41 New Gerihun Road Company address Company website : www.caritasbo.org Contact information Name: David S. Yambasu, Tel. +23276632659, caritasbo2014@gmail.com	CAPABILITY STATEMENT   Caritas Bo is a reliable, accountable and competent partner with technical capacity to handle multiple grants, meet donor demands and deliver on commitments to target communities.
Core Competencies Core Competencies: Caritas Bo implements human interest driven programmes in response to the needs of vulnerable communities. We focus on health, food security and Nutrition, Child Protection , Education, School Feeding , Midwifery Education , Peacebuilding and Livelihoods and other emergencies. We are very competent  in community engagement, social mobilization,  participatory advocacy,  strong lobbying and networking skills, results-based  programme management and a permanent presence in the entire southern region of Sierra Leone.   Our Vision : “Inspired by the Gospel and the Catholic social teachings, Caritas Sierra Leone envisions a society where everyone exercise their fundamental human rights and live in dignity, free from poverty and social injustice irrespective of class status, gender or social orientation.” Our Mission : “CSL’s mission is to empower men, women and children to fight poverty, social injustice, through advocacy, social mobilization and through provision of services for long-term development for vulnerable communities based on the Catholic Social teachings.” Financial Capacity” Caritas Bo has a sound financial system which guarantees transparent and accountable use of resources. We use QuickBooks software  system  with a web-based backup system for effective  financial data security.  Our books  are audited by external auditors on an annual basis.  We make  public our  financial statements  We manage an annual funding basket of approximately  1.5 million USD. Strategic Objectives: SO1. An effective, efficient, financially sustainable and self-reliant organization SO2   To rollout interventions for the eradication of poverty, inequalities, empowerment of communities and the holistic development of children, women, PWDs and youth through innovative means SO3   To build climate resilience for all especially the vulnerable (including pastoralist, farmers and fishing communities) through collective climate change mitigation actions and to respond to humanitarian crisis with the means of CSL in Sierra Leone. SO4  Improved people-driven governance, constitutionalism and rule of law. SO5  Improved socio-economic status of disadvantaged youth and young people prone to local and international migration through entrepreneurial skills development and vocational training and migration flows halted
Past Performance	Differentiators (bullets)
We are rated as competent  and reliable by the following  partners: UNICEF Sierra Leone Country Office Child Protection TUFTS University / USAID Four Food Projects UNFPA Sierra Leone Country Office – Midwifery Education Kindermissionswerk – School Feeding Programme and WASH Cordaid Netherlands – Women Empowerment and Livelihoods BMZ / Action Medeor – Health and Midwifery Education Catholic Relief Services– Child well being and Livelihoods UN Peacebuilding Fund – Women’s Safety and Security – SGVB	Caritas Bo has a comparative advantage of  demonstrating evidence of credible track records of effective  and efficient grant and programme management which most national NGOs lack.   Caritas Bo has a pool of highly skilled, qualified  and experienced staff compliment that is not likely to be identified  most  competing NGOs   With over 30 years of existence and performance in the development space, Caritas Bo guarantees sustainable presence in all the  target communities which is not a common practice among other NNGOs. We do not parshute, our community engagement approach ensures that our staff live in the target communities.
Legal Status	List Pertinent Codes
We are registered with the Ministry of Development and Economic Development ( MoPED ) as a National Non Governmental Organization . Registration No. NNGO / 359/2020-2021   We are also registered with the Sierra Leone Association of Non Governmental Organizations (SLANGO) Caritas Bo is the Lead NGO for the coordination of the COVID Response in Bo District.	DUNS : 561213114   NGO REGISTRATION NUMBER: NNGO/359/2020-2021   Tax Identification Number:  TIN 1075874/7

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WHO ARE WE

Caritas Bo is part of the 165 Caritas confederations globally. We are the official voice of the Catholic Dioces of Bo in terms of its Social teachings relating to charity and development work. Caritas Bo has been an integral part of the Caritas family in Sierra Leone which was founded in 1981 by the Catholic Bishop’s Conference.

WHY ARE WE

Caritas Bo has contributed towards transforming the lives of vulnerable rural poor especially women and children in Bo, Bonthe, Moyamba and Pujehun who are neglected by society.

