By Mohamed Vandi in Kenema
The Programme Coordinator for a community-based organization in the eastern Kenema district has lauded the support of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) in promoting women and girls rights in the country. Lois Harvest Massango of Brighter Future made the statement in Kenema at the opening ceremony of a 3-day capacity building training for men, women and girls on the fundamental rights of women. She said OSIWA had championed the cause of promoting women’s issues in the district, adding that her organization had organized three-day training sessions for women and girls in Dama, Nongowa, Small Bo and Kanu Lekpeyama Chiefdoms with funds from OSIWA. She said OSIWA provided them US$ 40,000 to promote the fundamental rights of women for one year. Lois said that the participants were selected from four districts, adding: “We are going to train them on the fundamental rights of women. They will build on their capacity to enhance effective advocacy in their respective communities,” she said. She went on that the women would be taught the three gender acts, the child rights act and part of the sexual offences act of 2012, adding that there were many violations against women which needed prompt action. She blamed these violations on “ignorance” saying the training was “timely and appropriate”, and would help the participants in their advocacy role. The Project Coordinator of OSIWA, Nancy Sesay applauded Brighter Future for effectively collaborating with her organisation in promoting the rights of women and girls in Kenema District. She said OSIWA operates in nine West African countries including Sierra Leone and has its headquarters in Dakar, Senegal. She went on that in Sierra Leone OSIWA had supported various interventions through civil society organizations, as well as government agencies and institutions including the Law Officers Department, the National Electoral Commission, Radio Democracy, IRN, Pampana Communications, CARL, Timap for Justice, The National Youth Commission and Brighter Future. Nancy assured that OSIWA remained committed to continuing its support to civil society and government to achieve its strategic objectives in Sierra Leone and other West African countries. She said the organization was dedicated to creating an open society marked by a functioning democracy, good governance, the rule of law, basic freedoms, inclusion and widespread civic participation. She said they envisioned a West Africa where people would enjoy basic freedoms, and everyone could participate meaningfully in civic and political life, where inequalities and inequities were minimized, exclusion gage way to greater appreciation for pluralism, governments were accountable and corruption was on the decline.
