Young Africans Community Empowerment Initiative is strengthening opportunity and resilience in rural Sierra Leone.
A youth-led vision for progress
The Young Africans Community Empowerment Initiative, Sierra Leone (YACEI-SL) is a youth-led community-based organization rooted in the rural eastern region of the country. Based in Kenema and serving hard-to-reach communities across Upper Bambara Chiefdom and Kailahun District, YACEI-SL is committed to investing in girls, women, children and youth, while promoting peace, quality education, social justice and human dignity.
YACEI-SL was founded in 2002 by five young people who had witnessed the deep social and economic fractures left by Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war. What began as a small effort by determined youth in Bomaru Town has grown into a registered community organization providing support across a range of pressing challenges. Their work spans education, peacebuilding, agriculture, food security, income generation, health promotion, prevention of gender-based violence, human rights, climate change and community development.
Program spotlight
Across Sierra Leone’s eastern region, rural communities face persistent challenges in education, livelihoods, health and gender equality. YACEI-SL addresses these gaps through initiatives that improve access to schooling, support income-generating activities and promote community health and wellbeing. Their work in food security and agriculture supports families who rely on small-scale farming, while their focus on peacebuilding and human rights strengthens community cohesion after decades of social disruption.
The organization also plays an important role in preventing and responding to gender-based violence, providing awareness, support and opportunities for women and girls who are often at the greatest risk. As climate change intensifies pressures on rural communities, YACEI-SL helps families adapt through community-led approaches to resilience and sustainable development.
Where they are heading
What began with five young founders in Bomaru Town has grown into a dynamic movement for opportunity, dignity and peace. YACEI-SL’s work is opening pathways for women, children and youth in some of Sierra Leone’s most underserved communities, and their model is paving the way for long-term progress rooted in resilience and local leadership.
Learn more about YACEI-SL via our Membership Directory.