Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), Sierra Leone

The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) founded in 1912 is one of the oldest and one of the largest youth serving agencies in Sierra Leone. The vision statement of the Sierra Leone YMCA is ‘Empowering young people for the Africa renaissance’. The mission statement defines that the YMCA is ‘An ecumenical Christian organization enhancing the capacity of young people in Sierra Leone using collaborative approaches for self-reliance and holistic development.’ The YMCA prides itself in carrying out diverse programmes that help create opportunities for young people to reach their full potential. This is made possible due to the diversity and inclusivity in the work of the YMCA as a voluntary membership and youth focused institution. As a dynamic and youth friendly organisation, the YMCA operates in 23 local branches spread all over Sierra Leone with innovative programmes to address challenges faced by young people. The YMCA’s drive for youth development is informed by the ecumenical philosophy, based on the development of the body, mind and spirit of young people and how it’s translated to bring about an improved quality of life, civility, productivity and responsible citizenship. The vision to empower young people for the Africa renaissance also drives the passion for youth empowerment programmes. Therefore, the Sierra Leone YMCA has clear programme objectives which includes: peace building, human rights and justice, gender, civic education, skills and vocational training and advocacy, free health care and young people’s participation in Governance. Over the past 5 years YMCA has been able to reach and transform the lives of throusands of young people through the livelihood, education, health and advocacy programmes in most deprived communities more especially those in slum communities.