After 14 years’ work in Sierra Leone with his charity Alan’s Africa, he has now topped the £300,000 fund-raising mark.
Alan joined Banbury Rotary in 2004. A year later, he heard a talk about the charity Mercy Ships when Rotarians were invited to volunteer, as part of the Rotary Mission Challenge.
I thought the visit to Sierra Leone would be a one off experience, but it was life-changing and I have now been there 12 times.”
“Spending 11 days in Sierra Leone made a real difference,” reflected Alan. “I thought the visit to Sierra Leone would be a one off experience, but it was life-changing and I have now been there 12 times.”
Desk and bench sets in the newly built tw0 classroom block at Liverpool Community School by Alan’s Africa Project
On his third trip in January 2007, Alan began to work directly with a school in the West African country, helping to fund the building of a single classroom. This was the start of his Alan’s Africa projects.
Alan has undertaken 386 talks, which have generated £98,850 of the total of £300,000+ he has raised for his Alan’sAfrica Sierra Leone projects since he started to work directly with communities in 2007.”
Since then, Alan has co-ordinated the funding to develop eight schools. He also supports an impoverished football club community, three orphaned teenagers/young adults and a ten-year-old boy.
Momoh outside the house that is being built for him & his carer by Alan’s Africa Project
He has also set up a small micro credit scheme, which supports five community members, something he hopes to develop post Covid.
Alan is also currently funding the building of a two-bedroom house for a disabled lad and his carer.
Over the past 14 years, the Rotarian’s efforts have funded the building and equipping of 34 classrooms, installed mains electricity into nine rooms and water harvesting systems on to 21 classrooms, built nine toilet blocks and installed water harvesting and handwashing stations on six of the blocks, installed two wells – and is currently funding a third, refurbished another two and funded a gravity fed water system to a school/church community providing running water and flushing toilets for 1,500 people.
Alan’s Africa Project has helped refurbish a well at Banbury International Community School
As well as the building development, Alan supported communities during the Ebola and COVID-19 pandemics, including sponsoring over 200 children’s school fees and paying over 80 staff subsistence allowances.
Alan has undertaken 386 talks, which have generated £98,850 of the total of £300,000+ he has raised for his Alan’s Africa Sierra Leone projects since he started to work directly with communities in 2007.
