Is a Sierra Leonean by birth, a Local Diocesan Catholic Priest, Humanitarian, Activist and Development Worker of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa.
In 2010, the Foundation was re-named “Desert Flower Foundation” to reflect the broader approach to addressing Female Genital Mutilation through economic projects in Africa.
The Foundation was established in 2014 and registered as non-profit company in Sierra Leone. The organization was founded by a group of socially committed individuals in their pursuit of a better life for poor children and social development for the most marginal and deprived communities in Sierra Leone. DFF works to empower the most marginalized and deprived communities living in the rural and urban communities of Sierra Leone and the Sub-region. DFF-SL emerged out of the need to address the high level of ignorance and low level of self-development capacity that affects over eighty percent of men, women and young people in Sierra Leone.
Desert Flower Foundation was established in Sierra Leone in 2014 and has so far saved 1,000 precious flowers (Girls)` for so far with it programs across the country.
The Desert Flower Foundation operates under the vibrant leadership of the President, Rev. Fr. Peter Alpha Konteh. The non-profit is governed by a technical Management Board that comprises seven (7) members, who function as an advisory body and an oversight to the day-to-day management.
The President of Desert Flower Africa, Reverend Father Peter Alpha Konteh pointed out that FGM is a crime and that its existence is no longer relevant. He said the practice used to thrive because back then there were not many schools and that the girls converge there for what was considered training into womanhood. “That value we still acknowledge and accept but however the negative practice is what we are challenging” he stressed.
A old woman who initiates girls into the “Bondo Society” the local name for FGM, brought along some girls dressed in the traditional attire for the practice and+ said she was ready to give up the practice if there is an alternative source of livelihood.
Since the project inception of “SAVE A LITTLE DESERT FLOWER” SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMME SIERRA LEONE in the year 2014, the Desert Flower Foundation-SL has save (1,000 girls) in Sierra Leone from FGM and have offer them with educational opportunity.
The sponsorship programme supports girls and their families financially. The monthly support which is provided by DFF-SL to the beneficiaries parents is used for school fees and also to provide a stable life for the girl’s family.
In 2018, the Desert Flower Africa was established for effective Coordination and Animation of all Desert Flower Foundation Programs in Africa, headed by Rev. Fr. Peter Alpha Konteh in the capacity as the President of Desert Flower Africa. Fr. Konteh is the chief executive of Desert Flower Africa and in his capacity he exercises the general administrative and managerial supervision over the affairs of DFA including the following:
- Spearheading the mobilization of local and international resources for the implementation of projects;
- Initiating partnership exploration initiatives;
- Facilitate linkage with support/collaborating partners; and
- Ensure adherence to best practices in the implementation of programs/projects.
With the establishment of Desert Flower Africa and leadership the organization offers professional services such as: Sponsorship Programme; Professional and Consultancy Services to NGO’S/INGO’S and Companies; Coordinate, Plan, Develop and Maintain Charitable Projects; Development Tourism; Provide Legal and Audit Services; Construction of Social Infrastructure; Primary Health Care Delivery; Advocacy and Lobbying; Education on SGBV and FGM/C; Entreprenuerership and Mentoring; Mechanized Farming, Production, Processing and Marketing;Training in Strategic/Project Planning, Project Development and Report Writing; and Enhance Project Development and Supervision.
Currently there is an ongoing construction of a school at the Allen Town, Freetown, Western Urban District; a Multi Purpose structure comprising Desert Flower Media Centre, Safe Home/Shelter for victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV)/Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and also a school on the same precincts at No. 2 River along the Freetown Peninsula Road, Western Rural District. The Shelter will serve as temporary refuge for victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV).
Hence, the organization has its Africa Headquarters at River # 2, Peninsula Road, Western Rural District, Sierra Leone, West Africa and international headquarters in Vienna, Austria and has regional offices in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Monaco, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Poland. The foundation’s team is made up of men and women committed to gender equality, human rights and all of them share Waris Dirie’s ideal: Ending Female Genital Mutilation.
FGM is known to have no health benefits and has serious, immediate and long-term physical and psychological health consequences, which can be severe, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and reduced desire or sexual satisfaction. Babies born to women who have experienced FGM suffer higher rates of neonatal death, and mothers can experience obstetric complications and fistula.
Globally, reasons for FGM are highly varied between ethnic groups and communities; it is a deeply embedded social practice associated with adulthood, marriageability, purity and sexual control. This is true too in Sierra Leone, where it is also linked to the ordering of community power structures, through membership of secret societies where FGM is the badge of belonging, but is also linked to early child marriage and girls dropping out of compulsory education. At the end of the civil war Bondo initiation was used as a way of normalising social relations lost in the destruction. It also presented itself in a war torn economy as an economic opportunity for younger women, a rarity in Sierra Leone. Traditionally FGM is carried out by older community women, in unhygienic conditions in isolated bushes.
