The National Youth Service (NYS) deployed the new graduates from the School of Agriculture at the Njala University to Solidaridad on its maiden national youth service programme involving 200 young people nationwide.

In a brief ceremony to receive the 11 service corps in Bo, the Programme Manager for the National Service Programme, El-Hajj Khalil Bilal Bangura entreated the graduates to cultivate useful work habits including punctuality, dedication and honesty while at post.

In Sierra Leone, Solidaridad aims at increasing productivity, improving processing of oil palm, enhancing food security through food banks and linking farmers to private sector actors to improve and sustain rural livelihoods. Besides the government, Solidaridad works in partnership with producers, communities, associations, civil society and the private sector, including traders, processors and exporters in the areas of oil palm, cocoa and land governance.

The 11 young graduates will have the benefit of hands-on, practical field experience when assigned to one or more of the Solidaridad partners in the country.

Country Representative of Solidaridad in Sierra Leone, Nicholas Jengre, charged the graduates to remain focused, result-oriented and responsible ambassadors as they work with Solidaridad and partners to improve the livelihood of producers and their communities. 

On behalf of her colleagues, Theresa Jamatu Boani, one of the service corps, expressed appreciation to Solidaridad for the opportunity given them to receive further training. She assured their readiness to work hard to support national development.

For the next 11 months of their service duration, Solidaridad will equip the new graduates with practical skills in cocoa and oil palm agronomy, agroforestry, climate-smart agriculture, land governance and improved oil palm processing technologies.