Meet The Steering Committee
YOSA Sierra Leone
Gloria Kabba Bayoh
Gloria has many years experience in the development and human rights sector. She currently works as Women and Children's officer at the Sierra Leone Human Rights Commission, and heads YOSA Sierra Leone.
Gloria and Anniemaude have kept YOSA Sierra Leone alive for many years, tirelessly engaging alumni and promoting greater alumni participation.Gloria is a key member of the YOSA International leadership team.
YOSA Sierra Leone have also coordinated visits, inspections, the YSS conference in 2016, celebrations, partniership activities with other YOSA international coalition members and have contributed to several YSS restoration projects including the roofing of the poultry among other things. YOSA SL coordinates fundraising and provides in-country banking services for YOSA Int. project funds when needed.
Thanks to the permission of the Archbishop of Freetown they have regularly convened YOSA meetings on the grounds of St Anthony's church in Brookfields, Freetown.
UK
Sahr O Fasuluku
Sahr Fasuluku went to school at RC Boys Primary in Koidu, Kono and Yengema Secondary School Kono in the 1970’s. He graduated from Thames Valley University (now University of West London) with an LLB Hons (Law) in 1997 and earned an MSc in Sustainable Development (Development Management) in 2018 from The School of Oriental and African Studies Centre for Environment Development and Policy, University of London. He has authored a Sierra Leonean research study and dissertation “Kono civil society capacity, constraints and potential to progress localised Sustainable Development Goals”, as well as a number of policy papers.
He has 30 years of not-for-profit experience in a wide variety of civil society organisations and groups; capacity building teams, organisational governance, community mobilisation, African field work, policymaking, advocacy, project planning, proposal writing, implementation, research, reporting, strategic planning, and event organisation. He was a school governor in the UK for 6 years and co-founded YSSOSTFA (Yengema Secondary School Old Students Teachers and Friends Association) in the UK in 2012 along with Eddie Finnegan, Septimus Lebbie (Light Kongomanyi) and others. He has been the strategic planning lead for YSSOSTFA and project managed the creation of a new fully furbished and stocked library, and the creation of 3 science labs. He is currently providing strategic planning and coordination for the YOSA International coalition.
Sahr's interests include dark green sustainable development, sustainable land management and livelihoods, civil society capacity and constraints, human/indigenous rights and education. He currently works on a voluntary basis with WaterAid’s Speaker Network and WaterAid International Programmes team, has provided consultation for the End Water Poverty coalition, and is currently a policy officer for the Off the Curriculum educational charity in London.
YOSA USA
Sahr Pombor
Born in Kono District, Republic of Sierra Leone, Sahr Pombor graduated from Yengema Secondary School in 1981. He was Captain of King Billet Recruits for the Sierra Leone Police Training School in 1985. In 1991 he graduated with an Msc in Agricultural Sciences from Moscow Agricultural Academy in Russia, USSR. He carries additional training & certifications from the USA and currently works there as a horticulturist.
Sahr Pombor has often demonstrated his ability to pool the talents of others, form teams, and successfully coordinate meetings and working groups to achieve their goals. He is very active in grassroots community organisations. Sahr Pombor was the secretary of the National Union of Sierra Leonean Students USSR & Eastern Europe from 1989-1990. He is currently coordinating the YSS Restoration Project, is president of the Kono Union USA, chairman of the Kono Conference Diaspora Secretariat, and is founder and president of Partnership In Education a CBO registered in Kono District.
Sahr jointly coordinates YOSA USA and is a key member of the YOSA International leadership team.
Sierra Leone
Isatta Finda Sangba
Isatta leads the Fundraising and Partnerships working group in Sierra Leone, conducting advocacy with influencers in Sierra Leone. She provides in-country oversight of service delivery of YOSA International's programme.
Isatta is a key member of the YOSA International leadership team.
She has recently been nominated by YOSA as our representative on the YSS board of governors.
