In the outskirts of Binkolo, a couple of miles away from the city of Makeni, about 70 women and men are working with building one of the feeder road that will connect Mabanta junction with Mabanta village. It is one of several the projects in the area where feeder roads are used to connect villages to main roads and cities and improve the infrastructure in rural areas.

As part of the United Nations Joint Vision push to decrease youth unemployment in Sierra Leone, high intensive labour methods are being used in order to create immediate employment opportunities for youth in rural communities.

475 local women and men have so far been skilled in construction with the support of the International Labor Organization, ILO, of which many have subsequently been contracted by larger companies active in construction, minerals and mining. Besides employing youth and giving them skills and training, feeder roads connect communities and enable local development through improved infrastructure.

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Photo: UNICEF/Olivier Asselin 10,300 young people have undertaken on-the-job training like this, working on constructing the feeder roads which are opening up rural communities all over Sierra Leone.

Text: Therese Leijon