Foday Koroma

Pastor/Farmer

Lunsar, Sierra Leone

As a child in Sierra Leone, Foday couldn’t pay for school. He tried showing up over and over, and was once caned for his persistence. He also never knew the love of Christ.

But today, Foday is a pastor who heads a network of other pastors and community leaders responsible for building 20 schools and planting 50 churches — all in the last 5 years. In the face of civil war, an historic Ebola outbreak, and deep poverty in the villages where he serves, Pastor Foday is making a lasting impact.

Never one to sit idly by, Foday hasn’t stopped there. He believes that the best way to help people in poverty is through economic empowerment. He has a plan for making this happen:

  • Teach the pastors, who are already farmers, a more effective way to grow crops.
  • Equip these pastors to teach the new farming techniques to their communities.
  • Make funding for business growth accessible through an accountable, community-based savings and loan system.

Just Hope is partnering with Foday to provide agriculture training as well as support for groups starting VSLAs. Foday’s plan is already working, and Just Hope is excited to walk alongside Foday and his team.

Follow Foday’s journey as he equips pastors and communities to provide a better life for themselves and their families.

Current Programs

Farming and Finance
Lunsar, Sierra Leone

Most Recent Updates

September
26
2016

Savings and agriculture activity in Lunsar

  • Women gather for agriculture training.
    Women gather for agriculture training.
Team Lunsar has been very active this month:
  • Three savings groups have formed and are beginning to take out loans.
  • Blind farmers in the community of Katik are clearing land for the September-November planting season.
  • Three new banana demonstration plots have been planted and another one planned.
  • Two churches (Ebenezer and Good News) are planning their own separate, but side-by-side demonstration plots. It will be interesting to see if any friendly competition ensues over maintaining high standards and ultimately, who can produce the highest yields!
We are seeing an increase in quality of work in the agriculture plots, which are currently producing maize, cowpeas and a variety of vegetables. It is important for the farmers to see the results from the labor of their hands and begin to take pride in that work and own it for themselves. Our leadership team visit this month included a special gathering of the wives of the local pastors, who experienced a one-day retreat of encouragement and worship with Karen Bruton, our founder; Ashley Turner, the wife of our president, Ben Turner; and Saffie Koroma, Foday’s wife. Jenneh attended as well, and conducted a training in groundnut cultivation for the pastors’ wives and for a group of widows in Petefu Bron.
August
24
2016

Planning for the Future

We are encouraging Shanty and John to empower Foday’s network of pastors to assist farmers interested in starting sustainable conservation agriculture plots, as the interest in the area continues to grow. The banana demonstration plots are doing well, but the farmers are struggling to keep the compost dry enough for maximum decomposition. While moisture is critical to the decomposition process, too much water will inhibit the process, and it’s been a very rainy wet season. Shanty and John set a goal of serving 15-20 communities well and to high standards beginning in September, when the rains subside. They hope to introduce savings groups then also, when the seasonal harvests will provide the farmers with enough money to save.
June
27
2016

93 Plots Planted in 15 Villages

The official count of external demonstration sites that have been planted since our initial training in March is 93 plots in 15 villages! Many of the plots are beginning to harvest, and the results are promising, aside from the bean crops lost to grasshoppers. Shanty and John have identified a new variety of bean to replant that is preferred by locals. They now see that any legume will work to fix nitrogen, and the variety is up to them.
April
26
2016

Foday Dances

Dancing to have fun, yes. More importantly, Foday dances to get an audience with children and youth, so he can tell his story and share the love of Jesus. Dancing draws the children's attention and provides a chance for him to say that he was once like them (practicing his dancing). From there, he never skips a beat as he moves right into his story and testimony. Simple in theory, but only boldness fueled by incomprehensible love can motivate such consistent obedience.
April
20
2016

30+ Farmers Start Plots with New Techniques

Since our visit to Sierra Leone in March, we are encouraged to hear that 30+ farmers have started new plots using this new knowledge, and that our two demonstration plots all successfully germinated and look healthy!
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