We’d like to welcome Future Leaders Initiative SL (FLI-SL) to the global KCS network.
FLI-SL was set up with the sole purpose of ending violence against children, women, and girls in all learning settings across Sierra Leone. The organisation has been raising awareness on the prevailing issue of corporal punishment, child maltreatment, child sexual abuse, emotional abuse, domestic violence, Female Genital Mutilation, and child marriage in Sierra Leone, primarily in the capital city and in the northern Provinces.
FLI-SL has ten staff and eight volunteers at the moment. The organisation has a social media presence on: Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
Here, in their own words, a summary of why they joined the KCS members’ network.
By Ibrahim Sorie Bangura, Founder and CEO-Future Leaders Initiative SL:
What made you decide to join the KCS as a member?
- To create a better world for children everywhere
- To join other change-makers in raising awareness on the importance of keeping children safe and secure
- To work with other change-makers in providing a better solution in addressing the issue of violence against children and abuse
- Securing a better future for the future generation of children
- To protect children from violence and abuse
- To challenge some of the beliefs and norms that demean the values of children
A key ambition is to implement child safeguarding, to see a better future for children, to enable children to live in an environment where they’re not physically or emotionally hurt. This would be done by engaging with parents, teachers, religious leaders, and the government through our usually community gathering, polite parenting workshops, and school advocacy
We developed a project called Parent Sheriff which is about creating a mobile app that will track all child sex offenders within and outside of Sierra Leone. However, the name would be changed to Papa Police for the local people to have an insight into what the app is all about. The ”Papa Police or Papa P” means in our local language ‘Daddy Police’. This idea is yet to be actualized because we don’t have the financial support to do that.
Where do you think your organisation will be regarding child safeguarding in a year?
FLI-SL organisation will be respected for its work in child safeguarding, in the area of child maltreatment, emotional abuse, and corporal punishment.
What message do you want to tell your staff, donors and the wider world?
Dear Staff, Donors and the rest of the world,
I know all of you have received many messages regarding how to secure the future of our children from different children’s advocates, Professors, Doctors, and the rest.
Therefore, I am joining the rest of those change-makers to remind all of us that we would not stand a chance in making a better future if we do not invest in fixing the worst present situation of children. If the successors of the future [children] are not protected from harm, violence, abuse, and exploitation, this will be the grossest mistake all of us will later regret.
We shall crave peace, freedom, love, harmony but all of them will not listen to our cries.
We shall dream of hugging change and happiness, but we shall be rejected. A tree that will be sustainable to humanity starts its journey from the ground, by the care, love, and concern people show to it. Children are like trees, if we cut their future down, we have invited the scorching sun to sit on our necks.
Safeguarding children means, loving, caring, and respecting the boundaries of their human rights. Billions of dollars have been invested in planning for wars and bombing but not in safeguarding children.
Children are tired of waiting to be protected, to be loved and cared for by their parents, teachers, state government, world leaders, and everyone.
Teachers, parents, and child caregivers, love and education should not hurt. If all of us truly love and have deep concern about our children’s futures, please let don’t waste any more time in investing in them and stop hurting their beautiful existence
Let’s do all we can in safeguarding our children from violence and abuse.