A story of community impact, international partnerships, empowerment and a growing contribution to sustainable development

In a world where poverty, inequality, unemployment and social exclusion continue to affect millions of people, organisations that translate compassion into meaningful action are making an important difference. In Sierra Leone, Mamie Foundation is increasingly demonstrating what locally driven development can achieve when community commitment is combined with innovation, strategic partnerships and a determination to improve people’s lives.

Guided by its motto, “We Put Smiles on Faces”, Mamie Foundation has been working to improve the lives of vulnerable children, young people, women and other disadvantaged groups. Its work extends beyond traditional charitable assistance. Through education, youth employment, women’s empowerment, support for persons with disabilities and interventions addressing gender-based violence, the Foundation is contributing to a broader vision of a more inclusive and equitable Sierra Leone.

What makes this journey particularly significant is that the Foundation’s contribution is no longer confined to the communities in which it operates. Its work is receiving attention through Sierra Leonean media, recognition from local public institutions, and partnerships with international development organisations and research institutions.

Recognition that extends beyond Sierra Leone

One important measure of an organisation’s progress is the extent to which its work is acknowledged by institutions and partners beyond its immediate operating environment.

Mamie Foundation has established a significant international partnership with All We Can, a UK-based international development organisation. All We Can officially identifies Mamie Foundation as one of its development partners in Sierra Leone, highlighting its work in education, youth employment, women’s empowerment and tackling gender-based violence.

This is particularly important because All We Can works through a network of locally rooted development organisations across several countries. Its partnership with Mamie Foundation provides international visibility for the Foundation’s work and reflects the importance of local organisations in addressing development challenges.

All We Can’s published profile highlights Mamie’s commitment to demand-driven skills training, support for women-led businesses, challenging harmful social norms, promoting justice and responding to emergencies.

The partnership also provides an opportunity for Mamie Foundation to share its experiences and achievements with international audiences, demonstrating how locally led initiatives can contribute to wider development objectives.

This recognition is further reflected in All We Can’s published stories from Sierra Leone, including accounts associated with Eku and Idrissa, which bring attention to the people and communities at the heart of the Foundation’s work.

National recognition: Making a difference that attracts attention at home

The Foundation’s growing visibility is also evident within Sierra Leone.

In September 2024, the Sierra Leonean newspaper Awoko published a report titled “Mamie Foundation Aims to End Street Begging Through ICT Training.”

The report highlighted a four-day ICT training initiative organised for 50 persons with physical disabilities at the Opportunity Training Centre (OTC) in Kenema.

The initiative, supported by All We Can, sought to equip participants with practical, market-relevant digital skills that could help them pursue employment, establish businesses and become more financially independent.

The significance of this initiative goes beyond the provision of computer training. It addresses a deeper social challenge: the economic exclusion of persons with disabilities and the limited opportunities available to many of them.

The newspaper report also documented positive responses from local public officials. The Deputy Programme Officer for Kenema District Council praised the Foundation’s contribution to community development, while the Ministry of Social Welfare’s Regional Director welcomed its efforts to complement government initiatives supporting persons with disabilities.

Such public acknowledgement is important. It demonstrates that Mamie Foundation’s work is gaining visibility not only among beneficiaries and development partners but also among institutions responsible for social welfare and local development.

It also reinforces the value of collaboration between civil society organisations and public institutions in addressing persistent social challenges.

Empowering persons with disabilities: Moving beyond charity towards independence

One of the most compelling aspects of Mamie Foundation’s work is its approach to disability inclusion.

For many persons with disabilities in Sierra Leone, particularly those living in economically disadvantaged communities, access to education, employment and opportunities for independent living remains limited.

The Foundation’s collaboration with the Opportunity Training Centre in Kenema represents an effort to change this reality.

According to a profile published by All We Can, Mamie Foundation had already supported training for approximately 50 students at the centre. Its partnership with the centre was described as an empowering intervention that helps participants develop opportunities beyond dependence on charitable assistance.

