
The Economic Empowerment and Human Rights Sierra Leone, is a Sierra Leonean Community Based Organization focusing on the promotion and protection of Women and Children in rural communities of Sierra Leone, and the involvement of Communities in Development, Democracy and Human Rights, with special focus on the International Convenient on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Established since 2010
The mission of the EEHR-SL is to provide a comprehensive range of services that are accessible and safe to women and children
The vision of the EEHR-SL is the creation of a safe and secure society of a human rights culture, where women and children are empowered to exercise their full human potential, and facilitates solutions for human rights abuse, economic deprivation, education, health, hunger, poverty, and natural resource for the realisation of their full human potentials
The Economic Empowerment and Human Rights Sierra Leone work on the following thematic areas: Human Rights, Gender Empowerment, Food Security, Early Child Marriage, Teenage Pregnancy and FGM/c, Economic Empowerment, Health (Sexual and Reproductive Health), Community Mediation (Child help line), Education (Primary and Secondary Education), Vocational and Life Skills Training and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights
EEHRSL create conditions to change and improve lives of people, and our goal is to do sex education and advocacy to dispel the prejudices, cure, and lack of knowledge and increase sexual health education, in urban and rural communities of Sierra Leone.
The organisation is currently implementing a six (6) month project with funds from Amplify Change titled ‘’Educational and Life Skill Training for Teenage Pregnant girls in Bombali district‘’ The project will establish School health clubs in ten (10) schools in the Bombali district on sexual and reproductive health, the organisation has developed a training manual for training adolescents after school sessions. The aims is to change the attitudes and behaviour of adolescents towards improved sexual lifestyle by preventing unwanted pregnancy, abortion, STIs, including HIV/AIDS and other SRH problems by empowering the adolescence to learn from each other. The project will also provide trainings/workshops, community engagements meeting with policy makers and stakeholders. Demand for an extension of the sexual and reproductive health education by communities and school authorities to other chiefdoms has been a big challenge.
Community Child helpline
Our community child helpline is operated on a prepaid phone; children and community people used their cell phones to call our help lines, our monthly calls are between 1400/1600. EEHRSL response team get in touch with children in distress and in emergency situations on a motor bike providing emergency rescue. EEHRSL is currently not using free toll lines as the resources are not available. It sometime difficulty to trace lines, These Child help line ensures all children in the Northern Region of Sierra Leone have the opportunity to be heard and assisted. EEHRSL adhere to the four core principles of the UNCRC: non-discrimination; the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. EEHRSL also ensure that children are Protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. EEHRSL is a member organisation of Child help line international. Our biggest constrain is that we need a free toll lines and mobility for providing effective emergency rescue for children in distress.
Human Rights
Human Rights Education and child protection is an integral part of our work, by increasing the Knowledge of people about Human Rights, procedures and freedoms as a fundamental tool to guarantee respect for the rights of all.
EEHRSL Human Rights Education package encompasses values such as peace, non-discrimination, equality, justice, non-violence, Sexual and Reproductive Health Justices, tolerance and respect for human dignity irrespective of color, ethnical background or otherwise, our Human rights education is based on a human rights approach. This means that rights are implemented throughout the whole education system and in all learning environments as enshrine in the Bill of Rights of the UDHR to protect the individual from the power of the state from abuse/violations. This is done through community engagement, consultation with stakeholders, trainings, community outreach, TV and radio talk shows, and public campaigns among others. EEHRSL is a member organisation of the District Human Rights committee and District Child Protection organised by the ministry of social welfare gender and children’s affaires.
