UNDERSTANDING THE CORE ISSUES
Crystallizing the core issues that undergird a ministry such as Women of Hope is not an easy task. The issues are complex and intricately interwoven, which is why only a holistic approach to development will result in any level of real success. The core issues that affect the women with disabilities in Sierra Leone can be loosely classified in five key areas. These areas fall into the five key areas that Women of Hope seeks to address:
| Core Issue | Area of Holistic Focus |
| 1. Mobility and Health Concerns | Physical |
| 2. Negative Societal Perceptions of Disabilities | Social |
| 3. Loss of Dignity and Purpose | Emotional |
| 4. Poverty | Economic |
| 5. Christless-ness | Spiritual |
Background on Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is a small country on the west coast of Africa, with an area smaller than South 
Carolina and a population of approximately 6.5 million people (estimate in July 2009). It is a country of vast paradoxes: breathtaking beauty and horrific impoverishment, booming technological advances and a 35% literacy rate, incredible natural resources and gross lack of infrastructure, pristine beaches and filthy, disease-filled city streets, ranking in the top 5 birth rates in the world and the top 5 death rates with the second highest infant mortality rate worldwide, and filled with warm, pleasant people living in adverse circumstances.
MEET THE WOMEN
Miss Koroma and Hawa run the School for the Blind outside of Makeni
Matilda, a victim of polio, makes and sells bead necklaces from recycled paper. She supports herself, her children and her siblings through her income.
In the vocational training program at the School for the Deaf, the children learn to sew and make crafts that they sell for income.
