Village of Hope
Opportunity, independence and belonging
A one-stop centre for persons with disabilities — school, skills, business, work and community life in one place instead of in separate programmes.
What the Village of Hope is
The Village of Hope is a one-stop centre for persons with disabilities. Whether someone wants to go to school or learn a skill, there is a school and a skills training centre. For those who choose to start a business, there is the innovation hub, the multipurpose centre, a small-loan scheme and project-funded business development programmes that help persons with disabilities — especially women — develop their ideas or expand what they already run.
Graduates with disabilities who need on-the-job competencies or job opportunities find internships through the programme offices: placements that either lead to a job or make them ready for one. And the construction company keeps beautifying the village, offers construction services to the public and generates the income that keeps the village going and growing.
Established 2009 · Headquarters
Village of Hope — Kambia
Established in 2009, the Village of Hope in Kambia is the centre of WESOFOD’s work and the organization’s headquarters at Bamoi Luma — school, skills training, business support and internships for persons with disabilities in one place.
Expansion · Launched 2025
Village of Hope — Pujehun
In 2025 WESOFOD-SL launched a Village of Hope vocational skills centre in Pujehun District with support from Trócaire — an accessible training centre offering tailoring, soap-making and bead-making, so young people and women with disabilities can build marketable skills. Its home is the Denise Harris Skills Training and Production Centre.
What happens here
School
Whether a person with a disability wants to go to school or learn a skill, both start here. Bright Future Pre-School, opened in 2025 with Children in Crisis Italy, provides safe, inclusive early childhood education.
Skills training centre
Vocational training in trades with a market behind them — weaving, soap-making, shoe-making and tailoring — so trainees leave with a skill, a product and a route to income.
Innovation hub & multipurpose centre
For those who choose to start a business: space, equipment and support to turn an idea into an enterprise.
Small loans & business development
The WE YONE micro-credit scheme and project-funded business development programmes help persons with disabilities, especially women, develop their ideas or expand an existing business.
Programme offices & internships
Graduates with disabilities who need on-the-job competencies find internships through the programme offices — placements that lead to a job, or make them ready for one.
Universal Design Construction Company
WESOFOD’s social enterprise beautifies the village, offers accessible construction services to the public and generates the income that keeps the village going and growing.
Transitional Accommodation Facility
Accessible accommodation for young people moving on from residential care towards university, vocational training or work, and for persons with disabilities who come to the village for training.
Community life
A base for advocacy, meetings and the leadership of persons with disabilities in Kambia District.
The trades taught here
Weaving, soap-making and shoe-making are taught as trades with a market behind them — trainees leave with a skill, a product and a route to income.
Become a member
Join the Village of Hope
Individuals and organizations can become members of the Village of Hope and contribute to its development and sustainability. Membership is free. There are three kinds: individual membership for persons with disabilities, donors and philanthropists, and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs).