CRS, FCC Hold Engagement Meeting with District Council to Strengthen Community Structures
By: Sorie Sesay
The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) convened a crucial engagement meeting with the District Council and Freetown City Council at St. Anthony Hall, Skye Street, Freetown.
The meeting aimed to strengthen existing community structures through training, mentorship, and advocacy to promote peacebuilding under the ongoing project, Youth in Politics and Peacebuilding.
For the past two years, CRS and its partners have been actively working on this initiative to address pressing issues affecting communities, including violence, drug abuse, education, and unemployment. The project focuses on engaging youth, particularly young women, across sixteen communities—eight in urban areas and eight in rural settings.
Grace Jones, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer and Safeguarding Focal Person for CRS, highlighted the significance of the engagement. She stated, “Today, we are here to engage with the District Council and Freetown City Council to strengthen existing community structures. This involves bringing together community groups, including chairpersons, presidents, and headmen, to discuss the challenges in their communities and their contributions to national development. Through the Youth in Politics and Peace building project, we have been working with eight women’s groups and eight youth groups, providing training in peacebuilding, civic education, leadership, management, and voter education.”
The National Youth Commission (NAYCOM), which serves as the policy-making and coordinating body for youth programs in Sierra Leone, was also present at the engagement. Moses Luseni Blake, the Youth Empowerment Officer at NAYCOM, emphasized the government’s commitment to youth development. In an interview with Epic Radio, he stated, “As an implementing body, our role is to link youths to available resources in the country through partnerships. We collaborate with donor organizations to address youth challenges.”
Blake further noted that young people in Sierra Leone continue to face significant obstacles, including limited access to education, high unemployment rates, and economic hardship, all of which hinder their growth and success.
The engagement meeting served as a platform for dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders, reinforcing the need for a collective approach to tackling youth-related issues and promoting sustainable community development in Sierra Leone.
