YICA-SL is a 100% youth-led non-profit empowering young people aged 15–35 to lead climate action across Sierra Leone — bridging community action and national policy.
Our programmes →From coastal flooding in Freetown to landslides, shifting rains that disrupt farming, and unregulated mining that destroys the wetlands communities depend on — the impacts fall hardest on young people and the most vulnerable, and they are intensifying.
Young people are not just participants but leaders in climate action. With the right skills, mentorship and platforms, they create community-owned solutions rooted in local knowledge — the kind that lasts.
YICA-SL exists to back that leadership, bridging community-level action and national policy to drive measurable change across Sierra Leone.
See how we do it →Skills training, mentorship, peer learning and mini-grants for young women to design and deliver their own community climate projects. The first cohort mentored 20 young women across four project groups.
Restoring degraded wetlands and mining sites in Kono District, and establishing Chiefdom Environmental Enforcement Coordination Committees — community-owned structures that monitor violations and link traditional authorities with formal enforcement.
Bringing youth voices into climate decision-making — from facilitating consultations that shaped Sierra Leone's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to community dialogues that hold local councils accountable on environmental compliance.
Transforming school compounds into living laboratories where pupils learn sustainable practices hands-on, alongside training in project design, grant writing and climate communication that has helped five youth organisations launch new initiatives.
Across our programmes, mentees are turning ideas into projects that protect their communities. Here's a snapshot of the work already underway.
A field assessment with Nature for Mangroves documenting mining damage in Bumbeh and Kayima — the evidence base for our restoration work.
Our co-founders represented Sierra Leonean youth in Rio de Janeiro, bringing community voices to global climate decision-makers.
From school gardens to disaster resilience, four mentee groups designed community climate projects and received mini-grants to deliver them.
Turning school compounds into living laboratories where young people grow vegetables — and the next generation of environmental stewards.
However you show up, there's a role for you. Volunteer your skills, partner with us on climate action, or apply to be mentored and lead your own project across Sierra Leone.
Be part of the solution. Join YICA-SL as a volunteer, partner or mentee and help build a more resilient Sierra Leone.
