2007 Press Releases

Special Self Help Fund Assists Women in Njala Komborya

Freetown
Date:January 29,2007                                                      
Contact: PAO
Tel: 515000

The Deputy United States Chief of Mission to Sierra Leone Elizabeth Susie Pratt visited the village of Njala Komborya in the Bo District on Wednesday, January 24, where she commissioned an Ambassador’s Special Self Help (SSH) project. The SSH assisted the Njala Komborya women’s group to reconstruct their market center that was destroyed during the war. The U.S. Government grant helped about 1,500 market women to rebuild their market at Njala Komborya.  Women in Njala Town and nearby villages thrive with backyard gardening and the market will give them a place to gather and sell their produce. The project is worth over 18.2 million leones ($6, 252.)

At the ceremony, Ms. Pratt said she was pleased to participate in the dedication and opening of the market center and noted that “having a market place to sell your agricultural goods is critical to the development of the country.” She was impressed by the spirit of the community who joined together to make the project succeed, and stressed that “coming together as a community is the key to future development in any society.”

The Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund (SSH) helps communities who help themselves. Communities apply and demonstrate how they will provide 25% of the cost of the project, while the SSH provides the other part. This fund is distributed annually. 
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