The Waste Management Project goes Nationwide

The Waste Management Project has now blossomed in to one that is Sierra Leone wide. The principles that were adopted for Bo of Recycling, Composting and Landfill have generally been rolled out firstly to Makeni and Kenema and latterly to Koidu. The Sierra Leonean Government has now recognised the success of the initiative to date and has invited WHH to work with them to form a Public Private Partnership on Waste Management at the National Level.

The Waste Management Project has now blossomed in to one that is Sierra Leone wide. Derek Greedy reports on the Bo project that was initiated with OWL involvement more than ten years ago.

Although Glenn Fleet and myself have not been actively involved for sometime now we are kept up to date via a WhatsApp group. The principles that were adopted for Bo of Recycling, Composting and Landfill have generally been rolled out firstly to Makeni and Kenema and latterly to Koidu. The work continues to be project management led by (Welthungerhilfe) WHH with Dr John Williams as the Project Head. Much of the efforts recently have centred around Koidu and Kenema with an extensive campaign to collect plastics for recycling by offering rice for plastics. This initiative follows on from the successful campaigns in both Makeni and Bo. Although there is not much news regarding Bo itself it seems the waste management department is still active and remains with Samuel Hinga Navo at the helm.

The Sierra Leonean Government has now recognised the success of the initiative to date and has invited WHH to work with them to form a Public Private Partnership on Waste Management at the National Level. So encouraging to see those little beginnings blossoming in this way. Bockarie Bawoh Director of the National Monitoring and Evaluation Department (NaMED) says his dream is ” the establishment of a successful private partnership with WHH which would see Government’s Waste Management assets and infrastructure taken over by the partnership for effective management using a workable business model”. He assured WHH that there is now the political will and commitment to see the venture through whilst recognising that this had not been the case in the past.

Despite us not being actively involved now I think that OWL can pat itself on the back as those early efforts are now bearing fruit.

Late update: We have now heard through our WhatsApp group that WHH have met with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone at the Fourah Bay College (FBC) campus in Freetown to finalise the curriculum for a Certificate Course in Municipal Solid Waste Management. The course is expected to commence in October 2023 at FBC following approval at the University Level. OWL support has been promised.

The old Central Dump — Waste disposal before the project

2022

Schools in both countries participate in tree planting linked with their environmental studies.
June – The Day of the African Child celebrated again by zoom link.
August – One World Link stand at the Leamington Ecofest generated a great deal of interest.
October – Richard Hall, Helena White and Zoe Milburn visit Bo – the first visit since the Covid restrictions. Helena and Zoe delivered midwifery training with prospects for future developments

Schools in both countries participate in tree planting linked with their environmental studies. Read more: 200 Trees Planted in School Campaign, Bo Schools Tree Planting Campaign

June – The Day of the African Child celebrated again by zoom link. The Day of the African Child – a virtual celebration, Day of the African Child celebrations in Bo

August – One World Link stand at the Leamington Ecofest generated a great deal of interest.

October – Richard Hall, Helena White and Zoe Milburn visit Bo – the first visit since the Covid restrictions. Helena and Zoe delivered midwifery training – see their report here. There are prospects for future developments – see Richard’s report here.

Health Visit to Bo – the first since Covid

This was our first visit back to Bo since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It was an incredibly positive trip with many productive meetings and new contacts made.
In addition to providing training, we identified possibilities for future involvement with Peripheral Halth Units, with CARE International and with Bo Government Hospital.

This was our first visit back to Bo since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It was an incredibly positive trip with many productive meetings and new contacts made. Richard Hall and Helena White from the OWL UK health team were accompanied by a midwifery colleague, Zoe Milburn.

We identified a number of prospects for future collaboration:

We understand that 15 of the small Peripheral Health Units have been identified for upgrading to provide at least basic maternity care and we have offered support with this in terms of training and supporting the staff working in these remote units.
CARE International who are a large charity tackling the underlying causes of poverty and social injustices while supporting ways of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular the universal right to health care. We are hoping to work in partnership with them in the future within the framework of their health worker training programmes.
Linking Bo Government Hospital (BGH) with South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust hospital. This would be an educational link, supporting local staff to improve their skills in a variety of disciplines.

We delivered our basic training package to the staff of Yemoh Town Health Centre – this time focusing primarily on the use of the partograph, a specific form used during labour that will easily highlight the need for referral to a tertiary unit, and Neo natal resuscitation. We also provided training in estimating blood loss during childbirth (using home-made ‘blood’ and handed over two emergency paramedic backpacks full of essential supplies.

One World Link is based on long and firm friendships and this visit was particularly heart-warming as we all felt we had been through a bit of an ordeal with the pandemic and were so pleased to be back amongst such warm and welcoming friends. We hope to visit again in January.

