About us
Building an inclusive Sierra Leone since 2004
The Welfare Society for the Disabled Sierra Leone (WESOFOD-SL) is a disability-led non-governmental organization founded in 2004. We work to create an enabling environment in which persons with disabilities can realize their potential and contribute to communal and national development.
Founded and led by disabled people, WESOFOD acts as a voice for the disability community. The organization is headquartered at the Village of Hope in Kambia District and also works through its field offices.
Our mission
To facilitate the creation of a friendly and enabling environment in Sierra Leone that allows persons with disabilities to realize their full potential and contribute to communal and national development.
Our vision
A Sierra Leone where persons with disabilities are empowered, their abilities are recognized and enabling conditions allow them to flourish — in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Our values
- Leadership
- The courage to shape a more inclusive future.
- Collaboration
- Working together and using collective resources to increase impact.
- Integrity
- Maintaining transparency and accountability in our work.
- Inclusiveness
- Recognizing diversity and promoting equal opportunities for everyone.
- Passion
- Staying committed to improving the lives and opportunities of persons with disabilities.
Our journey
- 2004
WESOFOD-SL is formally established as an organization of persons with disabilities.
- 2009
The Village of Hope is established in Kambia — a one-stop centre for persons with disabilities, and the home of WESOFOD-SL’s headquarters.
- 2011
WESOFOD contributes to the process leading to the drafting and enactment of Sierra Leone's Persons with Disability Act.
- 2015
The Residential Rehabilitation Centre is established for abandoned children with disabilities, with shelter and access to education.
- Since 2018
Moving from charity to Community-Based Inclusive Development (CBID) programming: persons with disabilities, their families and communities take part across the whole project cycle.
- 2019
WESOFOD establishes the Universal Design Construction Company to promote accessible, universal-design construction.
- Since 2022
Integrating mainstream programming as part of the CBID approach — disability inclusion carried into education, health, livelihoods, climate and governance work.
- 2025–26
Programmes expand across Kambia and Pujehun — eleven projects delivered in 2025 — alongside national and international disability-inclusion work.
Our approach
Inclusion is built with communities, not for them
We work through Community-Based Inclusive Development (CBID). Persons with disabilities, their families and community members take part across the project cycle — helping set priorities, design activities and carry out the work.
Since 2018 that has meant moving from charity to CBID programming, and since 2022 integrating mainstream programming into the approach. It keeps programmes pointed at the barriers people actually meet, and lets the solutions continue after a project closes.
Level one
Individuals & families
Direct support, skills, assistive devices and opportunities.
Level two
Communities & institutions
Schools, health services, community groups and local authorities; government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs); national and international NGOs; business enterprises and other development partners.
Level three
Systems & policy
Advocacy, electoral inclusion, disability rights and decision-making.
Credentials
Locally registered. Locally led.
A Sierra Leonean organization of persons with disabilities, working inside the country’s own disability, social welfare and civil-society structures.
Our team
The people behind the programmes
Leadership
Joseph Alieu Kamara
Executive Director
Thomas Kingsley Justice Lebbie
Head of Programmes
Lamin Sorie Bangura
Finance Manager
Programmes
Isata M Sesay
Technical Lead, Inclusive Governance Programme
Mohamed Sillah
Technical Lead, Inclusive Education Programme
Foday Conteh
Lead, Livelihoods and Climate Justice
Amara Abu Sumah
Manager, Residential Rehabilitation Centre
Alhaji Sheriff
Centre Coordinator, Village of Hope Pujehun
Alpha B Kargbo
Advocacy and Fund Mobilization Officer
Alusine Shaw
MEAL Officer
Community-based rehabilitation & field
Poreh Marah
Community-Based Rehabilitation Coordinator
Favour Kadiatu Barrie
Community-Based Rehabilitation Coordinator
Alimatu Sheriff
Field Officer
Sheku A Turay
Field Officer
Ramatu Conteh
Field Officer
Lamin Amadu Bangura
Field Officer
Alpha P K Mansaray
Field Officer
Finance & operations
Lahai Fullah
Finance Officer
Kabba Dauda Kamara
Finance Officer
Alpha Kamara
Driver and Personal Assistant
Abubakarr Conteh
Office Assistant
Where we work
Kambia District
Headquarters, a field office and the original Village of Hope, established in 2009.
Port Loko District
A field office supporting programmes and community engagement.
Western Area Rural
A field office supporting programmes, advocacy and service delivery.
Pujehun District
A growing programme area and the second Village of Hope, home to the Denise Harris Skills Training and Production Centre.
National advocacy
Policy, disability rights and governance processes beyond district-level programmes.
Monitoring, evaluation & learning
We use monitoring and evaluation to test whether programmes respond to the needs of persons with disabilities, and to improve them. Regular assessment strengthens sustainability, accountability and long-term impact.
Oversight reaches the field. On a documented Board field visit, board members met staff, visited project communities and spoke with beneficiaries, community volunteers and local authorities — identifying implementation challenges and collecting recommendations to improve delivery. YOUTH LEAD, funded by the European Commission and implemented with SEND Sierra Leone and Trócaire, was among the programmes visited.
Universal Design Construction Company
A WESOFOD social enterprise promoting accessible and universal-design construction — turning the organization’s accessibility expertise into buildings people can actually use.