March 18, 2023
Having just returned from a life changing trip to Sierra Leone in West Africa, our account executive Nashima Adams has a very humbling story to share with us all. In her own words…
When Mum passed away last year, she’d left a legacy which, as a family, we wanted to make sure was used in a way that honoured her memory.
In 2020, Mum had been inspired to fund and physically help build a much-needed well in one of Sierra Leone’s typically deprived villages.
The village had a well, but it was ancient, and would dry up completely in the searing heat of the summer, leaving villagers with no choice but to walk many miles to fetch water for everyday living. The solution was to drill a bore hole into the underground rock, getting right down into the natural source so that clean, fresh water could be drawn up through the well, year-round.
What Mum did there made such a difference. It was something she’d been so passionate about, and it had a lasting impact on us all. So, when she passed away, we knew that her legacy had to be channelled into helping make other improvements in this village, and the wider surrounding area.
A place where there is little more than nothing
Just to paint the picture, this is a place where there is little more than nothing. Where homes are constructed of wood, if they are lucky, and where when night falls, there is nothing but complete darkness, because there is no lighting whatsoever.
It’s a place where children will walk eight or nine kilometres or more just to go to school, navigating main roads and even crossing rivers just to get an education.
Putting Mum’s legacy to good use
As a family, we decided to use Mum’s legacy to fund the building of a mosque, so that the local people would have somewhere safe to come together to support each other through prayer. In addition, between us we came up with further funding to build a much-needed local school, and Dad, inspired by Mum’s well, contributed to a further well for another of the villages.
The school has created the opportunity for children to access a valuable education locally, something they would otherwise have been forced to walk miles to benefit from every day. The building will provide board and lodgings for two of the most in-need pupils from each surrounding village, plus day-based education for others.
To make certain our contributions were all channelled into the right places, and so that we had a local contact on the ground to co-ordinate everything in line with our wishes, we worked closely with the charity, Benefit Mankind.
Benefit Mankind is a UK-based international aid relief and development organisation, dedicated to bringing health, education, shelter and more to the most disadvantaged areas of the world.
Once all the work had been carried out and the mosque and school builds were complete, we were invited by the charity to visit Sierra Leone in person to see for ourselves the difference our funding and Mum’s legacy had made, and to witness the opening ceremonies. Of course we were honoured to be invited so, my two brothers, my niece and I prepared to make the trip.
On the road to West Africa – a life changing experience
On arrival in Sierra Leone, nothing could have prepared us for what we were to experience.
On the one hand, we were taken aback by the poverty that surrounded us. This was a place where, once you switched off your car headlights, the night was literally black. Where other than ours, there were no cars.
I saw no buses either, just people walking everywhere, children making the pilgrimage to school several kilometres away. But they were all proudly dressed in their school uniforms, so enthusiastic about heading off for their day’s education.
And this is where we were so humbled. Because despite the apparent lack of everything we would take for granted in our own lives, everyone seemed so content and outwardly happy. And intrigued and excited to see us! And this is what made the trip so life changing and eye-opening.
Welling up – an emotional moment with Mum’s well, and a visit to an orphanage to deliver sweets and clothes to some very excited children
To make the most of the trip, as well as attending the opening ceremony of the mosque and the school, we made a point of visiting the well that Mum had been so passionate about creating. To see first-hand the difference it had made to the people of the village was a touching experience, and to be able to physically touch it was a very emotional moment.
We were also aware of the huge number of orphans in Sierra Leone, with many children having lost their parents during the civil war of 1991-2002, which tragically resulted in 50,000 lost lives and left extreme poverty in its wake.
So we made a point of visiting one of the orphanages, taking with us gift packs of stationery and sweets, as well as some pre-loved clothes for the children.
Delivering these things by hand was an amazing experience. We all make donations, but to actually see where they are going and how well they are received is something else. The children were so welcoming and incredibly grateful for everything.
Looking to the future
As a family, we are very invested in the future of Sierra Leone’s most needy villages, and amongst us we will continue to make regular trips out there to keep track of how things are improving in the future, as well as carry on fundraising on a campaign basis to help fund other necessities, such as the much-needed lighting.
The kindness shown to us during our trip, the hospitality of the charity and the friendliness and happiness of the people we met, despite the adversity they face, I can describe as nothing less than life changing. It is an experience we are very grateful for.
