Who we are
Sierra Comrades Action Group (SCAG) is a charitable and voluntary non-governmental organization founded in 1993 and based in Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa.
In 2021 we expanded our organization to Austria, Europe. There Sierra Comrades Action Group (SCAG) international was founded to gain attention and support outside of Sierra Leone.
Where we work
Sierra Leone is a colorful and diverse country.
On 72 000 square kilometers, divided into 4 provinces (Northern, Eastern, Southern Province and Western Area), 16 districts and 190 chiefdoms, there live about 8 million persons originating from 15 ethnic groups and speaking the same number of languages. Freetown, the country’s capital and biggest city, has about one million inhabitants and lies on the Atlantic coast. The other main cities are Makeni, Bo and Kenema. To the north and northeast Sierra Leone borders with Guinea, to the southeast with Liberia.
If you want to get to know life in Sierra Leone better, watch the trailer of the movie “This is Life in Freetown” (English) introducing the various aspects of our living environment. The full-length movie is screened at our SCAG events.
Why we work
Sierra Leone faces various social, economic and humanitarian problems. The education system, health care and the compliance of human rights is poor. More than 4 million people live below poverty line and only one out of three children born in Sierra Leone will survive infancy, go through education and grow up to be an adult who is able to realize his or her full human potential.
Besides that, yet as a struggling country, Sierra Leone went through a long lasting, devastating civil war during the years of 1991 to 2002. The future of countless families, children and communities was dramatically deprived during this period. The Ebola epidemic between 2014 and 2016 furthermore demonstrated the lack of hygiene and medical facilities in our country.
We are Sierra Leoneans and we want a better future for our country and its people.
Our vision
Developmental awareness.
Our integrated programs try to encourage youths’ and childrens’ potentials that in turn could provide a major source of new energy and impetus required for the very success of every Sierra Leonean community.
What we do
Since today 80 % of Sierra Leones population is 35 and younger, our work primarily focuses on children and young grown ups. Our thematic areas are Education, Health, Agriculture and Community Infrastructure (as you can see in our logo).
In terms of that, we:
foster underprivileged children and unemployed youths with sponsorships to restart their lives. We focus on their living conditions, health, nutrition and education. We attend and monitor them.
support needy families with the payment of the children’s school fees.
fund vocational training programs for school leavers and unemployed youths.
accompany and support young grown-ups with insufficient financial means to finish their education in teachers’ colleges.
supply and maintain first aid kits and buckets for washing hands in primary and secondary schools.
promote agricultural production in rural areas and provide basic assistance to farming families of deprived communities.
encourage and sponsor youth farm settlement.
support establishing community infrastructure.
How we do it
Depending on available funds, we are able to support requesting youths, young grown-ups and families fully or partially. We always look out for needy children, who are helpless otherwise.
No matter if it is foster parenting, educational support, hygiene, agricultural or community support, we always monitor our projects and guarantee that funds serve effectively.
As an organization we discuss and decide where our means can take the biggest and sustainable effect. As you can imagine there is always more need than means. Depending on our available means we adjust our scope of operations by time.
Since our organization’s members come from all parts of Sierra Leone, our work and support has been directed to the whole country.
Support us
We are kindly asking for your support, to be able to follow our vision to develop functioning Sierra Leonean communities and a better future for Sierra Leone. Every single contribution takes us nearer to that.
To give you an idea about the costs of our projects: a bucket for washing hands is about 10 Euro, a first aid kit 20 Euro, a school semester about 50 Euro, a year in college or university 130 – 160 Euro and the foster parenting of a needy child about 40 Euro per month.
or per bank transfer
Sierra Comrades Action Group international
IBAN: AT09 3412 9000 0891 9581
BIC: RZOOAT2L129
In case you have any questions, doubts or interest in foster parenting please write us a mail (scag_int@posteo.org).
Donations from outside of Sierra Leone are collected on our international Bank account in Austria and then transferred to our Sierra Leones Bank account to lower transfer fees. Our international bank account is maintained by the Umweltcenter in Upper Austria, a bank who only invests in social and ecological means.
News
Check our blog to be updated about our activities and to see what we do with the contributions.
Stay up-to-date with a developing Sierra Leone.
Visit our Blog
Executive members
SCAG Sierra Leone
Aruna Kamara
Executive Director & Founder SCAG Sierra Leone
occupation: lecturer
place of birth: Manowa, Pejeh Bongay Chiefdom, Kailahun District, Sierra Leone
Gabriel Samuka
Financial Secretary and Coordinator Eastern Region
occupation: teacher
place of birth: Ngiema, Malema Chiefdom, Kailahun District, Sierra Leone
Martiyna Cecilia Foday
Coordinator Western Region & Chairperson Education Committee
occupation: magistrate
place of birth: Serabu, Bumpeh Chiefdom, Bo District, Sierra Leone
Musa Kuyateh
Deputy Treasurer & Chairperson Health Committee
occupation: pharmacist
place of birth: Diamei, Kpanga Kabonde Chiefdom, Pujehun District, Sierra Leone
Brima Bockarie Tomboyeke
Coordinator Northern Region
occupation: technician
place of birth: Gboyama Wunde Chiefdom, Bo District, Sierra Leone
Umaru Koroma Jabaty
Chairperson Technical Vocational Committee
occupation: marine engineer
place of birth: Banda Vullahun, Upper Banta Chiefdom, Moyamba District, Sierra Leone
Anthony Sheku Massaquoi
Secretary General
occupation: lecturer
place of birth: Sembehun, Bagruwa, Moyamba District, Sierra Leone
Morie Sam
Deputy Secretary General
occupation: social safety net officer
place of birth: Kailahun Town, Lauwa Chiefdom, Kailahun District, Sierra Leone
SCAG international
Andreas Steidl
SCAG Ambassador, Founder & Chairperson SCAG international
occupation: psychologist, social worker
place of birth: Rum, Tirol, Austria
Michaela Müller
Deputy Chairperson SCAG international
occupation: tax accountant
place of birth: Rum, Tirol, Austria
How everything started
The organisation’s name and its developmental ideology are derivates of past strives made by a group of secondary school pupils in the Eastern Region of Sierra Leone including the founder and executive director, who took up agricultural and other fund raising activities to pay their own school fees.
As many children and youth in the Sierra Leonean society were in a similar needy situation, in 1993, the founder came up with the idea of forming an NGO to improve on the education status of the Sierra Leonean society.
Watch the trailer of the movie “The Tale of SCAG” (English) which counts the history of our organization and shows how we work. The full-length movie is screened at our events.
How we became international
In 2019 the later ambassador of SCAG, travelled to Freetown with an amount of donations money from Austria. His aim was to send 5 practicing teachers to college, because they were teaching without any formal education for it. But when Andreas arrived in Freetown, 3 of them were gone. So he contacted SCAG to accomplish a meaningful impact for the brought donations.
Convinced by the work of SCAG he decided to support them from outside of Sierra Leone and therefore founded SCAG international.
Sierra Comrades Action Group
38 Newcastle Street, 47235 Freetown
Sierra Leone, West Africa
+232 76525812 or +232 78477915
scag_sl@yahoo.com
Sierra Comrades Action Group international
Straubstraße 9, 6060 Hall in Tirol
Austria, Europe
+43 6506917647
scag_int@posteo.org