Primary School Education
Improving the Quality of Primary Education in Sierra Leone has been one of our core areas by transforming teaching-learning processes and improving educational planning and management in our operational areas. This is meant to reach schools and teachers, this intervention is to strengthen linkages between teachers colleges and primary schools; enhances the professional capacity of primary school teachers; builds capacity at regional (Bombali, Tonkolili and Port Loko districts) and local education offices; empowers communities to manage their own school development; and make basic education more accessible to out-of-school children and increase primary school opportunities to improve education. It is EEHRSL intention to provide families with educational support, increase the enrollment and retention girls in schools who faced high rate of educational injustice in their families as to the male child and also to keep children in schools, Construction of 7 block apartment building in Ro-porma village in the Makarie Gbanti chiefdom and 5 apartment blocks in Mathamba village in the Bombali Shebora village has been one of the achieved in addressing primary education, equipping the school with furniture, learning materials and equipment is our next target.
Gender Empowerment
Our experience working with gender issues in Sierra Leone, has shown that addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment requires strategic interventions at all levels of programming and policy-making. Despite many international agreements, affirming countries human rights obligations, women and girls are still likely poor and illiterate in Sierra Leone than men, they usually have less access than men to medical care, property ownership, economic status, training and employment. They are far less likely than men to be politically active and more likely to be victims of domestic violence. The ability of women to control their own fertility is absolutely fundamental to women’s empowerment and equality in Sierra Leone. EEHRSL provide the enabling environment for women to be heard in rural settings of Sierra Leone through information, trainings, awareness raising, public education and monitoring.
EEHRSL experience the following:
- Reproductive health: Women, for both physiological and social reasons, are more vulnerable than men to reproductive health problems. Reproductive health problems including maternal mortality, STIs (HIV/AIDs) represent a major cause of death and disability for women in Sierra Leone.
- Natural Resources: Women in Sierra Leone are usually in charge of securing water, food and finances. Therefore, they tend to put into immediate practice whatever they learn about nutrition and preserving the environment and natural resources
- Political Empowerment: Social and legal institutions still do not guarantee women equality in basic legal and human rights, access to legal empowerment control of land/property still remains an unanswered questions for women, equality in employment, social and political participation, Even when women are in parliament and or in governance they are still answerable to men for continuity of their position.
- Educational Empowerment: About two thirds of the illiterate adults in Sierra Leone and in the world are female. Higher levels of women’s education are strongly associated with both lower infant mortality and lower fertility, as well as with higher levels of education and economic opportunity for their children.
- Empowerment: More women live in poverty than men. Economic disparities persist partly because much of the unpaid work within families and communities falls on the shoulders of women and because they face discrimination in the economic sphere.
Agricultural for Livelihood
EEHRSL agriculture program Operates in eight chiefdoms in the Bombali district, we work with the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure food security, We build systems of production, distribution and marketing of quality seeds at good prices; conduct research to develop better varieties and practices for the agricultural sector; offer credit support to poor farmers; and promote the use of efficient farming techniques. EEHRSL helps these communities become self sufficient in food production. At the rural community level, the agriculture program operates through experienced self employed community agriculture. EEHRSL provides training on farming techniques for specific crop varieties with techniques. Our aim is to work with partners, continuously provide trainings at community level, monitoring of food security conditions and market prices, education, report, and analyses activities, creates public awareness campaigns, provide guidance, tools and tip to assess needs in different contexts.
Women livelihood support
Our investments in women’s livelihood, sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. Women in rural communities in Sierra Leone make enormous contributions to the economy, in businesses, on farms, as entrepreneurs or employees, or by doing unpaid care work at home.
But they remain disproportionately affected by poverty, discrimination and exploitation. Gender discrimination against women in Sierra Leone often end up in insecure, low-wage jobs, and constitute a small minority of those in senior positions. It curtails access to economic assets such as access to land and loans. This limits women participation in shaping their economic and social policies. And because women perform the bulk of household work, they often have little time left to pursue economic opportunities. EEHSL is supporting these women in livestock and oil palm production, to increase their economic livelihood in rural settings. EEHRSL is constrains with extension of these services to other districts. The ministry of agriculture, and other donor partners have the challenge in addressing women livelihood.