Click here to Read Helena’s full report

First visit to Bo in nearly 3 years: Health, Schools, Youth and the Council

A group of four visited Bo for the first time in almost three years, finally establishing face-to-face contact after the Covid pandemic. In a busy programme they visited a school, a clinic, Bo OWL Youth Group, Bo Government Hospital and the City Council. There are possible new developments in all these areas pointing to an exciting future for the link.

First visit to Bo in nearly 3 years: Health, Schools, Youth and the Council

This was the first visit to Bo for more that two-and-a-half years; between 19^th and 28^th October 2022 Helena White, her son William, Zoe Milburn and Richard Hall finally made the first visit since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. See Richard’s full report here. and press release here

Helena was there to build on her Midwifery links and introduced Zoe, a fellow Midwife, to life in Bo. They also conducted training sessions at the OWL Centre and at Yemoh Town Clinic. An important objective of the visit was to explore the potential for expanding the health link beyond Midwifery. We are hopeful of making progress with what is a very complicated project to put together, but one which has huge potential benefits for Bo and here. Another friend of OWL in Bo is now Dean of Community Health at Njala University, Rashid Ansumana. There may be potential for joint working, perhaps linking to the Health project.

St Peters Bo No2 Schooll, linked with Brookhurst — St Peters Bo No2 School, linked with Brookhurst

The purpose of the visit for Richard was to meet with Bo OWL members again in person. To understand their current issues and to re-connect with as many other organisations as time allowed. With the Teacher visit programme on temporary hold, Richard was able to stand in for a Teachers’ Group meeting and visit 8 schools. The tree-planting project had gone ahead and schools were keen to show what had been done.

Richard Hall with Bo City Deputy Mayor — Richard Hall with the Deputy Mayor of Bo City Council, Haja Lukay, The Chief Administrator, Veronica Fortune and Wusu Sannoh

During the visit Richard had a meeting with the Chief Administrator and the Deputy Mayor of Bo City. The long-established links between Bo City Council and OWL and with Leamington Spa Town Council were fully recognised and Richard returned with an official letter from the city council commemorating the 40 years of friendship between the LSTC and BCC. They also thanked LSTC for the donation towards tree-planting in their area.

There have been communications with a group of younger people in Bo for some time looking at the prospect of re-establishing a ‘youth group’. There is real potential for an exciting IT training project, led by the group.

In conclusion it was a busy time, generating lots of ideas and potential to follow up, and was very enjoyable, but in making a visit we must recognise the burden that it places on our friends in Bo OWL. So thank you to those who facilitated the visit and to all our friends in Bo OWL. We look forward to welcoming some of them over here in the not too distant future.

Appreciation for 40 years of the link

Bo City Council has written to the Mayor of Leamington expressing appreciation for forty years of the link and thanks for the financial support given to the Tree Planting Programme in Bo.

Fatmata Sao wins Presidential Best Teachers Award for Bo District

Fatmata Sao Bangali, a teacher at United Brethren in Christ Primary School (UBC) Prince Williams Street, Moriba Town Section in Bo has won the Best Presidential Teachers Award under the Pre school and Primary level in Bo District for 2022.
The UBC shcool is linked with Brookhurst School in Leamington Spa. Richard Hall, Chairman of UK One World Link, is visiting Bo and passed congratulations to Fatma on behalf of everyone in OWL UK.

Fatmata Sao Bangali, a teacher at United Brethren in Christ Primary School (UBC) Prince Williams Street, Moriba Town Section in Bo has won the Best Presidential Teachers Award under the Pre school and Primary level in Bo District for 2022. The award was hosted at the Bintumani Conference Hall in Freetown on Tuesday, 18th October 2022.

Fatmata said she is extremely grateful to God for the achievement. She added that it all started in Bo when her name was given for the award and she went through interviews and finally she made it.

Fatmata said that she was contacted by the JSS Principal of the school, Mr. George Mambu who even summited her name and she will remain grateful to him for giving her the opportunity for her to get the enviable award. She said ” I want to dedicate this award to my late father.”

Fatmata Sao with Richard Hall — Fatmata Sao receives congratulations from Richard Hall

The UBC shcool is linked with Brookhurst School in Leamington Spa. Richard Hall, Chairman of UK One World Link, is visiting Bo and passed congratulations to Fatma on behalf of everyone in OWL UK.

Bo Schools Tree Planting Campaign

Children in Bo have been planting trees as part of a joint campaign with their linked schools in the UK.

Bo Schools Tree Planting Campaign

Children in Bo have been planting trees as part of a joint campaign with their linked schools in the UK.