The subsequent ICT training initiative reported by Awoko in September 2024 represents a further step towards expanding those opportunities.

This approach reflects an important philosophy: people with disabilities should not be viewed simply as recipients of assistance but as individuals with skills, ambitions and the potential to contribute meaningfully to society.

By investing in skills development, equipment and opportunities for economic participation, Mamie Foundation is helping to challenge perceptions of disability and promote greater social inclusion.

The wider ambition is to replace dependency with opportunity, exclusion with participation, and vulnerability with greater independence.

Contributing to international research and innovation

Perhaps one of the most important demonstrations of Mamie Foundation’s growing international profile is its involvement in research and innovation addressing gender-based violence.

The Foundation has worked alongside researchers from Brunel University London and The Open University in the United Kingdom on a project titled “Gendering a Smart Community Through a User-Centred Technology for Tackling Violence Against Women.”

The project received support through the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Frontiers of Development funding.

This collaboration brought together academic researchers and development practitioners to investigate how digital technology could improve responses to gender-based violence in Sierra Leone.

One of the significant outputs was a policy brief published in 2022, examining the challenges associated with fragmented reporting, manual evidence gathering, referral processes and insufficient coordination between organisations responsible for supporting survivors.

The research involved interviews, stakeholder surveys and workshops, including engagement with 68 stakeholders working in the gender-based violence response landscape.

A further outcome of this collaboration was a peer-reviewed journal article highlighting how user-centred interactive systems can strengthen multi-agency responses to gender-based violence. The research demonstrated the potential of such systems to improve communication, evidence management, information sharing and coordination among healthcare providers, the police and support organisations, ultimately enhancing the support available to survivors.

Mamie Foundation’s involvement in this work is significant for several reasons.

First, it demonstrates that the organisation is contributing beyond the delivery of conventional community programmes. It is participating in research-informed approaches to addressing complex social challenges.

Second, it places a Sierra Leonean development organisation within an international academic and innovation network.

Third, it provides an opportunity for local experiences and knowledge to inform the design of solutions intended to address challenges affecting women and girls.

This is an important example of how organisations rooted in African communities can contribute to international research, policy development and responsible technological innovation.

Creating opportunities through education, skills and employment

Education and employment are central to Mamie Foundation’s development philosophy.

The Foundation recognises that poverty cannot be addressed sustainably through short-term interventions alone. People need access to education, practical skills, employment opportunities and the support necessary to build sustainable livelihoods.

Its approach to youth employment is particularly noteworthy because it goes beyond providing training for the sake of training.

The Foundation’s published approach emphasises demand-driven training, social enterprise and connections with employers. It seeks to identify the needs of communities and local markets, develop relevant skills, facilitate employment opportunities and support entrepreneurship.

This approach recognises a fundamental problem affecting many young people in Sierra Leone: training does not necessarily translate into employment unless there are opportunities to use the skills acquired.

By connecting skills development with economic opportunities, Mamie Foundation is working towards a more sustainable model of youth empowerment.

Its education programmes similarly reflect the belief that every child deserves access to learning opportunities and a supportive environment in which to develop their potential.

Advancing women’s empowerment and addressing gender-based violence

Women’s empowerment is another important pillar of Mamie Foundation’s work.

Across Sierra Leone, women and girls continue to face economic, social and institutional barriers that restrict their opportunities and participation in society.

Mamie Foundation seeks to address these challenges through women’s economic empowerment, support for women-led businesses, advocacy and interventions addressing gender-based violence.

Its involvement in the international research collaboration on gender-based violence demonstrates that this commitment extends beyond awareness-raising. It includes efforts to improve the systems and processes through which survivors access support and justice.

The Foundation’s wider strategy recognises that women’s empowerment must involve both economic independence and the ability to exercise greater control over decisions affecting their lives.

