As improving health and wellbeing of adolescent girls remains a top priority in Sierra Leone, Lifeline Nehemiah Projects (LNP), under its 2YoungLives (2YL) project, from Tuesday 18th March to Saturday 22nd March, 2025 held a five-day Annual Convention aimed at strengthening mentorship, promoting community engagement, and addressing key challenges faced by adolescent mothers.
2YL is a mentoring scheme in Sierra Leone for pregnant under 18-year-olds, with particular emphasis on the most vulnerable and girls with disabilities. Girls are mentored from pregnancy until 1 year after their baby’s birth.
Speaking on the importance of the Convention at Bumpe Chiefdom in Bo District, Executive Director at Lifeline Nehemiah Projects, Prince Tommy Williams, said the gathering was to organize their mentors, coordinators and managers across the country, adding that they are into teenage pregnancy and supporting women and girls, hence, every year they ensure they brought their mentors, coordinators and managers together for refreshing training, but also look at the challenges and success stories; as there are lots of success stories, for which they do not want to focus on, but also look at the challenges also.
“2YL is mainly a mentorship programme where we train mentors within the community to care for teenagers who are actually faced with pregnancy at different cadre, to help these young girls get back to school, deliver safely, access respectful healthcare and train them how to do basic business, as they continue their lives,” Mr. Williams said.
He also disclosed that the 2YoungLives initiative scheme was designed by Lifeline Nehemiah Projects, with community members, including those with lived experience. “In 2017-2018 we started 2 teams in Kuntorloh in the Western Area, with 6 mentors and 2 coordinators. In 2019 we added a team in Port Loko town (3 mentors, 1 coordinator) and Bumpe in Bo District (3 mentors and 1 coordinator). We went on to start new teams in 2020 in Punduru, Kenema District (3 mentors, 1 coordinator). We went to start new teams in Coconut Farm in Western Area, with 3 mentors and 1 coordinator.
He further explained that in the years 2021 to 2024, 2YoungLives became a major work stream of a Global Health Research Group funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and conducted a pilot cluster randomized trial, starting 2YoungLives in 6 new sites (Tombo in the Western Area Rural District, Calaba Town in Western Area Urban, Taiama and Moyamba Junction in Moyamba District, Matru Jong in Bonthe Distrcit and Lengekoro in Koinadugu District).
Looking at the impact of their intervention in communities, the Executive Director passionately called for increase funding from NGOs, the government and philanthropist to ensure the continuation of their ongoing support for pregnant teenagers through their initiatives.
“We need more funding, as the issue across the country is that there is a need for effective mobilization, so that we are able to reach out and save more of these girls who have been left out and really suffering from teenage pregnancy and not accessing the right medical care they deserved,” Mr. Williams ended.
2YoungLives Project Manager, Magenda Kamara, said that over the years the 2YL Mentoring Scheme has supported 650 teenagers facing pregnancy, helping them return to education, and access safe healthcare services, among others. Not one of these girls has died.
She went on by reemphasizing LNP’s commitment to empowering young women and their babies beyond mere survival, with initiative focus on saving lives, transforming communities, ensuring access to respectful maternity care, creating economic opportunities, facilitating education and supporting post-natal contraception access, while reducing stigma.
One of the 2YoungLives mentors, Kadija Koroma, narrated some of the impacts of the scheme, noting that these girls have delivered safely and were enrolled back to school as a result of the 2YL initiative. “Those who were not able to continue with formal education were enrolled in skills or vocational courses, with a start up fund for those who opted to start up a business”.
Lifeline Nehemiah Projects is a grass-roots NGO set up in the 90s to nurture and raise child soldiers and other war-affected children who could not return to their families. It is now a respected and deeply rooted organization, which specializes in community engagement and empowerment for sustainable development. A local household survey by LNP in 2016 showed 1 in 10 pregnant under-18 year olds had died from maternal death. Research funded by Wellbeing of Women identified a range of social and economic factors leading to this statistics.
The event was climaxed with cultural talent display, beach exercise and presentation of certificates to deserving mentors, coordinators and managers.