Work

 

Ms. Sharka works in the community of Bumpe Ngao, Bo District, as an agricultural extension worker. In this rural community, residents practice subsistence farming, growing mostly rice, cassava, potato, groundnuts, beans and millet. The community faces chronic food shortages because farmers are tempted to sell most of their renowned ‘early rice.’ This results in a lack of food for local consumption which in turn drives youth to migrate to big towns to seek jobs, which reduces the local workforce and “leaves the bulk of the work in the hands of the aged,” which in turn tends to reduce the overall scale of the farms. This worsens food shortages and the cycle continues.

 

Ms. Sharka renders extension services to the farmers, teaching local and modern farming practices. She introduces new and improved varieties of crops and organizes agricultural workshops in the community. Her target group are farmers and she especially focuses on women because they are both “the most vulnerable and poverty stricken group” and they are the main players in the farm. Ms. Sharka studied agriculture so that she could go back to her village and help farmers produce food more sustainably. “As somebody born and bred in a rural community, I have a dream of developing rural communities because they are always neglected in terms of development.”

Sending Organization

 

The Archdiocesan Development Office (ADDO/CARITAS) is the relief and development arm of the Catholic Archdiocese of Freetown and Bo, Sierra Leone. It is a local non-profit NGO established in 1981 to assist and support people in their self-development efforts. In the past ADDO has offered support through assistance in:

1. Agriculture (crop production, animal husbandry, food processing)
2. Community Development (infrastructure: schools, clinics, wells, latrines)
3. Public Health (running of hospitals, provision of essential drugs)
4. Peace Building projects (seminars)