First registered as a not-for-profit community-based organization (CBO) in 2016, CEJaS was one of Serra Leone’s most active CBOs in environmental protection and sustainability. Operating in environmentally challenged communities in Bombali district, CEJaS’ programs were based on the belief that local people are best suited to shape and sustain their own development. CEJaS has pioneered grassroots
growth that is marked by extensive community involvement not only as beneficiaries, but also as planners, managers, and leaders. CEJaS was first active in promoting environmental education for sustainable development in schools and rural areas in Bombali district at a time when knowledge of and access to such services were scarce. CEJaS established eco-clubs in schools with the overarching objective to develop a sense of stewardship and active participation of pupils in the resolution of environmental problems. CEJaS had also helped to address the underlying causes of maldistribution in a social context. It led a campaign against the disproportionate environmental and health risks meted out to the people of Patebanah Masimbo – a low-income minority community by the Makeni City Council (MCC). CEJaS conducted local-level research and collected information and data on environmental and health costs and the burden of the waste dump site on the people. The crux of the campaign was to challenge the institution and system that allows environmental injustice with particular reference to distributional and recognition to continue. As summarized in its mission statement, the organization works to prevent patterns of disrespect and disesteem from becoming institutionalized. CEJaS continues its advocacy to bring distributive injustices to the attention of policymakers and create more space for decision-making, consultation, and participation by diverse stakeholders, including those excluded from policymaking as mandated by the Aarhus (UNECE) convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. Recognizing the inter-sectorial, multi-dimensional, and inter-disciplinary nature of environmental issues, CEJaS, in partnership with the Ministry of agriculture, forestry, and food security (MAFFS) planted trees in the schools it established eco-clubs, and also in targeted communities in Bombali District in 2016. This venture was in direct response to the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in accordance with Sierra Leone’s commitments as a Party to the Convention and subsequent COP decisions. As part of our partnership drive especially with like-minded agencies, we signed a strategic partnership with the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2016. Among other things, this synergy is to strategize on common interests or areas of intervention that would meet the desired objectives of each partner. Due to our unwavering commitment to issues bordering environmental protection through activities like environmental education, tree planting, etc., a certificate of acknowledgment was issued to us as a CBO operating on environmental issues. Overall, CEJaS has established itself as an innovative and effective environmental CBO with an impressive record of success. Since its initial focus on environmental education, and advocacy; and given its strengths and limitations and its status as a local multi-issue advocacy and development organization, CEJaS now seeks to broaden its activities and expand its operation to address national environmental problems across the country. Against this backdrop, CEJaS is now a registered National Non- Governmental Organization (NGO). The organization specifically focuses on research, advocacy, capacity building, and awareness raising on (1) plastics and chemical pollution (2) climate change, and (3) environmental education and conservation. It is the organization’s conviction that all sectors of society can work together in a new push for environmental sustainability in Sierra Leone. CEJaS is proud to have contributed to building and improving environmental awareness, developing understanding, and stimulating participation, in northern Sierra Leone. We endeavor to continue our struggle in other parts of the country where government efforts at the local level have not yet been able to effectively address a growing disparity in environment protection and management.
