OUR IMPACT
MMW has been advocating for women and girls in Sierra Leone for over 10 years. Over this period we have impacted thousands of lives, through informational podcasts, connecting people to local services and guiding women and girls through the local legal or medical process.
After 10 years of distributing podcasts across rural areas of Sierra Leone, in 2022 we averaged more than 200,000 listens every month. Notably, we experienced 306,751 listens in November, which is a new record for MMW. This reach has been achieved through our network of local, trusted community champions spreading our podcasts throughout their local neighborhoods.
We average 40% male engagement. Men play a critical role in championing women and girls rights as they currently hold much of the power, by engaging them and helping them understand the importance of raising women’s voices and strengthening their rights, change will happen. Our podcasts has led to a change in men’s behavior towards their wives, sisters, friends and other women in their lives.
Through MMW’s innovative fish farm training course, using podcasts as the primary training material, 15 women have been empowered with skills on fish farm construction and management. Women now have the knowledge to construct natural fish ponds, pond management, harvesting and record keeping.
We have built robust partnerships with over 25 local organizations across Sierra Leone, increasing our efficiency when tackling issues. For example, when a woman comes to us after being raped, we immediately connect her with the local police support service, legal aid, medical aid and psychosocial support organizations. We advocate for her to receive the correct support and rely on our partners to provide her with the needed service.
From Our Listeners
“I was determined to give birth to a child even though I’m not well prepared. But because almost all of my friends have children, I wanted the same. But when I started listening to different programs from MMW, I have changed my mind and I will wait till I complete my [school] course.”
– Isatta Kamara, listener at Women Advocacy, Agricultural and Development Organization Listening Centre, Waterloo
“The impact that MMW has done for me is so great, MMW always says that women have rights and everyone needs to stand up for them. I had some problems between me and my husband, my husband was beating me. Since MMW has started to work in my chiefdom he has stopped beating me, as he learnt through MMW’s podcast that if he keeps beating me I can take him to court.”
– Ceswe Kargbo, Listener from Kangula Chiefdom, Kenema
Impact Stories
Kenema: Widow Wins Land Rights
Women in Sierra Leone have long faced land ownership discrimination. Despite a new land rights law enacted in the summer of 2022 that promoted gender equality, many women remain deprived of the right to own inherited land. In response to a podcast about women’s rights, Hawa, a widow who lives in a Kenema district village, approached Zainab Sheriff, MMW Makeni Senior Journalist, about her struggle to take possession of inherited land. It had been confiscated by her uncle, pa Bockarie. The dispute had been stuck in the court system for nearly three years. Sheriff’s extensive research and reporting led to a podcast that included this and several other examples of land rights disputes affecting women in rural Sierra Leone. Sheriff’s investigation resulted in the local village chief inviting three chiefs from nearby villages to discuss the case. They resolved it, awarding the land to Hawa.
Makeni: MMW Consortium Demand Justice for Rape Of Young Girl
In May 2022, Jane Kamara (not her real name), an 8-year-old child, was sexually assaulted by a driver for one of the banks in Makeni, who threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the assault. MMW, as part of a consortium of the Community of Practice (COP) composed of gender-based and child-protection activists, took the lead in pushing for justice for Jane. Due to our persistence and advocacy, the perpetrator was eventually arrested and sentenced to 20 years in jail on one count of sexual penetration. MMW’s diligent action, supported by the COP consortium in Sierra Leone, shows how community organizing is key to confronting serious societal problems such as sexual violence.
