US-Jamaica charity Pollyanna Project continues philanthropic work in Sierra Leone with learning centre

For Pollyanna Project executive director Donna Moore-Stewart, or ‘Aunty Donna’ as she is affectionately known, it was important for them to empower the people they connect with in a manner that is both respectful and resourceful, hence the establishment of the Pollyanna Project Empowerment Learning Centre was the fulfilment of their vision to move a village from poverty to purpose. 

The two-week mission that began on June 27, 2026, saw their eight-member delegation set off from the Capital, Free Town, to Kakadema in the northern region of the country, an expedition which lasted some four hours. Once there, they stayed in the village for a week without electricity, running water and cell phone service. To say it was a ‘back to basics’ trip would be a serious understatement.

Kakadema is a remote, farming village that survives on farming rice, yams, peppers and palm, from which they make palm oil. Their diet consists of fish, and they also rear chicken. Bikes are the primary mode of transportation to and from the village. Like most places where there is a lack of opportunity for jobs, once the children reach a certain age they seek life elsewhere and they do not usually come back. “In many ways, it’s almost like they were forgotten. It happens everywhere in the world. We have been in partnership with them since 2018, so Pollyanna is a beacon of hope so once the young people have someone teaching them new skills, they will survive,” Moore-Stewart, a New Yorker, who hails from Old Harbour, Jamaica.   

 “Kakadema is in the northern region of the country, some 300 miles drive from the city of Free Town. And this time we did not come bearing gifts but connecting resources because  this trip we built a learning centre. We have been working on it for some time, so it has six computers, seven sewing machines and ten mannequin heads to teach the young people how to braid as that’s a means of earning a living. The learning centre, now called the Pollyanna Project Empowerment Learning Centre (PPELC), houses four rooms at approximately 1,200 square feet. The original owner donated the building to the project, so we finished building it, putting in the ceiling, doors and flooring. There is no electricity, so we installed a solar panel generator. The local team did the physical construction before we got there, as we commissioned the fund for the rebuild of the centre, so it was not done from scratch.”

Along with the solar panels, which were donated by the Brooklyn Nets, they installed a cell phone tower as well because the village is so remote that they could not get any signal. “Our next move is to install Starlink so that the students who use the computers will have access to the internet to complete the courses that will be offered at the learning centre,” Moore-Stewart outlined.

Their goal, she emphasised, is to facilitate them fending for themselves and becoming not just independent but prosperous. “We want them to do more than survive; we want them to thrive, which is also what they want. They really don’t want handouts; they want to learn new skills and they are excited to learn,” she said. 

Staying in the village during the rainy season and drinking well water, Donna added, is not for the faint of heart. “I can assure you that not everyone was built for it. I can pat myself and my teams on our shoulders because we understand the dynamics of living without the everyday things that most take for granted. When you observe just how humble and contented people who don’t have what you have are, you begin to appreciate that life is about more than amassing wealth and material things,” Moore-Stewart tells Old Harbour News. “We can say that because we have sights on the outside world. For them, it’s normal. When I see women who cook together and men who gather together and go to the fields, they possess that community spirit that we in the modern world have lost a long time ago. We live individualistic lives while they cherish sharing and caring for each other. Technology makes life convenient, but it has dehumanised and de-sensitised us in lots of ways as we now live separately, and that separation for many also makes them live selfishly.”

The first night in the village, nobody slept because they stayed out and entertained their visitors. “When the children see us, they just multiply and come and sit with us. They come and show their appreciation because they understand that we are there for them, their wellbeing and to assist them in maintaining their culture. So when you observe all of that, I can say that we are very glad to experience it,” she said.     

Aunty Donna shared that everyone in the village possesses a ‘we can’ mentality. “While the men were doing the construction, I noticed that when it rains, the water splashes on the side of the house, resulting in the lower part of the structure having a mouldy colour,” she said. “They have two seasons: rainy and dry. We went in the rainy season so everywhere is musty, and this is after we painted the place, so I came up with the idea to get some stones and line around the building and create what essentially is a paved walkway. While I started gathering the stones, all of the children from the school ran over to assist, carrying stones in their uniforms and plastic bags. What this shows you is that even the smallest child has their hand in building this centre.”

In addition to sourcing teachers to instruct the students on all three skills, the local director Reverend Francis Contech, is a teacher himself in Free Town and has agreed to provide his managerial services to the learning centre in order to make it an operational success. “He is a son of the soil from Kakadema, and he has decided to relocate closer to the village to manage the centre effectively. There was a meeting and a suggestion that he move to the closest town which is Makeni, which is a fairly big town, that is only about 15 minutes away. My dream is for this to be copied and duplicated so that our philanthropic work can reach more people in need,” said Moore-Stewart.