Rainbo Initiative

🌍👧🏿👦🏿 Day of the African Child 2026

Every child deserves more than survival, they deserve to thrive.

On this year’s theme of universal access to WASH, we are reminded that safety, dignity, and clean water are not luxuries. They are rights.

At Rainbo Initiative, we know that protecting children from violence and ensuring access to water and sanitation go hand in hand. No child should have to choose between protection and basic necessities.

Today, we recommit to a Sierra Leone where every child is free from violence and empowered to live a healthy, fulfilling life.

Together, let’s build that future. 💙

🔴 RED CARD to Child Labour, and the Violence That Comes With It!

Every child deserves a childhood of learning, play, and safety, not work, exploitation, or abuse.

Child labour doesn't just steal education and dreams. It opens the door to sexual and gender-based violence. Working children, especially girls, are exposed to harassment, assault, and abuse, often with no safe adult to turn to.

At Rainbo Initiative, we believe protecting children from labour is protecting them from violence.

Together, let's show zero tolerance for exploitation in all its forms and build a future where every child in Sierra Leone can grow, learn, and thrive free from fear.

🟡 Fair play for children. Decent work for adults.

Today, the Rainbo Centre in Kenema had the honour of welcoming members of the Irish Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade during their official visit to Sierra Leone.

The delegation comprising two Members of Parliament, joined by Irish Ambassador to Sierra Leone Patrick McMagnus and Carol Hannon, Head of Development, was warmly received by our dedicated staff and the courageous survivors at the heart of everything we do.

Together, they toured our newly renovated facility, a space transformed to deliver stronger, higher-quality services to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Every corner of this centre reflects our unwavering commitment to those who walk through our doors.

Perhaps most powerfully, the visit opened a space for honest conversation, one that put survivors' voices, experiences, and resilience front and centre.

As our Response Supervisor in Kenema, Hellen Adama Bockarie, put it:

“Every survivor who comes to Rainbo deserves to leave with more than services; they deserve to leave with their dignity restored, their voice heard, and hope for a brighter future.”

We are grateful for the continued partnership and solidarity of the Irish Government, whose support through Irish Aid makes this work possible. Visits like today reaffirm that when institutions show up for survivors, it sends a message that matters: you are not alone, and your healing matters.

💛 Together, we are building a Sierra Leone where every survivor finds safety, justice, and hope.

🤝 A new chapter in the fight against gender-based violence in Sierra Leone.

On Monday, June 8th, 2026, Rainbo Initiative officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BRAC Sierra Leone-NGO, marking a powerful new partnership to protect adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) across the country.

Together, we are committing to:
✅ Coordinate referrals so GBV survivors can access free medical care and psychosocial support at Rainbo Initiative facilities
✅ Advocate jointly for gender-responsive budgeting and policy reform
✅ Conduct research that generates evidence to drive national change
✅ Run joint awareness campaigns for SRHR services and financial inclusion
✅ Build the capacity of frontline staff through GBV case management training

“One organisation alone cannot do this work. We need each other. Someone empowered by BRAC will come to Rainbo, and they will be empowered again,” Daniel Fayia H. Kettor, Executive Director, Rainbo Initiative.

This partnership is rooted in a shared belief: that every survivor deserves to be seen, heard, and supported, and that collective action is the most powerful tool we have.

The MoU is valid from June 2026 to December 2028. This is only the beginning.

🚫 No means NO always❕

Consent matters. Respect matters. Together, we can end all forms of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) by promoting respect, supporting survivors, and speaking out against abuse.

✋ Say NO to SGBV. Stand for a future free from violence.