Media Foundation for Development – Sierra Leone (MFD-SL) is a community based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and could be classified as a Civil Society organization. It was established in July 2014 in Bo by Media Practitioners and graduates from University and Colleges across the country who attended a workshop conducted by UNDP in Freetown for Media practitioners and Development Specialists. Over the years, UNDP realized that media practitioners have been bias in their reportage, as they always report on the negatives things that happened in the country, thus leaving behind those positive aspects. It was based on this fact that UNDP decided to provide training for both media practitioners and their counterparts in development.
At the end of this workshop, having realized their pitfalls, participants including Aruna Kamara and other journalists including some development specialists decided to come together to form; Media Foundation for Peace and Development which is today known as Media Foundation for Development Sierra Leone (MFD-SL).
Aim: To make a positive and desirable change in the country
Vision: “To have a society with people that are well empowered with ideas to make an informed decision to improve their lives.’’
Mission: “To use the media and other available channels/structures in building the capacity of citizens for a better society.’’
Core values: As an organization, MFD-SL shall strive, as best as possible, to remain committed to the under mentioned organizational core values:
- Diversity
- Collaboration
- Resourcefulness
- Integrity
Thematic Areas
- Environmental Sustainability
- Agricultural Promotion
- Health
- Education
- Gender and Social Protection
Intervention Areas
- Kakua
- Gbo
- Tikonko
Activities Implemented & Partners
- Waste management- Bo City Council
- Water Sanitation and Hygiene- Water Aid office in Bo
- Peace Education- Peace and Development Studies, Njala University
- Pay No Bribe Campaign- CARL-SL/Anticorruption Commission
Performance Measurement
MFD-SL is consciously aware of the multiple levels of its accountability to the clientele group, partners, operational communities, staff, donors, government, and other stakeholders. Accountability to the public including marginalized groups, especially women, and youths is consistently pursued. MFD-SL develops and introduces systems in the form of a framework to register changes in the lives of its potential beneficiaries. The performance measurement is firmly grounded in the implementation process and in the ways they work. The priorities and perspectives of the target communities would inform the decisions the organization will make at all quarters.
Monitoring this document entails measuring progress towards planned objectives, implementation of strategy and priority actions, and production of expected outputs within a given timeframe in their quest to promoting sustainable peace and end poverty and structural inequality. The principles set out in the Accountability, Learning, Planning Systems (ALPS) are vital in the process of monitoring successes and challenges. To maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the process ascribed in ALPS, the ten years’ strategic plan Monitoring and Evaluation framework internalizes and operationalised to enable staff, beneficiaries, and donors/partners to measure performance against the strategic plan objectives.
The proposed Monitoring and Evaluation system will be used at MFD-SLs and partners’ level. Since most of the activities take place at the partner level, partners would be trained and supported in various ways to build their capacity to manage, analyse, use and share the information of their Monitoring and Evaluation systems. This is a right based paradigm that shifts from doing things for people to empowering them to take responsibility of addressing issues affecting their wellbeing and championing their own development activities and processes through dialogue and information sharing. MFD-SL, partners and communities will develop effective and relevant monitoring tools (quantitative and qualitative) for all thematic and project objectives to underpin issues of power shift and how this has effected change in the lives of the people particularly the vulnerable. It will assist staff, partners and communities in introducing a Monitoring and Evaluation indicators, which will to make informed decisions. Special attention will be focused on conducting review and reflection sessions when the need arises.
Partnership Funding and Technical support
Partnership funding is the major source of funding for the organization’s programs and continues to play a pivotal role in soliciting. The organization is still committed to seeking funds from both local and external donors. To ensure effectiveness and quality performance, they are expecting to receive technical support from relevant MDAs including the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Forest Division in the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security, the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs the Ministry of Education and the respective Local Councils in our operational districts.
The organization also gets funding from voluntary contributions from staff and other persons of good will to support its activities.
