Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr was thrilled to speak at the 10th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights #ACSHR2022 on July 1st. She was asked to focus on how Local Governments can create safe spaces for women and girls.
She talked about how the new #CongoWaterMarket #FCCEarlyLearningCenter, and the soon-to-be-opened #KrooTownRoadMarket provide free high-quality pre-school education to the children of market women in those markets. In her talk, she also mentioned the #FreetownCableCar system that will provide safe, reliable transport for women and girls living in Freetown, especially those in hard-to-reach hillside communities.
The mayor emphasized her efforts to reduce the terrible vulnerabilities women and girls are exposed to when they have to walk long distances to collect water, often in the middle of the night. She shared about the 130 #RainWaterHarvesting already installed in informal settlements and the 65 sustainable #WaterKiosks that will be installed in deprived communities. Project sites have been identified and construction will begin later this year.
Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr also shared her personal journey of activism, including co-founding the charity SLWT (www.slwt.org) 22 years ago and establishing the YAS Girls’ Leadership Foundation earlier this year. She challenged the amazing audience of activists and organizers that in order for #WomenAndGirls to have the world we want to live in, we need to step forward and step into #Leadership.
She acknowledge the many partners that contribute to the #TransformFreetown interventions mentioned above including #AvenueCapital #FCDO #EU #UNCDF #C40Cities #GIZ.
