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ForestLand Foundation-SL creates measurable change by addressing Sierra Leone’s most urgent social, health, environmental, and governance challenges. Through community-led engagement, policy advocacy, and survivor-centered services, we strengthen local systems, empower vulnerable populations, and promote long-term resilience.
We bridge critical gaps in care, including for lactating mothers who are often excluded from reproductive health services.
Our Lactating Mothers Safe Abortion Program provides specialized clinical guidance, mobile outreach to underserved areas, family engagement to reduce stigma, and peer support networks ensuring women can access safe, informed care without compromising infant health.
Across Bo District and beyond, our integrated approach combining awareness, service delivery, and advocacy has reached thousands, leaving communities better informed, protected, and equipped for sustainable development.
Program-Based Impact Highlights
Every Mother's Life Is a Child's Foundation
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In communities where reproductive healthcare remains out of reach, lactating mothers face an impossible dilemma: an unplanned pregnancy that threatens their health, and a breastfeeding infant who depends entirely on them for survival. Without specialized care, these women often resort to dangerous, unsafe procedures risking orphanhood for the very children they are nourishing.
ForestLand is the only organization in the region providing safe abortion services specifically designed for lactating mothers. Our integrated approach ensures:
• Medical safety Protocols that account for breastfeeding physiology, medication compatibility, and maternal recovery
• Infant protection Continuity of breastfeeding support and nutritional guidance throughout the process
• Psychosocial care Trauma-informed counseling that addresses the unique emotional weight of parenting while terminating a pregnancy
• Community navigation Discreet referral networks that protect mothers from stigma and violence
Anti-Kush Awareness and Prevention Initiative-Tikonko Town
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ForestLand Foundation-SL conducted a comprehensive anti-kush training for community stakeholders in Tikonko Town, with the active presence and leadership of the Paramount Chief. This engagement reinforced community ownership and legitimacy of the intervention.
Key impacts include:
• Establishment of a Paralegal Group to support stakeholders in raising awareness, reporting cases, and advocating against kush use.
• Formation of Peer Advocate Groups working within schools and communities to educate pupils and youth on the dangers of kush and substance abuse.
• Strengthened collaboration between traditional authorities, schools, and civil society to address drug abuse at the community level.
Support Services for Kush Survivors
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ForestLand Foundation-SL provided holistic support services for kush survivors, including:
• Medical care and referrals
• Psychosocial counseling
• Family reintegration support
Notable outcomes:
• Four successfully recovered.
• One survivor currently undergoing rehabilitation while reintegrating through family support with his father.
These results demonstrate the effectiveness of survivor-centered recovery and long-term reintegration approaches.
Policy and Civic Education Training
Civic Education Training
We delivered targeted policy and rights-based training to community members and stakeholders in the following areas:
- Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR),
- Climate Change and Mitigation,
- Maternal and Child Health,
- Gender Equality and Governance.
These trainings strengthened community understanding of rights, responsibilities, and participation in governance and development processes.
Support for Babies Born from Sexual Abuse (“Future Babies” Program)
Support for Babies Born from Sexual Abuse.
ForestLand Foundation-SL provides specialized support services for babies born as a result of sexual abuse, ensuring early care and protection.
Services include:
- Counselling and psychosocial support,
- Human rights advocacy,
- Referral and case follow-up services.
This initiative promotes dignity, protection, and long-term well-being for both survivors and their children.
Support for Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)
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We provide counseling and human rights support for sexually abused girls, ensuring access to care, justice pathways, and emotional healing.
To complement these services, ForestLand Foundation-SL introduced football as a psychosocial and empowerment tool for survivors of sexual abuse and other forms of violence.
Key achievements:
• Over 50 girls engaged through football-based empowerment programming.
• Girls participated in district and regional female primary league playoffs, performing exceptionally well.
• Improved confidence, teamwork, mental health, and social reintegration among participants.
Empowering Young Minds to Lead Change
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ForestLand Foundation-SL engaged Peer Advocates at Florence Secondary School, Bo #2, on critical adolescent issues, including violence prevention, drug abuse awareness, and environmental protection.
Through these sessions, students were equipped with knowledge and practical skills to stand against violence, make informed choices, and promote a drug-free lifestyle among their peers.
In support of sustainability and environmental stewardship, the Foundation also facilitated the formation of an Environmental School Club, providing a platform for pupils to actively protect their environment and take responsibility for their community.
These young leaders are not just learning they are rising to lead, driving positive change within their school and beyond. ForestLand Foundation-SL continues to empower adolescents to become voices of change and champions for safer, healthier, and more sustainable communities.
Key Achievements
5,247
Total Lives Impacted
Community Support
10 Communities across 3 Chiefdoms in Bo District engaged Climate-Smart Agriculture and VSLA
Support Services
4 survivors from Kush, 2 successfully returned to university. 2 on Skills training.
SGBV Cases
16 sexual penetration cases were managed, including one child born as a result of rape.