Between 100 and 150 million girls and women worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) or cutting, and over 3 million girls under the age of 18 across the African continent are at risk of being cut. While FGM is commonly performed on girls between 4 and 12 years, in some cultures the practice occurs as early as a few days after birth or just before marriage. FGM is commonly practiced in at least 28 African countries including Sierra Leone and a few others in Asia and the Middle East (as well as by immigrant populations around the globe). The practice occurs among all educational levels, social classes and many religious groups, although no religion mandates it.
The UN CRC Article 24:3 calls upon, “states parties to take all effective and appropriate measures with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children.” FGM is a traditional practice which is detrimental to girls’ health but it can additionally be the source of the denial of many other rights prescribed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the right to protection (Article 19), the right to education (Articles 28 and 29) and freedom from sexual abuse (Art. 34; FGM is linked with early marriage which can be a sanctioned form of child sexual abuse).
Desert Flower believes that a girl child’s right to reproductive and overall physical health and protection should not be compromised in the face of ongoing harmful traditional practices. Access to a safe physical and learning environment is critical to their well-being as well as that of future generations. DFF believe that the right for girl children to develop in a community of positive health and wellness is critical, and that the fulfilment of anti-FGM legislation, programming offering alternatives to FGM practices, as well as safe and quality educational opportunities for girls at risk must be ensured.
Achievement of the Desert Flower Foundation-SL
Since its inception in 2014, the DFF-SL has:
- Provided Sponsorship on Access to Education, Advocacy and Awareness for Sierra Leonean girls and women;
- Home and school visitation of DFF beneficiaries;
- Facilitate, preparation and collection of letters, report cards, poster/Christmas/greeting and thank you cards from the beneficiaries to their sponsors,
- Ongoing Construction of a school in Allen Town;
- Community meetings, talks, videos, photos and interviews with beneficiaries/caregivers;
- Organized workshop/seminars for caregivers and beneficiaries;
- Organized quiz, debate, radio discussions, TV talk shows on SGBV/FGM/C and child right issues;
- Organized Desert Flower Mothers Association;
- Organized Desert Flower Clubs;
- Organized Desert Flower Champions in the fight against FGM/C;
- Organized 16 Days Activism Against Sexual and Gender Violence on the Right of Women;
- General medical health check on DFF beneficiaries;
- Psychosocial counseling of children and their caregivers;
- Constructed of a multi-purpose comprising of a Safe Home for SGBV/FGM/C Survivors and Library/media centre, River # 2, Peninsula Road, Western Rural District;
- Ongoing construction of school at River # 2 Community, Peninsula Road, Western Rural District;
- Collaborated with likeminded institutions in the fight against FGM/FGC, rural and urban poverty and women and child rights abuses;
- Facilitated rights promotion/protection and gender, and leadership transformation events & processes in rural communities and institutions.;
- Facilitated behavior change education interventions targeting FGM/FGC Malaria, HIV and AIDS prevention and impact mitigation and sanitation in rural and urban communities;
- Supported social and economic capacity building for rural women and youth;
- Trained and mentored rural women and young people in functional literacy, Livelihood advancement Skills, sanitation and SGBV prevention and response;
- Made contribution to the Ebola, Mudslide and Flood emergency response efforts to meet partial needs of the affected communities in the DFF-SL areas of operation in (Bo, Lungi, Freetown, Newton, Leister, Dwerzark and Allen town); and
- Contributed on Relief and Rehabilitation programs in areas of need.
Future Plans for the Desert Flower Foundation
The DFF-SL plans in the very near future based on available local and donor support to:
- Establish animal Production Projects: Currently most animal products consumed in Sierra Leone are imported from other countries. They are expensive and beyond the financial means of a great majority of the people. This plan will not only provide the local people with enough animal protein, but it will also create jobs for Desert Mothers in their local settings.
- Establish “Desert Flower Hub”.
- Establish a vocational/technical training centres
- Establish a DFF-SL Educational/Recreational Centre for income generation for sustainability.
- Establish DFF-SL clinics, hospitals and schools.
- Establish DFF-SL recreational Centres for children, youth, adults and elders.
- Establish large scale rice production project in its area of operation. The objective is to produce rice in large quantities to serve the needs of the local population and for export purposes. Establish agriculture Field Training Schools in identified locations of DFF-SL. This is based on the realization on the old Chinse adage that “lf you give a man a fish, he will eat it and ask for more but if you teach him how to fish, he will be a fisher man the rest of his life”.
- Provide RELIEF Programs to those affected by natural and man-made disasters.
- Provide ploughing services to farming communities. One of the contributing factors to shortage of rice in Sierra Leone is the lack of capacity on the side of the farmers (the majority of them old and sick) to plough their fields. A subsidized mechanical ploughing project will assist the farmers to produce adequate rice to serve their needs.
- Establish women and youth programs; Rural women and youths are the forgotten majority in development efforts. Programs that are carried out based on their identified needs will go a long way to help them realize their dreams.