After a temporary suspension of our activities in Sierra Leone we have resumed working there. We are working with three new partners, Action Aid Sierra Leone, the Independent Youth Forum, and Youth in Action. Three new projects to supply tools and training started this year.

Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world. A brutal civil war raged for the last decade of the 20th century leaving thousands dead, displaced and mutilated.

In May 2002 the first peaceful elections for more than 40 years were held and 80% of the population voted. Since then the country has remained peaceful and all areas have been declared safe.

The huge task facing the country is to rebuild itself and ensure the economic prosperity of all its citizens.

We first started working in Sierra Leone in the 1980s and continued our partnership throughout the decade long civil war. We have fostered a programme of tool making and have supplied hundreds of tool kits with our previous partners the Council of Churches and the Association for Rural Development.

We have focused on programmes involving:

• Peace and reconciliation
• Rebuilding infrastructure such as schools
• People with disability
• HIV and artisans

• Networking among artisans