This integrated approach is important because addressing gender inequality requires more than isolated interventions. It requires investment in education, livelihoods, social protection, justice and supportive community structures.

A contribution aligned with global development priorities

Mamie Foundation’s work also connects with important international development priorities, particularly the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Three goals are especially relevant:

SDG 4 – Quality Education: Through its commitment to improving educational opportunities and supporting children and young people.

SDG 5 – Gender Equality: Through women’s empowerment, advocacy and efforts to prevent and address gender-based violence.

SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: Through skills development, youth employment, entrepreneurship and support for sustainable livelihoods.

These connections demonstrate that the Foundation’s work is not simply about responding to immediate needs. It is contributing to wider efforts to address structural inequalities and create opportunities for sustainable development.

The importance of locally led development

One of the most valuable lessons from Mamie Foundation’s journey is the importance of locally led development.

International development is often discussed in terms of large institutions, international funding and global policy frameworks. However, meaningful and sustainable change frequently depends on organisations that understand the communities they serve.

Mamie Foundation’s experience demonstrates how local organisations can identify problems, build relationships with beneficiaries, mobilise partnerships and develop practical responses to community challenges.

Its collaborations with local institutions, international development partners and UK universities illustrate the value of bringing together different forms of knowledge, expertise and resources.

Rather than treating communities as passive recipients of assistance, this approach recognises their ability to participate in shaping solutions to the challenges they face.

Looking Ahead: Building on Recognition and Deepening Impact

While the Foundation’s achievements deserve recognition, its journey is far from complete.

The scale of the challenges facing vulnerable communities in Sierra Leone requires continued investment, stronger partnerships, innovation and institutional support.

There is an opportunity for Mamie Foundation to build on its growing national and international profile by expanding its programmes, strengthening its monitoring and evaluation systems, documenting beneficiary outcomes and developing new partnerships with governments, universities, businesses and international development organisations.

Importantly, recognition should not be measured only by the number of partnerships established or programmes delivered. It should also be reflected in the lives transformed: children who gain access to education, young people who secure meaningful employment, women who become economically independent, and persons with disabilities who gain the confidence and resources to participate fully in society.

These are the outcomes that give development work its true meaning.

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A growing legacy of hope and opportunity

Mamie Foundation’s story is an encouraging example of what a committed, locally rooted organisation can achieve when it combines community knowledge, practical interventions and international collaboration.

From its work in education and youth empowerment to its contribution to disability inclusion and research addressing gender-based violence, the Foundation is demonstrating that meaningful development requires more than charitable assistance. It requires creating opportunities for people to take control of their futures.

Its recognition by international development partner All We Can, coverage in Sierra Leone’s national media, engagement with local government and social welfare institutions, and collaboration with UK academic and research institutions collectively demonstrate the growing reach of its work.

Perhaps the most important achievement, however, is the opportunity it creates for people whose voices and needs are too often overlooked.

As Mamie Foundation continues its journey, its story deserves to be shared more widely, not simply to celebrate the organisation, but to highlight the potential of locally led African development initiatives to contribute to meaningful change both at home and internationally.

Mamie Foundation is putting its vision into action: creating hope, opening opportunities and putting smiles on faces, one life and one community at a time.

Learn more about Mamie Foundation and its work: https://mamiefoundation.org/

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Supporting resources and evidence

1. All We Can – Mamie Foundation: International development partner profile.
2. Awoko Newspaper – Mamie Foundation Aims to End Street Begging Through ICT Training (24 September 2024).
3. Mamie Foundation – Our Strategy.
4. Mamie Foundation – Our Approach.
5. Zenodo – Policy Brief: Designing a Multisectoral User-Centred Technology System for Tackling Violence Against Women (2022).
6. Brunel University London – System for Monitoring Infants in Low-Resource Environments.
7. Journal article  — Socially aware design of interactive systems to combat gender-based violence in low-resource settings