Our partnership with Accessible Hope International

Women with disabilities in Sierra Leone are marginalized and ostracized from their communities as a result of the pervasive beliefs and attitudes about disability that exist in Sierra Leone and other countries. This puts these women at high risk for extreme poverty, relational isolation, gender-based violence and abuse, and poor health. According to the United Nations, 15% of the world’s population lives with a disability. People with disabilities make up 20% of the world’s extreme poor. Additionally, only 1% of women with disabilities worldwide are literate, and they are 3 times more likely to be victims of sexual abuse and violence than women without disabilities. Women with disabilities have often been told all their lives that they were worthless, cursed, demonic or not fully human. After years of hearing such things, they believe the lies they’ve been told, and they become self-fulfilling prophecies.

One Day’s Wages is partnered with Accessible Hope International to provide wholistic health and development education to women with disabilities in Sierra Leone. This was done through a variety of programming options focused on helping women understand their inherent value, repair and restore broken relationships, change fundamental health and hygiene practices, learn basic business skills, and much more. The signature program available to women, Transformation Training, was a 15-week course helping women evaluate their current thoughts and attitudes and make subtle shifts in their thinking which result in changed behaviors.