Blog

May 2017 Program Roundup

Bauya & Lunsar, Sierra Leone This month, we kicked off the new Seed Loan Program (SLP) in Bauya and Lunsar, Sierra Leone. This new program gives a hand up to farmers stuck in a cycle of buying seeds on credit. The program provides each farming group with two 50kg bags of groundnuts for planting in… continue reading

Hero Spotlight: Blind Farmers See Through Their Hands, Learn from Experience

For about a year now, Just Hope has been working alongside a group of blind farmers in Sierra Leone who continue to inspire us with their determination and skill. You might remember Amidu “Francis” Kayina, the blind chaplain at the Baptist Eye Hospital in Lunsar, who is a powerful local champion for the blind being… continue reading

Turning Theory Into Reality: Vanderbilt Student Reflects on Lessons Learned in Sierra Leone

Josiah Holland, a Vanderbilt Human and Organizational Development student currently interning with Just Hope, recently returned from a trip to Sierra Leone with David Reeves, our Agriculture and VSLA Program Manager. He shares about his experience below. Driving along well-worn, dirt roads in Sierra Leone, I came to better understand a reality generally true for… continue reading

Seed Loaning Program is a Game Changer for Farmers in Sierra Leone

In agriculture-based economies like Bauya and Lunsar, Sierra Leone, seeds are a form of currency. They can be used to buy and sell, and they can be saved for future planting seasons. However, in the communities where we serve, it’s uncommon to find a farmer who can successfully save enough seeds from one harvest to plant… continue reading

April 2017 Program Roundup

Ghana This month brought about the true convergence of the conservation agriculture training and Savings Groups. We saw the development of trust and relationships with both farmers and our teams on the ground. Now, momentum is growing and one of the savings groups has divided themselves into two agriculture sub-groups with the goal of learning… continue reading

Hero Spotlight: Sofia, Abuse Survivor, Wants to Help Others

When Sofia was 13, she and her sister were taken to an orphanage by the national adoption authority in the Dominican Republic. The girls’ mother moved away when Sofia was 8 and they were left to live with their stepfather. For five years, the girls were abused, often locked in the house alone and were… continue reading

Letter from the President – March 2017

In April of 2006 I experienced what it is like to flee. I realized I was in the path of an F-3 tornado that seemed to appear out of nowhere from behind a tree line. I saw it just as it was destroying a local community college campus. A colleague and I turned off of… continue reading

March 2017 Program Roundup

Bauya, Sierra Leone The team in Bauya is a beehive of activity as they juggle 13 savings groups (203 participant, 60% women), 13 agriculture model plots and more than half a dozen composts! As the dry season draws closer to its end, they are working hard to have the existing and extension model plots ready… continue reading