Welcome to the Sierra Leone-Plymouth Partnership, or "SLPP"!  SLPP is a long-term, independent partnership between Sierra Leone and Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis.  The "SLPP" was created in spring 2005 by  former Peace Corps volunteer Jeff Hall as a way for people to become aware of conditions in Africa and to offer specific, dynamic forms of help.  Jeff lived in the Sierra Leonean village of Jokibu for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the early 1990s, and he has returned several times in recent years and now leads a yearly group trip to Jokibu and its two sister villages Foindu and Pujehun.      

Sierra Leone itself is a small, coastal, West African country between Guinea and Liberia. Its capital, Freetown, once was a major slave trading port for the Americas and also became a major center for the repatriation of slaves.  The village of Jokibu, near Sierra Leone’s eastern border, along with its nearby sister villages, Foindu and Pujehun, were devastated during the region’s 1990s "blood diamonds" civil war, their buildings abandoned and destroyed, and their residents scattered to the jungle and, later, to refugee camps..  However, civil strife ended in 2002; in 2003-4, villagers began returning to rebuild.  Now Sierra Leone is a peaceful and successful democracy.  The SLPP is helping all three of these villages. 

Jeff volunteers his time to coordinate the Partnership and SLPP Committee. His close friendships both with villagers and with the owners of a building-supply store in the nearby town of Kenema make it possible for him to personally and directly order goods, transfer money, and keep accurate, detailed accounting and installation records, including photographs.

This family is standing in front of two houses with different roofs: one is the new, much more permanent sheet-metal roofing supplied by SLPP; the other is the old canvas roofing that wears out quickly, allowing water to leak and destroy the house's walls.  SLPP has supplied 400+ roofs to the three eastern Sierra Leone villages of Foindu, Jokibu, and Pujehun. 

Educational Excellence

2008 Goal: $150,000

Mosquito Nets + Latrines

Micro Loans + Food

Village-based Economic Development

by Jeff Hall, SLPP Coordinator

What incredible progress we have made together in Sierra Leone in a few short years!   Our unique, broad and holistic approach is paying dividends.  As our village friends continue to recover from their tragic war that ended in 2001, your amazing generosity ($100,000+/yr) has had these dramatic results:

• 400  metal roofs will give shelter for decades, allowing farmers to concentrate on more food production;

• Each village has 4 new clean water wells, which is the quickest way to improve basic health;

• A new school addition in Jokibu means each grade has its own classroom, reducing class size to 40 kids;

• Over 200 school scholarships per year, with the goal for all kids, especially girls, complete high school; and

• Other successes, such as peanut grinders for the women, plenty of school and medical supplies, and more.

 This June, 24 of us return on our annual visit to monitor progress, develop new strategies and keep building our friendships.  New partners join our effort, with 7 students and 2 teachers from The Blake School and 5 Amherst College students who will spend two months as summer interns in the villages.  Additional AC students will visit for up to 4 months in the Fall.  Our annual week-long village visits provide a unique perspective on life; we are amazed anew each year at the persistence, hard work, creativity, joy and love of our village partners.

The quality of life in our villages is improving measurably each year, yet much work remains to give our friends the opportunity to become self-sufficient and raise their incomes.  Our goal is to raise $150,000 for latrines, mosquito nets and micro loans this year, along with continued strong support for educational initiatives such as school lunches, scholarships, books and teacher support.  Worms and diarrhea are major health problems, and the use of latrines will substantially reduce these illnesses.  Malaria is the top killer in the villages, especially of young children.  A simple net keeps one safe during the night, rather than being attacked by infected mosquitoes.  Latrines and mosquito nets are two simple, proven solutions to devastating, persistent problems.  With your help we can wipe out malaria, worms and diarrhea.

Raising income is our top long-term priority, because it is the only way to attack poverty.  Reaching our goals of raising $50,000 for micro loans will play a major role; small loans to soap making and bike rental businesses have already created jobs and increased income.  Over 95% of the people are subsistence farmers, and micro loans allow them to increase substantially their income from their hard work producing crops.  Farmers, desperate for cash, tend to sell much of the produce (rice, cocoa, coffee, palm oil) at harvest time, when prices are low.  A small loan allows farmers to hold their produce for a few months as the prices steadily rise, so they can sell at a much higher profit for the same amount of work.  Our program also builds management skills among the farmers and leadership ability within the village.

Please help us provide emergency rice to prevent widespread malnourishment.  Food prices around the world are rising, and in Sierra Leone rice has increased from $20/bag to nearly $50.  While in the long-term this may encourage more rice production, our farmers are not yet self-sufficient.  “Hungry Season” occurs July through September, before the rice harvest, when everyone in the country is short of rice; this year’s Hungry Season may be devastating.  Please send your donation today so we can see it in action during our June trip!

We believe our village project is the best investment you can possibly make in the world, with 100% of your donation going straight to the villages.  For an investment of only $20 - $30 for each of our 5,000 friends, we are giving the poorest people in the world the greatest possible gift:  confidence that tomorrow will be better than today, that their children’s lives will continue to improve.  Our deepest gratitude for your support.

For more information about our Sierra Leone-Plymouth Partnership, please go to www.SLPP.org.

Thank you for your tax deductible donation.  Please make your check out to Plymouth Church - Sierra Leone, and mail it to:

Plymouth Church, Sierra Leone Project; 1900 Nicollet Ave. S.; Minneapolis, MN 55403

This woman is preparing palm nuts
to make palm oil for food and for sale.

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Hard-working students need supplies.

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Mosquito net fights malaria.

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Micro loans increase income.
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Latrines improve sanitation.

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Work develops a
U.S.-Sierra Leone friendship.