Through the implementation of development activities over the years Caritas Bo believes that the rural poor also have a role to play in the socioeconomic development of Sierra Leone. These activities have helped to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the lives of our beloved beneficiaries and communities they live in.

OUR VALUES

 

A SOCIETY DEVOID OF EXTREME POVERTY WHERE EVERY ONE IS ASSURED OF A DAILY BREAD, EQUITY AND PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE.

1. STEWARDSHIP
2. TRUTH
3. ACCOUNTABILITY
4. LOVE OF ALL
5. PEACE

 

Our Mission:

• ERADICATING EXTREME POVERTY
• RESTORING HUMAN DIGNITY AND
• PROMOTING SOCIAL JUSTICE

 

OUR VISION:

A society devoid of extreme poverty where everyone is assured of a daily bread, equity and peaceful- co-existence

ABOUT US

Caritas Bo is the development wing of the Diocese of Bo.

MANDATE OF CARITAS BO:

• To promote the social teachings of the Catholic Church in the southern region of Sierra Leone
• To build the capacities of parish based organizations and institutions through trainings and resource mobilization
• To promote development and improve the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable Children in Bo, Bonthe, Moyamba and pujehun districts
• To remove obstacles that deepen poverty and promote sustainable development
• To coordinate with other diocese and likeminded organizations

THEMATIC SECTORS

• Education
• Child Protection
• Health
• Food Security / Agriculture
• Relief and Emergencies
• Livelihoods
• Governance
• Justice, Peace and Human Rights
• Self Reliance

OUR APPROACH

Our development programmes are aligned with the national and regional development plans. Our model of intervention is community driven (a participatory approach which assures sustainability) focusing on strengthening existing structures with innovations based on community needs.

Over the years, Caritas has worked in Collaboration with the Ministries of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Ministry of Education Science and Technology, and Ministry of Water Resources.

 

As part of its relief and emergency responds activities, Cartias Bo swiftly responded to 275 Families/ households affected by flood in Kakua, Baoma and Bagbe chiefdoms respectively. Beneficiaries were identified after a robust assessment from the Office of National Security in a timely manner and provided with essential items support to rebuild their livelihoods.

CARITAS PROVIDING PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID TO VICTIMS

 

OUR TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

CHILD PROTECTION SECTOR:

With funds from UNICEF, Caritas Bo is currently implementing a project titled STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY-LED SYSTEMS TO PROTECT, CARE AND SUPPORT CHILDREN FOR SUSTAINABLE WELL BEING IN BO AND BONTHE DISTRICTS.

The project aims to ensure that a strengthened child protection system will:

• Increase awareness about child protection laws and policies;
• Improve coordination and use of resources;
• Strengthen government and civil society capacity;
• Ensure sustainability of interventions; ensure greater focus and integration of child protection programming;
• Promote children’s competencies, voices and participation;
• Strengthen linkages between community based mechanisms and the formal child protection systems and;
• Increase accountability for fulfilling children’s rights

Drama activity on Child Rights Act and domestic violence

HEALTH SECTOR:

Caritas Bo has three key projects that are geared towards contributing to responding to health related challenges in the southern region.

In January 2017, Caritas Bo secured funds from BMZ through Action Medeor to implement a project titled strengthening the health system in Sierra Leone “Strengthening the health system in Sierra Leone Post Ebola through scaling up a new midwifery school in Bo district / Southern Province

The goal of the project is to Compliment Government’s efforts in reducing maternal and child mortality rate through Midwifery Education in Bo District by December, 2020.

The objectives of the project are:

• To increase the current number of midwives by 50 by 2020
• To reduce maternal and new-born mortality and morbidity by 10% by 2020
• To increase positive midwife attitudes, ethics and etiquette towards

patients, and also increase positive community perceptions of midwives by 50% by 2020

FOOD AID QUALITY REVIEW PROJECT (FAQR) (TUFTS)

Caritas Bo also received funds from USAID through TUFFT University to conduct Four Foods Study. The four foods that are being investigated in Pujehun District are;

The Title of the project is, Food Aid Quality Review  Phase III (FAQR III)  4 FOODS  Study (Pujehun)

The overarching goal of the USAID program is to reduce the food insecurity of vulnerable populations around the world. It  seeks to combat the root causes of food insecurity, improve nutrition, and through the direct distribution of food aid commodities provided for the immediate dietary needs of needy and vulnerable people.

