Promoting Local Voices through Community-led Development.
Annual Local Governance Meeting held in Daru.
At One Village Partners, we measure impact through the lens of our community partners. By listening to communities and giving them the steering wheel to lead the change they want to see, we help create lasting development that is rooted in local leadership, ownership, and dignity. One way we see this impact in action is through our annual Local Governance Meeting, where community members have the opportunity to share their experiences and lessons learned with local authorities and other development partners.
Each year, the meeting creates space for open and honest conversations about communities’ development goals, the challenges they face, and how local actors can work together to support their vision for the future. Through these conversations, community partners not only reflect on their own journeys with One Village Partners, but also encourage other organizations and local leaders to learn from their experiences. At the end of this year’s meeting, development partners and state actors assured the community of their full support.
Community Action Program Supervisor, Lossie Konneh, expressed his admiration for the gathering, as he observed how the community partners and trained volunteer leaders were confident and appreciative of the partnership with One Village Partners.
He shared, “I felt proud of the inspiration that was in the Local Governance Meeting today. New development partners who benefited from today's meeting learned a lot from the participants about how One Village Partners works at the grassroots level, strengthening local leadership and sustainable development. What was more inspirational about the meeting was when the platform was given to participants to answer most of the questions and respond to concerns from new development actors. It was very clear that this is a distinct initiative that used One Village Partners to convene local leadership from different operational districts and partner communities to include their voices in the development for ownership.”
One of the participants, Ann-Marie Bockarie, a resident of Majoe community, Kailahun District, shared: “You can only tell how sweet a palm fruit was after eating one, and there is no more.” The saying reflects the unique perspective of community partners: because they have experienced the partnership firsthand, they are best positioned to speak about the changes they have seen and the impact of the work. But the full value of that partnership may become even clearer with time, as communities continue building on what they have accomplished and lead their own development. Their stories will continue to show the lasting impact of a partnership rooted in trust, local leadership, and community ownership.