VOICES OF HOPE SERIES 1 | FOINDU WOMEN FARMERS 1-5| IMPACT SIERRA LEONE, APRIL 9TH 2026

Our Voices of Hope series begins with five women, each with a story shaped by resilience and a shared vision for change.

They thought no one was coming.

For years, 40 women in Foindu Village woke up before sunrise. Worked the soil with their hands. Fed their families. Survived.

And wondered if anyone in the world even knew they existed.

What they didn’t know: Someone WAS coming.

March 2019. Impact Sierra Leone arrived in Foindu Village. We found 40 women who had stories no one had heard. Dreams buried under years of just getting by. Hands that had worked the land the same way for generations—because what other choice did they have?

Since then, these 40 women of the ISL Women’s Agribusiness Collective have:

• Learned modern agribusiness practices that are transforming their farms

• Gained access to skills training that’s breaking generational cycles

• Become part of a community where their voices finally matter

And now? We’re building them a dedicated Impact Vocational Skills Training Center—a permanent space where hope, learning, and transformation happen every single day.

Starting NOW, you’re going to meet every single one of them.

Welcome to VOICES OF HOPE—40 stories. 40 women. 40 reasons to believe transformation is real.

A Voice of Hope. A Voice That Matters. Meet Ishatu Turay, Foindu woman farmer.

Some losses change you forever.
Ishatu was a mother of two. Now she holds tighter to her one son of 8 years—the boy who reminds her every day why she keeps moving forward.

Born and raised in Foindu Village, surrounded by her parents and family, Ishatu has always been rooted in her community. She works the land as a farmer. She loves to teach and make groundnut soup and krain krain soup that bring people together. And when you ask her about colors?

“I’m a fan of all the colors, but love orange the most."

That simple statement tells you everything you need to know about Ishatu. Even after loss, she still sees beauty. She still sees possibility. She still believes in more.

And “more” is exactly what she’s reaching for.
Ishatu wants to learn culinary arts and open a catering business someday. Additionally, she wants to enhance her skills in hairdressing.
But because she understands something powerful: When you build capacity in women, you build capacity in entire communities.

She’s watched Impact Sierra Leone (ISL) arrive in Foindu and start transforming what’s possible. She's been a witness to the Seeds of Life program being launched at Foindu in 2021 and its huge impact to the children and families. As a true women changeagent, she has been a key part of all the outreach activities, monthly events, mobilizing of the women and liason with the stakeholders. She’s seen the Vocational Training Center taking shape, brick by brick. And she gets it. She is overjoyed that Cosmetology will be one of the eleven classes taught in the Skills training center.

“I feel happy for us. I’m excited about the building ISL is doing. It will expose us more to learning new skills and becoming more independent—and in turn, add to the economy.” — Ishatu

This is what capacity building looks like in real life equipping her with skills that create income. Skills that create choice. Skills that create a ripple effect—from one woman, to her family, to her village, to the economy itself.

Ishatu sees the bigger picture. She knows that when she learns catering, she’s not just cooking—she’s building a business. When she learns hairdressing, she’s not just styling—she’s creating opportunity.
And when one woman in Foindu becomes more independent? The whole village rises with her. Ishatu, a woman that we met as very quiet has now become one of the most vocal core volunteers. Seeing the voices of the community members amplified over the years just by our powerful engagement has become something we are most proud of at ISL.

This is Ishatu. A mother who’s lost much but still sees all the colors. A woman ready to build her future—and her community’s future - one skill at a time.

A Voice of Hope. A Voice That Matters. Meet Adamasay Dawo.

Adamasay Dawo and ISL, CEO, Dr. Adama Kalokoh

There’s a small garden in Foindu Village where okra grows.

Not much. Just enough for soup. Just enough to feed a family. Just enough to remind one woman that even small things, when tended with care, can flourish.

That woman is Adamasay Dawo.

And if you’ve ever been to an event in Foindu, you’ve seen her. She’s the one in the kitchen, hands moving quickly, laughter spilling over as she stirs the pot. She’s the one who volunteers before anyone asks. The one who shows up—not because she has to, but because she believes in what’s happening here.

Adamasay has been part of the ISL Women’s Agribusiness Collective since 2022. Married, with one child she’s determined to give a better life than she had.

You see, Adamasay didn’t finish high school. Life pulled her in a different direction. But she never stopped dreaming.

This past Christmas, she stood in that kitchen again—this time competing in the Women’s Cooking Competition as part of Team 1. Doing what she loves. Feeding people. Building community. One pot of okra soup at a time.

But here’s what Adamasay whispers when she talks about the future:

“I want to learn how to braid hair—really braid it. The kind that makes people feel beautiful.”

“I want to create fashion designs that show the world who we are. Sierra Leonean culture stitched into every piece.”

She’s watching the Vocational Training Center rise in her village. And she’s not just watching—she’s hoping. Hoping that cosmetology class will sharpen her braiding skills. Hoping that fashion design will turn her ideas into reality.

