“Hands off our girls” is an outstanding flagship program of the First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr. Fatima Maada Bio. The project was launched in 2018, immediately her husband, H. E. Rtd. Brigadier Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone came to power.
Since the inception of the Hands off Our Girls project, the First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone has been involved in diverse human rights advocacy programs, aimed at promoting gender equality. The passion of H.E. The First Lady in protecting and developing the capacity of women and girls has earned her many national and international awards around the world including and not limited to her recent appointment by UNAIDS as a champion for adolescent girls and young women on September 19, 2023.
According to H.E., the First Lady, after the Presidential inauguration in 2018, President Bio requested her to engage the women and girls across the country and harvest their challenges. The outcome of the national engagement with women and girls gave successful birth to the Hands of Our Girl’s campaign.
The Hands off our Girls campaign aimed at protecting and supporting women and girls, especially school-going girls, to discover their potential through human capacity building.
Dr. Fatima Maada Bio is an initiator of several projects aimed at the protection and socio-academic support of girls and children.
These humanitarian initiatives by H.E. Dr. Fatima Maada Bio has made successful waves across the geographical boundaries of Sierra Leone and was entrusted to a foundation called “MAADA & FATIMA BIO FOUNDATION.”
The innovative leadership of Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, towards human capital development for both civilians and the security apparatus, including promotion of health and food security, has quadrupled the performance of former first ladies of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
The passionate and optimistic promotion of human rights across the sovereign state of Sierra Leone by Her Excellency, The First Lady Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, has made her an admirable and emulating figure amongst Her Excellences, the First Ladies in Africa.
In her personal opinion, Mrs. Magret Kamara, a retired civil servant, mentioned, “The intervention of H.E. Dr Fatima Maada Bio, The First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, has mitigated violence against women and girls”.
Noting the role of H.E. The First Lady, Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, and considering the impact of the Hands Off Our Girls project on the lives of women and children, we are calling on humanitarian organizations, development organizations, including and not limited to private and public institutions of learning and employment to support the “Maada Fatima Bio Foundation” so as to promote and protect the rights and dignity of women and girls.
Lokombe Nkalulu
Editor-in-Chief of Africa’s Europe magazine