On Monday 26th February Executive Director Rev. Fr. Peter Konteh, staff from the Caritas Freetown and Caritas National Office team met with National Director of World Vision Sagane Thiaw for a formal meeting discussion surrounding collaborative efforts in key humanitarian focus areas in the Western Area and Rural Districts of Freetown. A discussion surrounding efforts for the call to the most vulnerable specifically the child and youth demographics within these target areas.
World Vision is a global humanitarian organisation dedicated to working with children, families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice, operating in over 100 countries including Sierra Leone. With a primary focus on Rural Districts in Freetown, Mr. Sagane Thiaw expressed optimism in hope of effective cohesion with Caritas Freetown on ways the two organisations can effectively partner through the integration of our integral faith-based values.
Ishmael Alfred Charles, Programs Manager at Caritas Freetown provided a seamless overview of the key themes rooted in Caritas’ development programs, projects and initiatives that we cover in Western Area and Rural districts of Freetown to showcase similarities in humanitarian practices that also reflects World Visions’. This includes, Health and Sanitation, SGBV, Gender and Equity, Climate Change and Sustainable Practices, Disaster Risk Management, Education, Nutrition, Peacekeeping Initiatives and much more. Ishmael Alfred Charles expressed high enthusiasm in the hopes for collaboration amongst both project development teams to integrate and learn from both organisations’ practices.
National Director Mr. Sagane Thiaw highlighted key themes integral to World Visions’ development practices surrounding the areas such as Child Sponsorship, Health and Nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Education, Livelihood and Economic Development and Disaster Response. Mr. Sagane Thiaw expressed high interest in collaborating with Caritas Freetown, one of the major areas to incorporate Sustainable Practices and Climate Change, this includes seeking to collaborate with schools supervised under the Caritas organisation to initiate the children and youth to get involved in tree planting and waste management initiatives, educating the future generation of Sierra Leoneans to lead the call-in combating climate change.
Overall, World Vision Caritas Freetown and Caritas National Office will play a crucial role in enhancing the lives of children and families in the Western Area and Rural Districts, working towards a future where all individuals can reach their full potential and thrive.
