Support Sierra Leone

Help to Build an Adult Vocational Training Center in Njama

Help to Bring a Girl’s Dream for Her Village to Reality

Hi, I’m Maryann Kokeš, born in Njama, a village in Sierra Leone, Africa. I now live in Plumas County, CA with my husband Petr. Growing up, my life was shaped by a complex family structure and the turmoil of the Sierra Leone Civil War which changed my life forever. I was bounced between relatives as my family scrambled to stay alive. Things went from bad to worse and at age 8, I found myself in an orphanage in Freetown, near where I grew up. Eventually, I was fortunate enough to be adopted by a wonderful family in California. Since that day, I’ve held onto a dream: to help my people in Njama in a special way.

Last January, I returned to my village for the first time with my husband Petr. (pictured with children from Njama) We found out that the most pressing need in their community is a vocational training center for adults. This facility will transform lives by providing essential marketable skills and entrepreneurship savvy. The building would also be used as a gathering place for the community, including a place to worship.

My local church, the Quincy, CA Seventh-day Adventist Church, has rallied to support this dream. I am grateful to announce that we have already raised half of the $55,000 we need for the multi-purpose building, and for basic furniture and equipment. We have been in regular communication with our partners in Sierra Leone. They are very close to securing the 5-acre piece of land for the building site. Some generous donors have already funded a hand-pumped well, and we have hopes to receive enough donations to add an outdoor, African-style kitchen.

A dear friend in the village has a degree in agriculture. He has embraced the vision of using the building and the land to help people in Njama create better futures for themselves and their families through various practical, skill-building workshops. Once the building is available to them, they will manage the workshops locally and independently.

Our GoFundMe fundraising goal is $25,000. It will be used for building materials, labor cost, furniture and equipment needed to have a functional training center, such as treadle sewing machines for the first planned workshop. We use a secure bank-to-bank transfer of funds with the Sierra Leone Seventh-day Adventist Conference to forward the donations.

Our plan is to have the building completed by January 2027 when a group of us from our church and our community is planning to travel to Njama for a few weeks to lend a hand with any final work on the building and celebrate its completion, meet my people, offer health and dental services and educational/spiritual programs for the children of the village. All the expenses for this trip will be covered privately.

As this year draws to a close, please join us and consider making an end-of-year tax deductible donation to propel this project forward. You can:

Thank you in advance for helping us to get closer to our goal and to bring hope to my village by providing a place to develop essential marketable skills and entrepreneurship savvy. We will keep you updated regularly about our progress.

With all our gratitude,

Maryann Kokeš

with the Quincy, CA Seventh-day Adventist Church