Five thousand chickens is a lot of chickens – especially in an impoverished country such as Sierra Leone. Many go hungry for days on end and chicken is a delicacy compared with the everyday meal of beans and rice.
“The evidence suggests that Sierra Leoneans love eating eggs and chicken.”
So says Rev. Francis Mambu, executive director of Faith Healing Development Organization (FHDO). We’ve been partnering with them for more than a decade. Together we’ve provided health care services, education and food to tens of thousands children, adults and seniors in the country .
“Home-grown” chickens are very much in need in Sierra Leone. As explained by Rev. Mambu: “As the local production is inadequate because of the insufficient number of poultries in the country, most of the chickens and eggs we eat have to be imported from overseas.”
But, those imported chickens and eggs “can pose a health challenge” particularly if they are not handled and preserved properly.
“A couple of months ago, a whole container load of chickens was dumped as not fit for human consumption,” he told us.
We strive to find ways to assist our partners in Africa become self-sufficient while also providing necessary services to the people in the communities they serve.
Such as the case in Kenya with the Lewa Children’s Home. The home operates the Baraka Farm providing milk and dairy products to the children, and selling the surplus to help with overhead costs.
When Rev. Mambu approached us a couple of years ago with a proposal to construct a facility to house up to 5,000 chickens and food processing area, we were eager to support that initiative.
Today, we are proud to announce that the facility is almost ready to start production.
The poultry facility will be located on farmland owned by FHDO at Yankansa where other facilities are also located. The facility will be able to serve the people of the capital city of Freetown and provinces.
In addition to providing chicken and eggs, profits from the sales will go to supplement revenues for other FHDO projects including schools and low-cost health clinics increase its sustainability. The facility will also provide jobs for several in a country where good jobs are hard to come by.
“The need for eggs and chicken cannot be over-emphasized,” Rev. Mambu told us. “These are sources of protein that are affordable by most and the demand therefore is very high.
