The Village-to-Village Federation of Sierra Leone (V2V) was registered as a community-based organization in 2014 as part of the West Africa Initiative. It grew from a simple but important conviction: lasting rural development requires more than material and technical assistance. Communities also need strong local institutions that can organize people, manage resources, strengthen accountability, and sustain progress long after a project ends.
That vision was tested almost immediately. During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, V2V became a vital link to remote rural communities. Its members educated residents about the virus, distributed sanitation kits and food, and helped transport essential medical supplies. Because they were trusted residents of the communities they served, they could reach families with culturally relevant information and assistance during a time of fear and uncertainty.
Since 2008, Sierra Leone’s Village-to-Village Federation has grown from postwar recovery work into a locally led rural development network. By the end of 2025, V2V included 31 active community groups; across the broader West Africa Initiative, approximately 1,500 farmers and 10,000 family members were being reached.
From 2021 through 2023, V2V engaged 246 young farmers, cultivated 54 acres of rice, and produced 5,200 kilograms of cassava and 2,000 kilograms of groundnuts. The program also supported 165 girls with school supplies, uniforms, mentoring, and protection from gender-based violence—and recorded a zero dropout rate among supported girls in 2024.
In the years since, V2V has continued to strengthen food sovereignty while building more coordinated and accountable community structures. Local farmers and leaders have received training from Agricultural Missions, Inc., in-country specialists, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and experienced community members. Today, V2V stands as a hopeful example of what becomes possible when rural people are equipped to lead: communities become more organized, farmers become more resilient, local knowledge is shared, and one village gains the strength to help another build a more secure future.
