Caritas Freetown, in partnership with Boston College, Grand Challenges Canada, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, and the Ministry of Social Welfare, has successfully concluded a 10-day training workshop under the Youth Readiness Intervention Research Initiative (YRI) Project.
The workshop, which ran from 28th April to 9th May 2026 at the St. Edward’s Parish Hall, aimed to strengthen the capacity of young people through targeted life skills training and psychological support. The initiative forms part of ongoing efforts to promote youth empowerment, resilience, and substance use prevention in Sierra Leone.
YRI is a structured, evidence-based programme designed to build resilience, life skills, and psychological well-being among vulnerable youth. The programme equips participants with coping strategies, decision-making skills, and protective behaviours to reduce risk factors associated with substance use, violence, and mental health challenges.
The training programme was delivered through two core modules. The first, the YRI Module, focused on strengthening life skills, resilience, and positive coping mechanisms among vulnerable youth. The second, the Socio-Education Module, provided facilitators with talking therapy skills to support young people exhibiting early signs and symptoms of mental health disorders.
A total of 30 facilitators were trained to deliver the Youth Readiness Intervention across four districts: Bo, Kenema, Port Loko, and the Western Area Urban Districts. The district representation ensures broad geographical coverage and supports community-level implementation in both urban and rural communities.
The project will be implemented over a period of 18 months. The implementation schedule is divided into five distinct phases, with each phase spanning three months. During every phase, a new batch of facilitators will be recruited and trained to ensure progressive scale-up and sustained community outreach.
The YRI programme primarily targets young people who have not yet initiated substance use. However, the broader project also seeks to strengthen community capacity by training facilitators to support youth at risk of relapse and reinforce protective skills at the community level.
The opening session of the Youth Readiness Intervention Research Initiative Project brought together stakeholders from several government ministries and partner institutions. Key participants included Sister Musu Fanta Amara, Directorate of Primary Health Care and Community Health Worker Hub; Ismaila Kebbie, Deputy Director at the Ministry of Health for Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health; James B. Sandi, Director of Programmes at the Ministry of Youth Affairs; Gbangany Kanu from the Ministry of Social Welfare and Deputy Director for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS); Mrs. Eliza Sillah, Acting Programs Manager of Caritas Freetown; and Rev. Fr. Bangura, Deputy Executive Director of Caritas Freetown.
Project coordinators disclosed that the intervention will include baseline data collection before implementation, followed by post-intervention and follow-up data collection phases to assess long-term outcomes and measure the effectiveness of the programme.
At the close of the workshop, certificates were presented to the YRI facilitators in recognition of their participation and contribution to the 10-day training programme.
