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Climate change , News

First Chief Heat Officer in Africa, appointed through Innovation SL.

From the Mayor of Freetown- Her Worship Madam Yvonne Aki-Sawyer

Today we launched the City Champion for Heat Action Initiative, of which Freetown is a founding member.The Initiative is run by Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center at the Atlantic Council through the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance (EHRA). It supports cities in addressing heat-related risks as extreme heat has significant impact on health and the economy. Extreme heat is a cause for concern for me and Council as many residents of Freetown (up to 35% of the population) live in informal settlements and in homes made of zinc, which exposes them to potentially lethal levels of extreme heat.

The Initiative allows the first Chief Heat Officer in Africa, appointed through Innovation SL, to raise awareness of extreme heat risk, and to implement and track initiatives that reduce the heat-related climate risks.

The launch of the Initiative was attended by the Mayor of Monrovia, Jefferson T Koijee and chairpersons of other local councils: Chairman of Bo District Council, Mr Joseph Bindi; Chairman of Tonkolili District, Madam Yabome Sesay; Chairman of Bonthe District Council, Chairman Moses Probyn; Chairman Elect of Koinadugu District Council, Lawrence Teteh Kargbo. The Ambassador of Liberia to Sierra Leone, HE Madame Musu Ruhle and members of the Atlantic Council, Kathy Baughman-McLeod and former Mayor of Quito, Mauricio Rodas were also present.

The event was also attended by representatives of Councillors and staff of Freetown City Council, CDMCs, EPA and the Sierra Leone Metrological Agency. It was inspiring to see the level of collaboration within country and with our neighboring city. #TransformFreetown

News

The Turtle Team of Budapest-Bamako 2022 is pleased to meet you!

We are the Turtle Team!

We are 2 friends, Geraldine and Estelle, taking the opportunity of riding the Budapest-Bamako Rally 2022 to raise awareness and funds for Sierra Leonean entrepreneurs.
Check out our fundraising page: https://gofund.me/1c5f3d6f

Why would you call your team ‘Turtle’ for a rally?

Because turtles are brave and persistent…
Because Turtle Islands are an amazing place! That stayed in Geraldine’s mind since she came to Sierra
Leone
Because it’s funny to call yourself Turtle when you enter a rally!
It’s releasing all pressure because going relaxed is the best way to achieve!
Because in the fable ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’ from Jean De La Fontaine, the turtle wins at the end!
Slow and steady wins the race;)
Because it’s just the first name that popped into our minds when we discussed it – probably a beautiful
memory already shared together!

Our Impact Project

Entrepreneurship is in our blood.
Sierra Leone is in our heart.
Sierra Leone faces challenges to develop and create sustainable growth. We are convinced development
can only happen thanks to a strong local and national private sector! In particular, the development of
start-ups!
It therefore came naturally that we wanted to support entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone.
How do we do that?
We created a partnership with Innovation SL and the Global Entrepreneurship Network, SL (GEN).
For every penny we collect to finance our race, we give a penny to Innovation SL and GEN SL to support
start ups in Sierra Leone.

Check out our fundraising page: https://gofund.me/1c5f3d6f

Ecosystem , Features

FreetownTheTreeTownCampaign

Freetown, located at the seaward tip of a heavily forested, mountainous peninsula, is the capital of Sierra Leone, dominating its urban, economic, and social landscape. Each year, more than 100,000 people in search of employment move to the city, and the urban fringes continue to push deeper into the steep forest expanses outside the city. As a result, an equivalent of 12% of total canopy in the area was lost per year between 2011 and 2018.

Loss of tree canopy directly affects catchment areas for water reserves, exacerbating the risks of landslides, flooding, and coastal erosion. Loss of tree and vegetation cover also threatens biodiversity. Against the backdrop of population expansion and rapid urbanization, the Freetown City Council came up with a plan to plant and grow 1 million trees by 2022—an effort that would increase the city’s vegetation cover by 50%.


The #FreetowntheTreeTown—an unconventional tree-planting campaign. This innovative effort harnesses digital and disruptive technology to create employment opportunities for local youth during the COVID-19 pandemic; it also helps establish long-term climate resilience for the community. The campaign comes with ecosystem benefits that include reducing heat stress, improving air and water quality, and reducing flooding and landslide risks.

Innovation SL is a partner in The #FreetowntheTreeTown