WHO WE ARE
YOUTHS ACTION FOR RELENTLESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION- SIERRA LEONE, otherwise known as YARDO-SL was founded in June 2014 by a group of young professionals who came together to help foster development in their community.
The organization came into existence as a result of the collaborative effort of these young professionals who share the same vision of eradicating poverty through the advocacy and participatory approach in community development by engaging and partnering with other community stakeholders in the fight against hunger, injustice, illiteracy, diseases, environmental hazards etc. The organization also stands to promote values, virtues and practices among young people that are capable of stimulating community progression.
Over the years, YARDO-SL has been involved in numerous projects that have impacted a lot of beneficiaries’ especially young people. From the Ebola Sensitization program to the just concluded Electoral Anti-violence campaign, the organization has used its youthful membership to reach out to thousands of their fellow youths across all districts in the country.
WHAT WE DO
The organization is currently operating in four (4) thematic areas;
- Agriculture and Livelihood
- Climate Change and Environmental Protection
- Governance and Civic Education
- Health care and Gender issues
VISION STATEMENT
Empowering young people to achieve their full potential to enable them contribute to the creation of an environment that is economically, socially, and culturally fit for all Sierra Leoneans.
MISSION STATEMENT
Creating an enabling environment for young people to interact, identify and build their capacity to proffer sustainable solutions to problems affecting their communities through multiple and integrated approach on Agriculture, Education, Governance, Livelihoods, Women Empowerment, Health Care, Environmental Protection in order to make Sierra Leone a better place for all.
GOAL
To place youths in the frontline of community development programs so as to effectively harness their skills in order to gain full their full contribution to nation building.
THEMATIC FOCUS
AGRICULTURE AND LIVELIHOOD
GOVERNANCE AND CIVIC EDUCATION
CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PROGRAM
HEALTH CARE AND GENDER ISSUES
AGRICULTURE AND LIVELIHOOD
YARDO-SL has been active in agriculture since 2015.
YARDO-SL’s agriculture and livelihood program aim to improve food security and livelihoods, reduce hunger and malnutrition, reduce poverty through increased environmentally sustainable agriculture production and increase household income by creating linkages between farmers and allied enterprises.
Our projects employ a holistic approach to seek the community and individuals (notably young people) through technical training, input support, access to micro-finance, the addition of value chain and market linkages. This approach helps to capacitate the farmers to increase productivity and increase household income, create jobs for rural communities, enhance food security and improve nutrition for the rapidly-growing population of Sierra Leone.
Also, YARDO-SL’s Farm Advocacy campaign is integrated with the agriculture and livelihood program to support agricultural development in the country. This program voices the constraints faced by the farmers and providing expertise advice by collaborating with the relevant stakeholders to remedy such problems duly.
Key Program Activities
Vermiculture
Community Seedbank
Farmer Field Schools (Demonstration sites)
Input distribution
Farm Advocacy campaign
Partnership with FBOs and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector
GOVERNANCE AND CIVIC EDUCATION
The governance and civic education program cover a range of issues that aims to raise awareness on citizens’ civic responsibilities, promote human rights, transparency and accountability, patriotism, peace, and quality service delivery in Sierra Leone.
Evident to this are our numerous program activities in the communities. These activities are designed to boost young people’s capacity in civic knowledge, civic skills and civic disposition to be change agents and facilitate good governance, civic engagement and avoid violence in all forms ranging from domestic to national stage and embrace tolerance. this Media (Radio discussions, Facebook and WhatsApp posting, wall bills etc) and person-to-person/person-to-groups channels are the main platform used to implement this project.
During the 2018 Presidential Elections, this project was conducted in five districts with a “Non-Violence” theme estimated to have impacted over 2000 young people across the country.
Key Program Activities
Community Cohesion
Human Rights watch
Governance, transparency and accountability engagement.
Domestic violence and drug abuse campaigns
Civic Education and Curriculum Advocacy
HEALTH AND GENDEREMPOWERMENT PROGRAM
Health remain one of the major intervention areas of YARDO-SL since its formation in 2014, at which time it main purpose was to help in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus disease that claimed thousands of Sierra Leoneans Lives.
The Health program aims to improve health care among young people (especially young girls) through capacity building and awareness raising activity on the prevention, control and treatment of diseases such as malaria, cholera, and STDs (gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV and AIDS). YARDO-SL takes a multi-pronged approach to community health education by offering community health meetings and forums on selected issues in monthly editions, covering topics on malaria, HIV, AIDS etc. This approach helps to increase community awareness and participation in the prevention and treatment of diseases prevalent in their communities.
The Gender program aims to advocate for and train young women on skills to enhance their understanding of social issues affecting them such as early marriage, teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence, anti-drugs and also form gender clubs to help build resilience to handle various challenges and support each other.
This two-in-one program seek to socially and economically empower young people (especially girls) to overcome the complex, interrelated factors that contributed to their vulnerabilities, and become change agent in their communities.
Key Program Activities
Key Program Activities
Malaria, HIV and AIDS campaign
School Hygiene promotion
Gender Clubs
Women empowerment schemes.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The climate change and environmental protection program aims to help raise awareness on environmental hazards, such as deforestation, improper waste management etc and also providing expatriate advice on how best to mitigate these environmental hazards.
YARDO-SL applies the community-based approach to involve all members of the community to take actions to protect their environment by educating them (especially youths) on the negative effects of these hazards to both the environment and humans. The program helps to investigate, identify and proffer remedial solutions to help tackle the problems that have the potential to cause damage to the environment. Another viable approach is the media (radio, WhatsApp and Facebook) wherein a large audience is frequently encouraged and educated to help save the environment.
Key Program Activities
Waste management education
Community sanitation
Environmental protection advocacy