By Foday Moriba Conteh
A passionate group of high school pupils under the banner ‘Rise Salone’, a youth-led community initiative, have received a generous donation of 35 bags of rice (25kg each) from the Indian Community in Sierra Leone in support of their Basket Brigade Project. The donation ceremony took place at the Choithrams Office on Rawdon Street in Freetown.
The Basket Brigade Project is a charitable initiative aimed at providing essential supplies to 100 vulnerable families through Family Support Donation Baskets. Each basket is carefully curated with food and hygiene items such as rice, cooking oil, tea, milk powder, bar soap, sugar, salt and other daily necessities enough to sustain a family of four to six members for up to three weeks. The initiative promotes dignity, compassion and collective action in addressing community needs.
Handing over the donation, Harish Agnani, representing the Indian Community, explained that the gesture was inspired by the India Community’s recent cultural festivals and their desire to give back to the local community after learning of RISE’s charitable efforts. “We learned that these pupils are carrying out charity work to support local communities, and we decided to assist them in their efforts,” Harish Agnani said.
He emphasized that the initiative forms part of the Indian Community’s long-standing commitment to social welfare in Sierra Leone including medical and educational support. “We believe that this initiative, led by young people, will have a great impact on the lives of local families,” he added.
Harish Agnani revealed that the group’s goal is to help more than 100 families with food items that will contribute to their sustainability. “So far, approximately NLe 100,000 has been raised to purchase additional supplies,” he revealed adding that their initial goal was to support 100 families but with the commitment of the young people they are confident that even more families will benefit further encouraging others to join the movement.
Receiving the gesture, Nitish Vijay, Co-Founder of Rise Salone, expressed gratitude for the partnership and highlighted the project’s purpose:
“The Family Support Donation Baskets are designed to provide essential supplies to families in need of not just food but dignity and hope. Each basket contains rice, cooking oil, tea, milk powder, bar soap, sugar, salt and other daily essentials to support a family of four to six members for up to three weeks,” he said.
Rise Salone, founded by Aarav Saini, Nitish Vijay, Hanine Swaid and Amina Ismail, is a 100% student-led initiative driven by compassion, education and community action. The group’s mission is to Re-shape, Impact, Strengthen and Empower (R.I.S.E) communities by helping families rise above challenges and build resilience.
“Our generation has the power to make a difference,” Nitish Vijay added. “We believe that age should never be a barrier to creating positive change.”
He said that through projects like the Basket Brigade, Rise Salone continues to demonstrate that young people can lead meaningful efforts to fight hunger, strengthen families and inspire kindness across Sierra Leone.
Fellow Rise Salone Co-founder, Aarav Saini, expressed deep gratitude for the donation. “We are truly thankful for this support and promise to continue working hard to help families in need,” Saini said.
She stated that as students they realized that many people in Sierra Leone need help. ‘We came together to support those in dire need,” Aarav Saini explained, noting that their efforts are focused on assisting vulnerable communities across the country.
Aarav Saini concluded, “We want to show that compassion and teamwork can make a real difference.”
The ceremony concluded with a symbolic handover of the donated food items, marking a partnership dedicated to alleviating hunger and inspiring a new generation of humanitarian action in Sierra Leone.