SERABU REFERRAL HOSPITAL

Brief overview of the Serabu Community Hospital

Serabu Hospital is located in the Bumpe Ngao chiefdom in the Bo District, and serves approximately 70,000 people in Bumpe Ngao and six other bordering chiefdoms in the Bo, Bonthe and Moyamba districts.

The hospital was first established in 1954 by the Holy Rosary Sisters to provide maternal and child health and primary healthcare for the Bumpe Ngao Community and its environs. It was renowned over the decades as among the best referral hospitals in the country, catering for patients from across the nation. The hospital was however completely destroyed during the decade long civil war (1991-2002), leaving a huge void in healthcare provision for predominantly rural communities in the Bumpe Ngao and neighboring chiefdoms.

Following the end of the war, the hospital was rehabilitated with funding from the European Union (EU) in 2009. The EU funding for the hospital ended in 2011 and was replaced by German Doctors, a German NGO, which provides both specialist doctors and other staff to the hospital, as well as funding for other administrative needs.

WATER HYGIENE AND SANITATION (WASH)

Project Title: Water and Sanitation Facilities for Rural Primary School in Southern Sierra Leone.

Project Goal: To prevent, and minimize the outbreak of cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, and other water born and related diseases in the beneficiary communities.

Strategic Objective:

• Improve the health and sanitation of the beneficiary schools by providing them potable water and VIP latrines
• Raising the awareness of beneficiary communities on basic hygiene and sanitary practices.
• Provision of basic hygiene and sanitary materials, soap for hand washing, clean containers for storage, for training and post training period

EMERGENCY RESPONSE / RELIEF SECTOR.

Project Title:  Provision of food and non-food items for flood disaster victims in Bo District

Project Goal: Responding to the immediate needs of August 14 flood victims in 11 communities in Kakua and Tikonko chiefdoms in Bo district

Strategic Objectives:

Objective 1: To ensure that households recover from the effects of flooding through the provision of basic needs.

Objective 2: To prevent further outbreak of other diseases.

Objective 3: To ensure that school pupils return to school and families are provided with the necessary support

 

EDUCATION SECTOR

With funds from KINDERMISSIONWERK  a German based child protection organization, Caritas Bo is currently implementing a three-year (3) (2017-2020) project on School Feeding and Nutrition in 50 primary schools in Pujehun and Moyamba Districts. The goal of the project is to improve the lives of 10,152 vulnerable and rural poor children in Pujehun and Moyamba Districts by February 2020.

The project aims to achieve the following objectives;

• To advocate and embark on community based structures and help needy and deprived children
• To reduced hunger among 10,152 vulnerable rural poor primary school going pupils
• To improve the livelihood of 1000 low income earners in rural communities within the two Districts (Moyamba and Pujehun)
• Support in the provision of parental or alternative care for street children and orphans.

DEPARTMENT/SECTOR

JUSTICE, PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

PROJECT TITLES: 1.ACCESS TO JUSTICE:

Strengthening Justice, Peace and Human Rights in the Catholic Diocese of Bo

Project Goal: To facilitate peaceful co-existence among people and communities, by strengthening the already established independent Commission that would oversee the implementation of Justice, Peace and Human Rights activities in local communities, through Sensitisation, Advocacy, Legal Aid and Civic Education for pastoral and social transformation.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

We want our Parishioners to be knowledgeable in initiating dialogue and mediation activities for addressing disputes in their communities.

They can effectively act to take prompt and appropriate actions on demanding justice for people in their communities and to support their healing and reconciliation processes.

They can initiate and conduct awareness raising and advocacy campaigns to assist the citizens in enforcing and living in social peace. The culture of free and fair election is supported

DEPERTMENT/SECTOR

AGRICULTURE/SELF RELIANCE

Project Title: Mechanical Rice Cultivation (M.R.C)

The Goal of the project is Engaging women’s group in mechanized rice cultivation

Project objectives are to;

• Identifying of farm land
• Recruiting of laborers for the brushing of the land
• Planting and harvesting of farm products.