Bo Schools Tree Planting 2022

BDEC-School-New-Gerihun-Road-upper-and-lower

Day of the African Child celebrations in Bo

The Day of the African child was celebrated at the OWL Centre. The hall was filled with children and officials from bodies concerned with the national theme for the day: Eliminating harmful practices affecting children’s progress on policy and practice since 2013. There were statements on this theme and about the tree planting project in which schools are participating with their UK partners. We joined our UK partners in Zoom, starting with a song “Telam tenky”, then continuing with poems and skits. The day was fantastic and colourful we all enjoyed the talents of the pupils and everyone who took part in the celebration.

Day of the African Child celebrations in Bo

In Bo the Day of the African Child, 16th June 2022, took place at the OWL center on the Theme: “Eliminating harmful practices affecting children’s progress on policy and practice since 2013”.

Many dignitaries and stakeholders were invited to make statements on the theme and the tree planting project we have this year 2022 with our UK partners. we had representatives from the ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, Education, and Sierra Leone Teaching Service Commission. Our Guest speaker was Haja Alamatu Lukay, Development Planning Official, Bo City Council. They all made impressive statements. The pupils from our linked schools had skits, songs, poems and Art work in the form of poems and Drama.

At 1:00pm we joined our UK partners in Zoom. We started with a song: Telam tenky. This was followed by poems on both sides, skits talk, statements, and refreshment. We saw a film show on the history of DAC and Sarafina. It was very fantastic and colourful we all enjoyed the talents of the pupils and everyone who took part in the celebration.

Progress in our Health Link

It has been a challenging start for the OWL health link but we have managed to find quite a few positives from the adversity of a global pandemic. The main acticity initially was maternity training but this has expanded to improving the health care facilities within a Peripheral Health Unit with a functioning laboratory, enabling faster, more accurate diagnoses of common diseases.

Progress in our Health Link

It has been a challenging start for the OWL health link but we have managed to find quite a few positives from the adversity of a global pandemic.

Sierra Leone responded to Covid-19 in an impressively immediate and robust way that was successful in keeping the numbers of Covid related deaths to a minimum. They are continuing to be vigilant and as a result have just been taken off the ‘red list’ for travel which means many of our friends can now travel home more freely.

Through the increased use of internet platforms such as Zoom, the UK and Bo OWL Health Link committees have been able to keep in regular contact, discussing the priorities for health care improvement in Bo and the best way to go about supporting that.

One of the main areas highlighted as potentially improving the health care facilities within Peripheral Health Units (PHU’s) was a functioning laboratory, enabling faster, more accurate diagnoses of common diseases, particularly TB, leading to correct treatment and faster recovery times. Offering this service within the PHU environment also encourages people to seek help earlier leading to more effective use of medications available, also relieving the pressure on Bo government hospital.#We were lucky enough to be in receipt of a small legacy earlier this year and, with the incredible enthusiasm and drive from one of our visiting committee members – Johannes, used it to convert the old labour room at Yemoh Town Health Clinic to a basic laboratory, enabling these tests to start taking place.

We have been working with the District Health Management Team (DHMT) to try and establish government support to meet the basic running needs of the lab. This is still an ongoing process and we are looking to review the running of this facility before rolling this idea out to other PHUs that have been earmarked by the DHMT for improvement.
However, we do receive regular updates from Lansana Deen, the Chief Medical Officer at the clinic, on the use of the new labour ward facilities and this little one was one of twins!
Another encouraging report was on the continuing availability of an ambulance. Getting people to the right help at the right time can mean the difference between life and death. A baby who had to be resuscitated at birth, and continued to struggle, was transferred recently.

Looking to the future of the OWL Health Link there are several avenues that we are looking at and discussing in more detail. The OWL ethos is based on friendship and sharing of information and skills and we are keen that the health branch should retain this. We are therefore going to be initially looking at using Zoom to deliver training sessions on topics requested by the health staff of Yemoh Town Health Clinic (and other PHU staff), Bo government hospital and Bo children’s hospital. As Helena is a midwife the first sessions will be based on dealing with obstetric and neonatal emergencies but we will be looking to expand this to other disciplines, in particular paediatrics and tropical diseases. Our UK committee has been discussing this idea of rolling out training to other relevant areas with Jayne Blacklay, from the governing board of Warwick hospital, who has been very positive about this idea.

Helena is Health Coordinator for OWL. She is a midwife with years of experience training midwives in Sierra Leone.

Health Link

Our health link has grown out of a midwifery training programme run by our Health Coordinator, Helena White. This has expanded to improving the health care facilities within Peripheral Health Units. A generous legacy provided funds for the conversion of an old labour room at Yemoh Town Health Clinic to a basic laboratory, enabling tests to start taking place. We have been working with the District Health Management Team to try and establish government support to meet the basic running needs of the lab. There are further propects of providing training by digital link.