On Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025, Inga Schallau, the skills development advisor, and Dieudonne Mugisha, the Skillup! Global MEAL Advisor, met with MADAM leadership and Skillup project staff members to discuss recent project developments, Rollout of the CommCare app, and training of project staff and partners on new MEAL tools and standards, particularly the tracer study tool utilizing the app.

Welcoming the team from WHH, Mr. Mohamed Sorie Conteh, the Director of MADAM, provided background on the partnership between WHH and MADAM, stating that this phase of the project will succeed just as previous ones did. He thanked WHH for helping MADAM expand its reach to more districts in Sierra Leone, enabling the organization to support and empower more people, especially youth.

In his remarks, Mr. Edward Conteh, the head of the program, also commended WHH for the strong partnership. He shared the history of their collaboration and expressed hope for sustaining a mutually beneficial relationship while emphasizing MADAM’s interest in exploring further opportunities for joint learning.

Project Manager Mr. Dawson John Kamara updated attendees on project activities, noting that they had started distributing inputs to farmers and providing hands-on training for project participants.
He emphasized that the project would enable farmers to engage in year-round crop production by offering six solar irrigation systems for vegetable farmers in their project operational districts.
Dieudonné Mugisha, Skillup! Global MEAL Advisor, stated that their visit aims to gain a deeper understanding of MADAM’s role in the SkillUp Sierra Leone project implementation, the progress made on the ground, and the development of a sustainability strategy, which is both a donor requirement and an opportunity to strengthen the project’s long-term impact.
He further explained that the second day would primarily focus on training project staff members on the rollout of the CommCare app, as well as on the new MEAL tools and standards, particularly the tracer study tool that utilizes the CommCare app.