Principal YSS Kono, Sierra Leone
David Njawa
Born in Kono District, Eastern Sierra Leone, David graduated from Yengema Secondary School in 1987 and gained admission to Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He graduated with a Bachelors Degree and a post graduate Diploma in Education and took up an appointment as assistant teacher at the Annie Walsh Memorial School in Freetown. He rose to the ranks of senior teacher, head of the guidance counseling department, and acting vice principal. He served as head of the exams committee and the disciplinary committee and was four times winner of Annie Walsh Memorial School's “teacher of the year” award. He took up the role of YSS acting principal and then principal in 2020.
Over the last few years David has been working with Teach For Development Sierra Leone (TFDSL) as lead administrator. TFDSL is a not-for-profit corporation founded by career teachers in the United States and led by Dr Archie Deen PhD (LinkedIn). It is dedicated to continuing professional development, capacity building, improved teaching and welfare of teachers in schools in Sierra Leone. David has facilitated plans for TFDSL’s 2022 programme to work with teachers in Kono District, including YSS. YOSA International has been pleased to support their intervention as it is part of our programme plan to raise standards of teaching and learning at YSS. This will be TFDSL's first contact with teachers in Kono, with David and the YSS team.
David is married with three children.
Sierra Leone
Professor Moses Bockarie
Professor Moses John Bockarie is an expert in international health and research in tropical medicine. After his training at YSS and Fourah Bay College, he taught Biology at Christ the King College Bo, before proceeding to the UK in 1987 for his MSc and PhD at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), University of Liverpool. In 2008, he was appointed Professor of Tropical Health Sciences and Director of the Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases (CNTD) in the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. As Director of CNTD, he had direct oversight for research and implementation funding in 10 African countries working closely with national ministries of health, academic institutions and several implementation partners including Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID and DFID. Professor Bockarie trained many PhD students while at LSTM, including two from Sierra Leone.
Professor Bockarie was until his recent retirement, based in Cape Town, South Africa, the Regional Director for European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). He also has adjunct professorial appointments at the Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa and School of Community Health Sciences, Njala University.
He is chair of the Technical Advisory Committee for the Neglected Tropical Diseases Programme in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone. He also supervises PhD students at Njala university and serves as an external examiner for the University of Sierra Leone.
Professor Bockarie is a key member of the YOSA International leadership team.
UK and Republic of Ireland
The late Eddie Finnegan
Eddie Finnegan was a lifelong educator. One of the founding teachers of YSS under Father Raymond Barry in the 1960's and early 70's, ex head of English at YSS and ex vice principal there. On his return to the UK he continued his teaching career and served as headteacher until his retirement. He was a member of the Sierra Leone Irish Partnership (SLIP) which includes Irish ex teachers of YSS who have donated to various projects at the school in recent years.
In 2012 Eddie and other alumni founded YSSOSTFA (Yengema Secondary School Old Students Teachers and Friends Association) which became a registered company limited by guarantee in the UK. Between 2014-16 he formed the Finnegan Family Fund which made possible the formation of a large fully fitted and stocked library project managed by YSSOSTFA (click here for video) and 3 science labs for chemistry, physics and biology. Eddie and Irish ex-teachers contributed Euro 20,000 towards the teaching and learning restricted fund for upcoming projects.
YOSA USA
Elizabeth Ganda
Elizabeth jointly coordinates YOSA USA promoting its activities and raising funds. She is a key member of the YOSA International leadership team.
Elizabeth T Ganda was born in Serabu, Bo District in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone attending Holy Rosary Primary school, Bo in the early 1970s and Holy Rosary Secondary school in Pujehun and spent some of her childhood in Kono District. In the early 80’s she transitioned to Yengema Secondary School where she completed her secondary education. She represented her schools in inter-secondary school volleyball and was very athletic throughout her secondary school days.
After school she completed a year of Higher Teachers Education at the Milton Margai’s Teacher College while waiting for admission to the Ardis School of the Arts in the USA. Upon completion at Ardis School Of the Arts, she interned at Oxnard College California, at Central Piedmont Community College, Mecklenburg County New Options for Violent Actions/ Domestic Violence (NOVA), and the Structure Day Programme (for At-Risk Youth).
