Our work is focused in Sierra Leone, West Africa, a small nation about the size of South Carolina on the west coast of Africa with a population of 8.4 million people with a median age of 18 years. Life expectancy is 55 years. There are over a dozen tribal groups with distinct languages. Sierra Leone ranks 181 of 187 nations ranked by the Human Development Index. It was scarred by a brutal civil war from 1991 – 2002 and was at the center of the Ebola epidemic from 2013 – 2015. The climate is tropical with a hot, humid summer rainy season from May to December and a dry winter dry season from December to April.
The under-five mortality statistic has dropped to 72 deaths per 1000 live births. That’s a dramatic improvement, but still far too high. There are 1.4 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10 000 population.
Until Ebola hit in 2014, economic growth was projected at nearly 15%, but growth has decreased since then to around 3%. Infrastructure improvements, particularly electrification and road construction are making a difference.
The red country on the map is Sierra Leone. We knew almost nothing about Sierra Leone until we were invited there in 2009. That visit became a life-changing adventure. Both the great need there and the relationships we built keep us going back. We formed White Field Partners and obtained 501(c)(3) tax exempt status in 2013 in order to expand into a broader range of development initiatives.