OUR IMPACT

Child protection:

In rolling out the  activities, the project team made the following achievement

• Child Training of frontline workers and supervisors/managers to use PRIMERO for data inputting, supervision, data sharing, analysis and for evidence based decision making commenced and was successful.
• During the course of implementation, it was discovered that there are eight homes in Bo and one in Mattru Jong, totaling to nine homes including Saint Mary’s Children’s Home, CRC, JCC, Betty Savage, SOS, Love One Another, Commit and Act, Fresh Hope, of which assessment and monitoring of the all nine homes are been carried out.
• Capturing of children of information of children both in conflict and in contact of the law is in progress in both Bo and Bonthe district. So far it is captured that four (4) children are in conflict with the law with non in conflict with the law in Bonthe district. Data for Bo district is yet to be provided by FSU Bo.
• The child protection justice training provided to MSWGCA probation officers and FSU Investigation Officers and Court monitors in Bo and Bonthe districts yielded the desired impacts
• In all 80 communities in Bo and Bonthe districts, advocacy meetings with 100 community authorities (whole day meeting) for community based support for juveniles were held and were well attended by competent community authorities
• We supported three different coordination meetings. During each of the coordination meetings, partners reported on their activities carried out and those they wish to carry out in the next quarter; this has helped in tracking the gaps on child protection activities in the district.
• Refresher training of 80 Caritas Bo staff and other NGOs on facilitation skills and how to work with communities, U-Reporting, life skills was done at district level- Bo and Bonthe. Facilitation was also supported by UNICEF child Protection Officer and Child Protection Specialist.
• Children were trained in life skills to build their resilience and strengthen their coping mechanism. 2,400 Children including 1,234 boys and 1,166 girls benefited from the training.
• 80 adolescent clubs/spaces were set up in 80 communities in Bo and Bonthe districts. These adolescent clubs/spaces comprise of 2, 400 children (1,234 boys and 1,166 girls).

WATER HYGIENE AND SANITATION (WASH)

• Socio-economic benefit of good health is realized with improved health in schools with strong and healthy children
• 10,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries have access to safe drinking and toilet facilities
• Diseases (cholera diarrhea and dysentery) outbreak are minimized in project communities.
• Beneficiaries are able to recognize early warning signs (symptoms) for cholera, diarrhea dysentery
• Increased awareness on hygiene among pupils which has enhanced healthy living among them.
• Through trainings and workshops, school pupils have learn how to protect the source of drinking water and how to use water purifiers, such as chlorines
• School pupils know the importance of hand-washing

EDUCATION SECTOR

Through project intervention, and out of 41,000 children within the age bracket of 5-12 in Pujehun and Moyamba district, 9,610 23.4% children (4,621 Boys 4989 Girls) in 50 primary schools are provided with 1 (launch) highly nutritious meal per day for 3days a week.  This have drastically have reduced hunger and increased school enrolment in all 50 target schools in Pujehun and Moyamba district in the Southern province of Sierra Leone. According to the District Health Management Team (DHMT) Nutrition quarterly report, the project have further helped reduce childhood illness caused by lack of nutritious meal among school pupils by 10%

Feedback from heads of schools from the 50 target schools within the two target districts showed that, school pupils performed remarkably well when compared to non-target schools within the two districts. Interventions on school feeding within the project contributed immensely to the improved promotional examination result this clearly indicate that the initiative further improved on the cognitive abilities of the children, improved health conditions, improved school attendance and increased academic performance.

Overall, school feeding programs have directly increased the educational and nutritional status of recipient children, and indirectly impact the economic and social lives of themselves and their family. Basic education is seen as a necessary condition for development.  In addition, it is seen as a right for every child. In rural schools through the intervention of project activities, many schools have enrolled lots vulnerable pupils whom their parents are poor and some are totally orphans.

 

HEALTH SECTOR

Through the implementation of project activities, the project team realized the following gains.

• School of Midwifery Bo (SOMBO) has been accredited by the Government of Sierra Leone through MOHS
• Recruitment of Tutors was jointly done with MOHS
• Collaboration with MOHS has been improved after a series of lobbying events
• Healthy relationship with UNFPA, BMZ, Action Medeor and the Quant Family has been developed
• SOMBO Website has been set up
• SOMBO Board has been set up and is running.

WHERE WE WORK