We believe that the root cause of poverty in these communities is driven by exposure to extreme weather. By moving families to a safe climate zone, and providing them with agricultural and educational skills they need to succeed in the long term, SHARP will reduce poverty rates.
Every year flooding devastates the impoverished communities in low lying areas of Sierra Leone.
Families regularly lose their belongings, homes, and livelihoods during the rainy season. With most families engaging in petty trade and other small businesses, when their homes are threatened so is their means of generating income.
These communities have always been highly impacted areas because not only are the swamp lands where the communities are built naturally prone to flooding, but the makeshift shelters are not strong enough to resist high water pressure.
When you add in the poor environmental and sanitation conditions floods cause with the increased risk for illness, hunger, and starvation, poverty becomes inevitable.
