MEANS mentor and Programme Manager Miatta (middle), with Adama and Aminata at their home in Kenema

In September I headed out to Sierra Leone to spend time with our local team and to see our work in action. These visits are always a highlight of my year and this trip was particularly special, as it marked five years since the launch of the AdAmi Project.

One of the key goals of my trip was to sit down with some of the young mothers who joined our pilot back in September 2018 - to listen to their stories and hear how their lives have changed thanks to the project.

Amongst those I spoke to were Tiangay, Fatmata and Adama, who I still vividly remember meeting during one of our first scoping trips in early 2018. At the time, all three had recently become mothers and found themselves sharing a similar story - of homelessness, rejection and uncertainty. Five years on, their lives look very different - I’m so excited to share their stories below.

Tiangay (left) with her daughter and mother

From school ‘drop out’ to university student

2017 was a tough year for Tiangay - in quick succession she lost her father, became pregnant to a boy who denied responsibility and ran away, and was asked out of her home by her mother, who, at the time, was in a deep state of mourning for her deceased husband. When I met Tiangay with her young daughter Hannah in early 2018, she was struggling to fight back the tears as she cautiously opened up about everything she had endured.

With the support of the AdAmi Project, Tiangay returned to school in 2018. During a visit in 2019 she proudly told me: “The community people used to see me as a dropout but now they see me back at school they have changed their mind. I feel more important and have a better status in the community. I feel less ashamed and I feel proud to be in my school uniform walking to school.”

Tiangay graduated from secondary school in 2022. Based on her impressive performance, we have since awarded Tiangay a university scholarship to pursue a degree in Community Development and Adult Education at Njala University. Inspired by the work of her local mentors, she plans to one day train as a social worker, a highly regarded and sought after job in Sierra Leone. She continues to give back to the project as a leader of the Community Girls Network and a peer mentor to other young mothers in her community.

Fatmata with her two children at home in Bo

Courage in action

When the team first met Fatmata in 2018, she told us she had one wish - to give every struggling young mother a courage hat. Placing imaginary hats on each of our heads, she explained that these hats would give each young mother a new courage - the courage to break down barriers, to pursue their dreams, to believe that anything is possible.

Yet despite being a vocal and outwardly confident young mother, Fatmata’s lack of self-belief ran deep. This was especially the case when she failed her final school exams, known as WASSCE, the first time, and when she fell pregnant for a second time in 2020. Fatmata felt deep shame and for a while hid away from the team, believing that she had failed once again and was not deserving of the project’s support.

But the team persevered and continued to check-in with Fatmata, encouraging her to re-engage in the programme. “I told her to please not waste her education,” her mentor, also called Fatamata, explained to me. Eventually Fatmata agreed, and with the help of the project she returned to school to re-sit her WASSCE, passing with flying colours in 2022. With a scholarship from the AdAmi Project, Fatmata is now studying Community Development at Njala University in Bo, with aspirations to one day work with a charity like AdAmi Project.

Sewing her way to independence

Adama is one of the two young mothers who inspired the set-up of AdAmi Project. At the time she fell pregnant (2017), there was a nationwide ban on pregnant girls attending school and so, her education came to an abrupt end. She had also been driven out of the family home by her aunt.

With AdAmi's support, Adama returned to secondary school but later switched to tailoring at a local vocational school. Weekly mentoring from Miatta, her mentor, boosted her confidence. Despite tragedy striking soon after she joined the project - she lost her young son Alex to a sudden sickness - Adama persevered and graduated from a three-year tailoring course in early 2023.

At her graduation event, the AdAmi Project gifted her a sewing machine in recognition of her commitment to the project; she is now using the machine to make a living and earn a decent wage working at a local tailoring shop and also for herself where opportunities arise. Adama has grown into a confident and self-assured young woman, who is now earning enough money to support herself and her family. She recently moved out of the family home, having saved enough money to rent a place of her own.

Adama explains:“The Adami Project has made me who I am today. One day I would like to give back by training other young mothers to become tailors like me. I would tell them to take courage, that life does not have to end after pregnancy.”

Thank you

Tiangay, Fatmata and Adama’s stories, and the many other young mothers we supported in 2023, would be very different had it not been for your generosity and support this year - thank you for in helping us to create such a huge impact on the lives and opportunities of young mothers in Sierra Leone.

We look forward to working alongside you to achieve even more in 2024. In the meantime, we wish you and your loved ones a peaceful and joyful break over the festive period.

With thanks and warm wishes,

Kirsty and the entire AdAmi team

p.s. we continue to rely on the generosity of our supporters to deliver our work. If this newsletter inspires you to make a donation this Christmas, you can do so here. Thank you.

An end of year note and thank you from our Founder and Chair of Trustees, Kirsty Wood