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6 Sumaila Town, Pharmacy, Off Pademba Road Prison, Back of Winners Chapel Church Int. Sierra Leone
+23277435212 +23275334750
info@weyonechildfoundation.org
Our History
about our Roadmap
WYCF’s main ambition is to provide and maintain a safe, healthy and proper learning environment for our children.
mission
Provide sustainable education and care to underprivileged children and overcome the social and environmental problems that deepen and perpetuate the cycle of poverty.
vision
Educated children and empowered families to live in healthy, developed and integrated communities.
WYCF
Our History
In 1996, twelve-year-old Santigie Bayo Dumbuya was among several boys who were taken from Kamabonko Village to fight for the Revolutionary United Front during the Sierra Leone Civil War. Fighting near the Guinean border, by the age of fourteen Santigie had sustained multiple bullet and shrapnel wounds.
In 1999, Santigie’s unit were stationed near a town called Sanyah.
‘When we entered the town in the evening the heavy gunfight sounded like music, but full of death and sorrow. What I saw on that day was so terrible. Some of my close friends were killed. During the fighting I saw a female child at the age of 5-6 years old crying. I saw two people lying on the ground, one was already dead and the other is struggling to die.’ Santigie remembered his village and the person whom he was raised to be – ‘that was the day of my revolution and my heart was inspired.’
He dropped his gun and ran through the crossfire to save the girl. With no food or water, Santigie carried her for two days and two nights to safety. He saved her life.
Santigie never saw the girl again. He went to Freetown to recover from the war, complete his education and founded We Yone Child Foundation (WYCF) in 2009. Santigie decided to focus WYCF’s efforts on Kroo Bay and George Brook. The appalling conditions in these two communities called for action and no other organisation was producing results.
‘We Yone’ means ‘our own’ in the locally spoken Krio language. It is the perfect description for the way we feel about the children we work for every day.
WYCF
A Place to learn & Grow together
Our activities are enhanced through teacher training, provision of learning materials, stationery, voluntary teaching assistants, support from community committees, an expanding library, a Summer School program, and medical assistance when needed.
High-quality Primary Schools
Providing high-quality primary schools to lay a strong foundation for lifelong learning.
Access to Secondary School
Ensuring access to quality secondary education for a brighter future.
Equal Opportunities for Girls and Women
Promoting equal opportunities for girls and women to reach their full potential.
Healthy Families in Healthy Communities
Supporting healthy families within healthy, thriving communities.
Youth Empowerment and self-reliance
Empowering youth for self-reliance and sustainable futures.
Improved and safe Environment
Creating improved, safe environments for the well-being of beneficiaries and communities.
Our APProach to sustainability
In order to make the families true stakeholders of the schools, WYCF students pay a symbolic fee of approximately $1.30 per term. This also ensures that there are maintenance funds for each school.
We work very hard in partnership with the government of Sierra Leone to ensure that, all WYCF schools receives government support. Then, the organisation’s funding burden could drop by almost $68,000 per year.
The WYCF Home, located half-way between Kroo Bay and George Brook, sleeps seven people. Our volunteers pay an accommodation fee significantly lower than the average tourist housing. In return, they stay in this safe and comfortable home, while the surplus above the costs of maintaining the house will go into the bank account and then be re-invested to support our projects. Additionally, the WYCF Home doubles as our office during the day, reducing our running costs.
Our long-term sustainability strategy also includes the rental of four small kiosks adjacent to the We Yone Primary School in George Brook, and the positioning of WYCF as a key delivery partner for major INGOs in Freetown.
In that sense, WYCF has delivered several Wegdam Foundation programmes in Freetown since 2019. In 2019, WYCF was confirmed as a full delivery partner for Wegdam Foundation Netherlands and The Paul Hodges Trust in 2018 including MAKEIMPACTSL in 2024 meaning that a large portion of our projects and funding are directed by these partners. This ensures a higher quality, more sustainable and transparent service to the beneficiaries we share, all at a lower cost.
Our contribution to un
WYCF is proud to say that the work we do actively and directly contributes to 6 out of 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals:WYCF is proud to actively and directly contribute to six out of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aligning our initiatives with global efforts to end poverty, protect the planet, and promote prosperity for all. Our programs aim to create lasting, impactful change in the lives of the individuals and communities we serve.
WYCF
Where we work
We work with a range of stakeholders including our passionate team of staff, volunteers, donors and teachers who work their hardest to create a happy, healthy and sustainable future for our children and their families.
Our Strategy
High-quality primary schools
Access to secondary school
Equal opportunities for girls and women
Healthy families in healthy communities
Youth empowerment and self-reliance
Improved and safe environment for our beneficiaries
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