Sierra Leone

Karim Vandi Coker is a 31-year-old sociology graduate from Njala University in Sierra Leone. He is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Humanitarian Practice at the University of Manchester UK. Karim works as a Health Promoter Supervisor for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Belgium and has over 5 years of experience in Health Promotion, Behavior Change Communication, Child Protection, and Community-based Programming as well as Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. He has worked with Doctors Without Borders (MSF OCA & OCB) and Action Aid International in various capacities, managing Community Health initiatives and educational programs with diverse teams. Karim is an experienced Community Health Advocate with a proven track record in promoting people-centred healthcare and managing integrated community case management, risk communication, and access to healthcare for sexual violence survivors. He is an asset to the MSF-OCB Kenema Hospital Project, where he facilitates community acceptance and participation in health service delivery in collaboration with Community health workers, voluntary blood donors, traditional birth attendants, traditional healers and health development committees. Karim is passionate about empowering communities and women to increase control over their health and improve their well-being. He believes in harnessing community inputs and fostering collective actions to improve the resilience of marginalized groups, pregnant women, girls, and people living with disabilities, especially in health emergencies. Karim has a critical interest in mental health promotion targeting youths to abstain from drug abuse. He believes that the socioeconomic impacts of mental health can be devastating for youth empowerment and national development.

Donaldson has four years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and over two years of industry experience with the private sector. Donaldson earned a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Information Systems from the University of Sierra Leone, and a Six Continuing Units from George Mason University in the United States for successful completion of the IREX Community Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C. He is currently a Master of Business Administration Executive Option student at the Njala University Sierra Leone. Previously, he served as District Program Manager for Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) on the Strengthening Accountability Building Inclusion (SABI) program, a UKAID-sponsored project and Project Manager for BudgiT Nigeria in the Accountable Governance in Justice and Security (AGJS) with support from USAID through International Narcotic and Law (INL). In this role, Donaldson worked with local authorities in justice, security, health, social protection, education, and local government to galvanize their attention on providing effective service delivery to citizens through accountability and transparency. Donaldson is an expert in civic accountability and transparency projects and has developed skills in open data, accountable governance, data analysis, proposal developments, and implementation. He has served as a Community Solutions Program Fellow with Glasshouse Policy Austin, Texas, where he supported their programs department to conduct a hack-a-thon event (Budget party). As a Fellow, he also planned baseline research for advocacy on broadband services to rural Austin and inputted in the data analysis for Capital Metro Project Connect in Austin. Donaldson is currently the founder and Managing Partner of Technocracy Innovative Network, a social enterprise that is serving Sierra Leone to improve open and transparent democracy.

Host Organization: Emgage

Role at Emgage At Emgage, Donaldson will serve as the Data Analyst Fellow: managing the various data systems that Emgage uses, including systems which house their voter files, users and donor files, and their mobile users’ data.

Ahmed is an accomplished development professional with more than five years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and sociology from Fourah Bay College (University of Sierra Leone). Like most young Sierra Leonean who envisaged abject poverty and devastation caused by the ten year senseless civil war in Sierra Leone, Ahmed did not confine himself in that situation but rather rose beyond it to make life better for himself and his compatriots mostly in need; some of whom are women and children suffering from sexual and gender based violence, youths whose livelihoods are shattered and pregnant women and mothers in need of sufficient healthcare. Ahmed joined BRAC Sierra Leone as a Young professional in November 2013 and through this appointment, he has been able to provide quality data on development that have been used by BRAC to solve problem of essential healthcare, malnutrition, gender based violence, access to finance etc. As a monitoring manger in BRAC, Ahmed successfully implemented and managed a strong monitoring & evaluation systems of large scale projects for BRAC Sierra Leone. Ahmed also immensely contributed to providing legal aid services to more than 2000 poor and marginalized women and children who suffered various forms of gender based violence, whilst leading BRAC’s human right and legal empowerment team in 2014. During this time, the Ebola Epidemic had broken out so he had to help BRAC management to design a project that caters for the right of quarantined individuals, households and communities badly affected. Ahmed raised around 70,000 (USD) from Trocaire/DFID to provide food and non food items to particularly quarantined households in 50 communities. In addition, Ahmed also facilitated social mobilization activities and psycho social supports to these communities, thereby helping them to deal with the unprecedented crisis.

Host Organization: Sheltering Arms

Role at Host Organization:
Ahmed will be tasked with collecting, compiling, and analyzing programmatic data with a lens towards outcome study, development and implementation. Working in conjunction with QI and programs, Ahmed will develop new ways to capture outcomes with a focus on innovative ways to measure service results and report out on findings.

Pascal has six years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Information Systems from the Institute of Public Administration and Management, University of Sierra Leone. As a development professional, he has diverse experience in child advocacy, youth empowerment and gender equality issues. Pascal has worked as a child ambassador for Search for Common Grounds where he later became a trainer for the Golden Kids News (a program that advocated for the voiceless and marginalized children). As a Knowledge Management Coordinator of JSI Research Camp, Training Institute, Inc. in Sierra Leone under the USAID-funded Advancing Partners and Communities project, he worked on reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health (RMNCH), and water and sanitation components by creating and distributing compelling stories of beneficiaries and communities. Previously, Pascal worked as the Communications Lead of BRAC Sierra Leone (after going through a six-months International Young Professional training in Bangladesh) for over three years and was integral in raising the organization’s profile. He developed and rolled-out the communications policies and strategies, ensured brand compliance of all collateral materials, and initiated an emergency response unit that developed community needs assessment across program areas to inform BRAC’s economic recovery plan. Pascal is the founder of Zenith Academy, a free home remedial for school dropouts in Sierra Leone. He is one of the pioneers of the Africa Changemakers Network where he leads the Social Innovations unit, and he is a YALA Citizen journalist. In all these commitments, he has developed strong research and interpersonal communication skills, and leadership in project management and emergency response. As a survivor of a decade civil war and an Ebola outbreak, Pascal is passionate about child, gender and youth issues with more focus on how social innovation and entrepreneurship can be used to reinvent and boost up these areas. Pascal is a HeForShe advocate and loves storytelling, composing songs, and is curious to learn new languages.

Host Organization: World Vision International

Role at Host Organization: Pascal will foster communication, networking, and information sharing to improve learning and collaboration on child protection and gender efforts across the organization and with partners, that supports more effective programming and advocacy at the national level, strengthens World Vision’s influence externally, and builds credibility with donors. This includes coordination and strengthening of mechanisms and processes to manage and grow dynamic global WV Child Protection and Gender Communities of Practice.