Nashima Adams
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Having just returned from a life changing trip to Sierra Leone in West Africa, our account executive Nashima Adams has a very humbling story to share with us all. In her own words…
When Mum passed away last year, she’d left a legacy which, as a family, we wanted to make sure was used in a way that honoured her memory.
In 2020, Mum had been inspired to fund and physically help build a much-needed well in one of Sierra Leone’s typically deprived villages.
The village had a well, but it was ancient, and would dry up completely in the searing heat of the summer, leaving villagers with no choice but to walk many miles to fetch water for everyday living. The solution was to drill a bore hole into the underground rock, getting right down into the natural source so that clean, fresh water could be drawn up through the well, year-round.
What Mum did there made such a difference. It was something she’d been so passionate about, and it had a lasting impact on us all. So, when she passed away, we knew that her legacy had to be channelled into helping make other improvements in this village, and the wider surrounding area.
A place where there is little more than nothing
Just to paint the picture, this is a place where there is little more than nothing. Where homes are constructed of wood, if they are lucky, and where when night falls, there is nothing but complete darkness, because there is no lighting whatsoever.
It’s a place where children will walk eight or nine kilometres or more just to go to school, navigating main roads and even crossing rivers just to get an education.
Putting Mum’s legacy to good use
As a family, we decided to use Mum’s legacy to fund the building of a mosque, so that the local people would have somewhere safe to come together to support each other through prayer. In addition, between us we came up with further funding to build a much-needed local school, and Dad, inspired by Mum’s well, contributed to a further well for another of the villages.
The school has created the opportunity for children to access a valuable education locally, something they would otherwise have been forced to walk miles to benefit from every day. The building will provide board and lodgings for two of the most in-need pupils from each surrounding village, plus day-based education for others.
To make certain our contributions were all channelled into the right places, and so that we had a local contact on the ground to co-ordinate everything in line with our wishes, we worked closely with the charity, Benefit Mankind.
Benefit Mankind is a UK-based international aid relief and development organisation, dedicated to bringing health, education, shelter and more to the most disadvantaged areas of the world.
Once all the work had been carried out and the mosque and school builds were complete, we were invited by the charity to visit Sierra Leone in person to see for ourselves the difference our funding and Mum’s legacy had made, and to witness the opening ceremonies. Of course we were honoured to be invited so, my two brothers, my niece and I prepared to make the trip.
On the road to West Africa – a life changing experience
On arrival in Sierra Leone, nothing could have prepared us for what we were to experience.
On the one hand, we were taken aback by the poverty that surrounded us. This was a place where, once you switched off your car headlights, the night was literally black. Where other than ours, there were no cars.
I saw no buses either, just people walking everywhere, children making the pilgrimage to school several kilometres away. But they were all proudly dressed in their school uniforms, so enthusiastic about heading off for their day’s education.
And this is where we were so humbled. Because despite the apparent lack of everything we would take for granted in our own lives, everyone seemed so content and outwardly happy. And intrigued and excited to see us! And this is what made the trip so life changing and eye-opening.
Welling up – an emotional moment with Mum’s well, and a visit to an orphanage to deliver sweets and clothes to some very excited children
To make the most of the trip, as well as attending the opening ceremony of the mosque and the school, we made a point of visiting the well that Mum had been so passionate about creating. To see first-hand the difference it had made to the people of the village was a touching experience, and to be able to physically touch it was a very emotional moment.
We were also aware of the huge number of orphans in Sierra Leone, with many children having lost their parents during the civil war of 1991-2002, which tragically resulted in 50,000 lost lives and left extreme poverty in its wake.
So we made a point of visiting one of the orphanages, taking with us gift packs of stationery and sweets, as well as some pre-loved clothes for the children.
Delivering these things by hand was an amazing experience. We all make donations, but to actually see where they are going and how well they are received is something else. The children were so welcoming and incredibly grateful for everything.
Looking to the future
As a family, we are very invested in the future of Sierra Leone’s most needy villages, and amongst us we will continue to make regular trips out there to keep track of how things are improving in the future, as well as carry on fundraising on a campaign basis to help fund other necessities, such as the much-needed lighting.
The kindness shown to us during our trip, the hospitality of the charity and the friendliness and happiness of the people we met, despite the adversity they face, I can describe as nothing less than life changing. It is an experience we are very grateful for.
Nashima Adams