“I’m always excited about what Impact Sierra Leone is doing to strengthen my community.” — Adamasay Dawo

That excitement? That’s not just optimism. That’s a mother imagining her child growing up in a village where opportunity doesn’t pass them by. That’s a woman who tends small gardens bigger. This is Adamasay Dawo. Her voice. Her hope. Her story. 💚✨

A Voice of Hope. A Voice That Matters. Meet Kadiatu Bangura

Some women lead from the front. Some organize from behind the scenes.

Kadiatu does both.

Born in Foindu Village. Mother of five—three boys and two girls.

She also serves as one of the Chairlady of the ISL Foindu Village Women and ISL Women’s Agribusiness Collective.

When Impact Sierra Leone first arrived in December, 2020, Kadiatu didn’t just welcome us. She mobilized. She saw what this could mean for the women in her village—women who had been invisible for too long—and she got to work.

Here’s what Kadiatu did:

✅ Spearheaded the creation of a farm group exclusively for women

✅ Recruited the 40 women who now make up the ISL Women’s Agribusiness Collective

✅ Helped organize monthly meetings that keep the vision alive

✅ Became a key decision-maker and stakeholder in Foindu Village

✅ Showed up consistently—especially in the kitchen, where her famous groundnut soup brings everyone together

Kadiatu isn’t just a member. She’s a builder. A connector. A woman who saw opportunity and made sure her sisters didn’t miss it.

She’s been with ISL from day one. Through every meeting. Every challenge. Every small victory that’s leading to something bigger.

And she’s not done yet.

As we build the skills training center, Kadiatu will be there—organizing, encouraging, leading. Because that’s what she does. She makes sure no woman gets left behind.

This is leadership. This is sisterhood. This is Kadiatu Bangura.

A Voice of Hope. A Voice That Matters. Meet Abie Bangura

Born and raised in Foindu Village. A mother to one beautiful daughter. A heart that’s been broken, but never defeated.

This is Abie Bangura.

Ask her what she loves, and she’ll tell you two things without hesitation:

Selling cakes. And making her famous groundnut soup.

But here’s what keeps her up at night—the dream she’s held onto through everything:

“I want to learn how to make birthday cakes. Different types of cakes. Real cakes that people celebrate with.”

For years, Abie has sold cakes in her community. Simple ones. The kind she could figure out on her own. But she’s always known there was more. More flavors. More designs. More possibilities.

She just needed someone to teach her.
That’s where the ISL Women’s Agribusiness Collective comes in.

Abie isn’t just a cake seller. She’s a woman rebuilding her life—one recipe at a time. She’s a mother showing her daughter that broken doesn’t mean finished. She’s proof that when you invest in a woman’s skill, you’re investing in her entire family’s future.

And soon?

Abie will walk into our new skills training center and learn exactly what she’s been dreaming of. Birthday cakes. Layered cakes. Cakes that turn ordinary days into celebrations.

Because that’s what hope does, it takes what you love and helps you build a life around it.

This is Abie’s story. This is her hope. And we’re honored to be part of her journey.

A Voice of Hope. A Voice That Matters. Meet Adama Tholley.

Some women carry loss like a second skin.

Adama Tholley knows what it means to bury the people you love most.

Her parents—gone.

Her two brothers lost their lives in the war.

Her husband is late.

Born in the village next to Foindu, Adama has spent her life watching people leave—some by choice, most by force. The civil war in Sierra Leone didn’t just displace her family. It erased parts of it.

Now a widow and mother of five, Adama works the land alone. She plants corn, cassava, potatoes, cucumber, and groundnut—coaxing life from soil that’s seen too much death.

This past Christmas Day of Hope, she competed with the Sabenche team in the cooking competition, standing alongside other women who understand what it means to survive when survival feels impossible.

When you ask Adama about her favorite color, she’ll tell you white.

Clean. Pure. Untouched by the blood and chaos that took her brothers. Her parents. Her husband.

White is the color of starting over.

And that’s exactly what Adama is trying to do.

For years, she’s carried the weight of five children alone—no partner to share the burden, no parents to lean on, no brothers to call when things get hard. Just her. And the land. And the relentless question every widow with children faces:

“How do I give them a future when I’m barely holding onto today?”

Then Impact Sierra Leone came to Foindu.

And for the first time in years, Adama saw a way forward.

She wants to learn gara-making design at the Vocational Skills Training Center.

Not just to create beautiful tie-dye fabric, but to create income. To support her family. To pay for her children’s education without breaking under the weight of it.

“I’m grateful for ISL and their support. I pray for ISL’s growth. The villagers are grateful for ISL’s consistent show of love.” — Adama.

Read that last line again.

“Consistent show of love.”

Because that’s what changes everything for women like Adama. Not a one-time charity. Not pity. But consistent, steady, unshakable love that shows up. That builds. That stays.

Adama has lost her parents, her brothers, and her husband.

But she hasn’t lost her fight.

This is Adama Tholley. A widow who farms hope alongside cassava. A mother of five who refuses to let loss have the final word. A woman in white, ready to start again.

Thank you for reading our stories.

We invite you today to be a part of The ISL Impact Vocational Skills Training Center Building project https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=DD8HH2GRW9KAU and make the Community, The ISL Women’s Agribusiness Collective, and the Foindu Village, Northern Sierra Leone, dream come alive.