In college she worked in different departments: Truma-Step Down, Telemetry, Med-Surg, ICU, and Psychiatric Unit to name a few as a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) at Santa Barbara Hospital in California, Semi Valley County Hospital in CA, Ventura County Hospital In CA, and Mecklenburg County Hospital in North Carolina.
She earned two Degrees of Associate in Applied Science-Addictive Disorder Studies (Substance Abuse) and Honours in Human Services Technology as well as Certificates in Case Management and At-Risk Youth. She gained the National Certification in Human Services and today she is a Human Services Board Certified Practitioner (HS-BCP). She is a member of both the Phi Theta Kappa International Honour Society and the Tau Upsilon Alpha National Society for Human Services.
For years, Elizabeth has volunteered her time with different non-profit organisations in the USA and academically sponsored school age and needy children and their communities. Due to ill health Ms Ganda is now Self-Employed as a CNA and she hope to one day complete her Bachelorette Degree in Nursing (Psychiatric).
YOSA Sierra Leone and YOSA Int. Country Coordinator Sierra Leone
The late Joseph Sembo Kabia
Born 1957 in Bendu near Yengema airfield. Joseph Sembo Kabia attended R. C. Primary School Yengema from 1962 to 1970 and Yengema Secondary School (YSS) from 1970 to 1975.
He lived in the Father's mission in Yengema and in the boarding home at YSS sponsored by government and Catholic scholarships as a mission boy and alter boy living with Father TR Barry, Fr. Flavin, Fr. Heikey, Fr. Joseph Keane, Fr. Mullein and Fr. MacGiver.
He was in charge of; the school water, electricity generation, opening the school classrooms every morning and locking them in the evening. He was Prefect in charge of school gardens supervising boarding home students every Saturday, and he was class prefect for Form 4 Science in 1974.
He took his GCE O level exams in 1975 and was then sent by Fr. Barry to continue as a pupil teacher at Sewafe Secondary School. Suffering a setback when YSS GCE results were cancelled, he took them again at Sewafe Secondary School. He spent 1976 with Fr. Barry as an assistant administrator/ office assistant and catechist at the National Pastoral Center in Kenema and was then offered a Catholic scholarship to Milton Margai Teachers' College in 1977 where in 1980 he obtained a Higher Teachers Certificate.
He returned to Kono to teach English Language, English literature, Religious Education and Bible Knowledge at Koidu Girls Secondary School and at YSS.
In 1989 Joseph was appointed as Government Representative to NDMC (National Diamond Mining Company formerly SLST) by the Ministry of Mines. He was recruited and trained as a police cadet officer in charge of diamond mining and marketing surveillance and monitoring and worked at NDMC, Kono District, Ministry of Mines, Lungi Airport and Kambia District.
In 2015, he joined the UN family on a project for the International Organization for Migration and the Immigration agency. He retired in 2019 and returned to volunteer to supervise grounds cleaning of YSS with YOSA SL.
YOSA Europe
Aiah Christian Abiosei Mani
The last of nine children of Aiah Penduma, he was born in Bondorvulahun, a small vibrant town between Motema and Yengema. He is the product of a poor but hard-working family. By the age of five, Mani had lost both parents and was brought up his father’s younger sister, Mama Kumba Abie, who he grew up knowing as his mother.
Aiah entered Yengema Secondary School in 1982 and graduated after O’levels in 1987. While at YSS, he read news at the daily assembly. He was one of the boys that the Vice Principal, Mr. Alie B. Bayoh trained. He was fondly called “Radio YSS”. Tiny, smart and elegant, his friends and admirers called him "Abongo-Teey", for fun.
He pursued further education at Fourah Bay College Freetown where he graduated with a BA in Political Science and History, and later at Brandeis University, Boston in the USA earned an MA in Co-existence and Conflict (Co-Ex) in 2010.
He serves as a Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations and contributes to mediation between governments, rebels and other armed groups for an inclusive political process.
He highly values family life which is demonstrated in the love he accords his children, Edna, Abigail and Lawrence.
He has played a key role in promoting YOSA in Europe and is currently leading on a YOSA documentary project covering 60 years of YSS.