By Yetorma Foh

Once a year my family and I take a trip to Sierra Leone West Africa to provide wellness education and support to the under privilege. We have done this several years in a row. During these visits, we provide individual expertise to the people of Sierra Leone along with medical and nonperishable donations. The donations consist of medication, syringes, gloves, thermometers, blankets, clothes, shoes, hand sanitizer, diagnostic equipment and etc.

In April 2019 we liaised with other organizations that were already on the ground providing services to some of the disadvantaged communities. Chernor Bah, the CEO of Purposeful Productions, coordinated a meeting with the Program Manager of the Ministry of Health in the Adolescents & Sexual Reproductive Health Program at the Kissi Community Health Center in Waterloo.

The Health Center is the first point of medical contact in the Western area for Women and Children. Discussion ensued regarding the Community Center’s role in providing primary medical care and support within the community.

These discussions led to the need for ongoing medical expertise, education, supplies. Additionally, we talked about a sustainable framework to ensure the clinic’s success and empower its patients. I discussed the need for continuous improvement and what that looked like for the clinic and community members. Many of the nurses gave their feedback but what the manager stated was “Africa needs 1st generational youth to be the catalyst for sustainability”.

“Sustainability” is a term used across all sectors (especially in Public Health) and was not new to me, but what stood out was “the youth throughout the diaspora would be the ones to bring change and will be the driving force to maintain continuous improvement.” Project Genes1s, was created in response to the call of sustainability and continuous improvement, therefore we empower youth to be the future of Africa.