Sierra Leone

© Ursula Meissner for Handicap International

Handicap International began working in Sierra Leone in 1996, in response to the urgent needs in the country due to the civil war.

The conflict, which lasted from 1991 until 2002, resulted in widespread destruction of health services and infrastructure and the disruption of mass vaccination campaigns. The human cost was terrible: 75,000 people were killed, and 2 million displaced. 20,000 people were mutilated by warring factions, including 5,000 with damage to their upper limbs, and 5,000 child soldiers were enrolled in the army.

© Handicap International

Today, a certain calm has returned to the country: all child soldiers have been demobilised, the disarmament of the various factions is considered complete and the displaced people and refugees have mostly returned to their home towns and villages.

Since 2000 Handicap International has been able to stabilise activities and gradually shift from emergency programmes to long-term development projects. Our activities are mainly focused on providing psychological care for the victims of the war, in particular former child soldiers and street children, and on the physical rehabilitation sector through the training of orthopaedic technicians and physiotherapists and providing material and equipment necessary to manufacture prostheses.

Key Facts - Sierra Leone

• Population: 5.8 million
• Household Consumption: $405 per year
• Life Expectancy: 48 years
• Human Development: ranked 158th out of 169 countries

^{Source: UNDP HDR 2011}

Our Activities

	Building local capacity A project developing the capacity of partners including Disabled People's Organisations. Depending on needs, groups receive training in project proposal and report writing, management skills, disability issues, or basic literacy. Radio and community awareness campaigns have also been conducted.
	Rehabilitation Following the end of the civil war, Handicap International started a process of integrating physical disability rehabilitation services into the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. The project aims to provide a range of rehabilitation services: physical care assessment and management, prosthetic & orthotic assessment and management, outreach services, Community Based Rehabilitation, wheelchair repairs and adaptations, and awareness-raising in the community.
	Social inclusion and rights A project working towards the inclusion of people with disabilities into Sierra Leone society. The project works on strengthening partners, promoting unity within the disability movement and raising awareness at all levels of society. This is alongside efforts on improving coordination between stakeholders, mainstreaming disability at national level and lobbying for the inclusion of disability in poverty reduction strategies.

Personal account - 'Now I feel confident' Madam Bandu John, 69 years old, lives in the city of Tumbodu in Sierra Leone. She is a widow and raised her four children alone. In 2005, she fell into a coma as a result of hypertension. She describes her road to recovery following her inclusion in a Handicap International rehabilitation project in 2008.

© Samson Dance - Handicap International