VOICES OF HOPE
EXPLORE THEIR VOICES
Now it’s time to meet the women behind the story. Here, you’ll meet the 40 women of the ISL Women’s Agribusiness Collective one by one — each with her own journey, challenges, needs, and hopes for the future. These are not just stories about agriculture. They are stories of resilience, dignity, and determination. Take a moment to step into their lives and read each story.
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 Fatmata Koroma, Foindu Woman Farmer
Imagine bringing children into the world during war. Not in a hospital. Not in peace. But in the chaos of Sierra Leone’s civil war—where homes were being destroyed and anything valuable was being taken or burned.
That was Fatmata Koroma’s reality.
She didn’t give birth in Foindu Village. She came here later, carrying children born in the midst of unspeakable violence. Children who entered a world where their mother’s house was destroyed. Where family heirlooms, photographs, security—everything—was ripped away.
Now married and trying to build what war stole, Fatmata works as a farmer, planting groundnut season after season. Her hands know the soil well. Her heart knows survival even better
This past Christmas, she competed with the Saybanor team in the cooking competition during the annual ISL Christmas Day of Hope event. And if you ask her what she loves to cook most, she’ll tell you cassava—the crop that’s fed her family through the hardest times.
When you ask about her favorite color, she’ll say red.
Bold. Unapologetic. The color of life itself.
And life—real life, not just survival—is exactly what Fatmata is reaching for.
For years, she’s carried the weight of raising children born into trauma. Children who deserved education, opportunity, a childhood that wasn’t defined by loss.
But how do you provide that when you’re starting from nothing?
Then Impact Sierra Leone came.
And everything began to shift.
“ISL has really done me more good. My children can now get the basics of education without worry.” — Fatmata
Read that again. Without worry.
For a mother who gave birth during war, who watched her home destroyed, who’s spent years just trying to keep her family alive—the ability to send her children to school without worry is everything.
But Fatmata isn’t stopping there.
She wants to learn soap-making.and how to design gara fabrics.
Not just to create income, but to support her children’s education long-term. To build something sustainable. To turn survival into stability.
“I’m grateful. And I pray for ISL.” — Fatmata says
That’s not just gratitude. That’s a mother’s prayer for the people who’ve helped her children access something she never had—a fighting chance.
Fatmata gave birth in war. But she’s raising her children in hope.
This is Fatmata Koroma. A mother who survived the unimaginable. A woman who’s building a future her children will never have to escape from.
