About

Samda-Saclepea-Mah Development Association (SAMDA) is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and/or scientific purposes as specified in Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The specific purpose of this corporation is to empower and motivate citizens of Saclepea-Mah Chiefdom, at home and abroad, to help them realize their visions, dreams, and aspirations in life, and to accomplish their desire for integrated sustainable development.
SAMDA is dedicated to undertaking projects, providing programs, offering services, and engaging in charitable activities, including microfinance enterprise development, education and community organizing.
SAMDA is a membership organization. Regular membership shall be open to individuals and non-profit organizations that are of like mind and purpose with our organization and to residents of Saclepea-Mah Chiefdom in Nimba County (north-central Liberia) and in the Diaspora in the U.S. and elsewhere.
The regular membership fee is $10 per individual per month. Currently the organization has 25 members. We draw and will draw members through regional offices, use of mass media, and via the internet.
The members of SAMDA have the right to vote upon the ideas imposed by other members and participate in all organization’s activities. Members meet every month to discuss new future ideas on how to provide further assistance to citizens of Saclepea-Mah Chiefdom.
We will create the following four regional offices in the future: Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, and West. Each office will be coordinated by a regional officer appointed by SAMDA’s board of directors and supervised by the central office of the organization. Creating regional offices will raise awareness of SAMDA and its purposes and to draw members to the organization. All major programs, projects, and activities will be conducted and supervised by and through the central office of the organization.

•  Annual convention event and SAMDA programs
• Other key activities

All our activities will be conducted to benefit Liberian-Americans (U.S. citizens of Liberian origin) indigenous to the Saclepea-Mah Chiefdom of Nimba County (north-central Liberia); individuals residing in that Chiefdom; non-profit organizations serving individuals of Saclepea-Mah Chiefdom; and all needy individuals within the activity scope of SAMDA.
SAMDA’s projects, programs, services, and activities are and will be designed to enable Saclepea-Mah individuals from the U.S. Diaspora to help themselves and their host communities and to extend their resources to the Saclepea-Mah Chiefdom in Nimba County, as it rebuilds out of the ashes of civil war.
Starting from the year 2011, the organization organizes and operates three-day conventions from Friday to Sunday for members of the organization and professionals and individuals who share our mission.
The 2011 inaugural convention was conducted at Ascension MarThoma Church located at: 10197 Northeast Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116-3713. The 2012 convention event is anticipated to be conducted at Miracle Empowerment Center located at: 5801 John Martin Drive, Brooklyn Center, MN 55433-2507. We will pay $1,000 for three days for the use of this venue. The participants are required to pay $125 as convention fee to attend the event. For the 2012 convention event, it is anticipated that 40 individuals will attend.
This event offers a content-rich program comprised of official business meetings, organizational planning, networking, and social interaction. We invite individuals who share our mission and want to volunteer their services for achieving the charitable purposes of SAMDA. During these meetings, we discuss the ways to empower and motivate citizens of Saclepea-Mah Chiefdom, Nimba County at home and abroad, including the U.S., to help them realize their dreams and accomplish their vision for integrated sustainable development.
During the convention event, we organize a banquet which allows the elders to draw attention to our organization’s efforts, meet current and prospective supporters, and encourage them and their associates to continue their partnership with our worthy causes. On the last day of convention, faith community worship is offered for participants before departure.
SAMDA will assist beneficiaries of our organization in a variety of ways. We will provide many services and educate them in different fields, such as advocacy, agriculture, child and youth development, cultural development and enrichment, economic and microfinance enterprise development, and sports and athletics. All organization’s programs in Liberia and in the U.S. will be started in 2013. Currently we raise awareness of our organization, obtain funds, and plan the ways in which we will assist our beneficiaries.

The purpose of this activity is to mobilize support for targeted needy communities and find non-political social action methods and services which will help remove the roots of human suffering and other forms of man’s inhumanity to man.
The organization will serve as a voice of program participants by educating service providers and mobilizing them to cooperate and collaborate for maximum results. Our vision is to help the region become a wholesome functioning society with all the amenities of life. SAMDA will enable both faith-based and community-based non-profits to serve needy local residents. This will be implemented through training, encouragement, mobilization, and linking resources and needs.
To achieve our mission, qualified Liberians in Saclepea-Mah and other parts of the country will be carefully screened, selected, and appointed to lead and provide services within the region.

The purpose of this activity is to help individuals feed themselves and their families by providing subsistence farmers with relevant training, tools, seeds/seedlings, technical support, and encouragement in a very difficult setting.
Recent research on farming techniques in Liberia, conducted by donor nations and agencies, will be used for reference to ensure better farming skills. Farmers’ cooperatives may also be developed for self-help purposes.
SAMDA will seek the opportunity to organize short-term travel missions for volunteers from the U.S. to help these farmers complete their projects. Locally trained and experienced farm workers will also be required to help.
Saclepea-Mah County District has a growing population in excess of 100,000, most of whom are subsistence farmers, children, and the elderly. Very often these individuals starve. SAMDA will conduct seasonal feeding program once a year during so called “hunger month”, in the period between planting and harvesting. We will distribute rice and if possible other products to every household in need living in local towns, villages, hamlets, and the City of Saclepea. Every household will be registered with the organization, along with heads and members of family, to determine what kind of help (food, clothes, or other items) is needed. SAMDA’s leadership team/staff with the help of volunteers on the ground will select recipients and distribute food and other items to beneficiaries. All products and other items for distributions will be donated to the organization. A similar program may be conducted in the U.S. in the future, among Saclepea-Mah individuals in Diaspora and their neighbors.

The purpose of this activity is to bring value-based education and training to at-risk children, youth and young adults. An estimated 1.7 million children and youth in Liberia were rendered fatherless, motherless, homeless, and hopeless by the recent 14-year civil war. Thousands of young individuals in Saclepea-Mah fall in this category and their households/communities desperately need skills for survival, thriving and becoming productive citizens.
SAMDA will support existing and emerging educational activities in the target region that are designed to serve individuals in need through the following: life-skills development, basic career-tech training for workforce preparation, adult literacy, community-based tutorial programs for children and youth, computer literacy, community/school library support, helping connect area schools with others abroad for partnership and cooperation for extensive support, and working with school authorities to address critical needs.
Activities will be held in groups. These activities will be conducted at various venues donated by local residents, leaders, or civil society organizations (NGOs) that support our mission.
Our organization’s staff will partner with school authorities and community volunteers to provide services free of charge. We simply enable and empower human service providers. Mentors/teachers and other volunteers will have to be locally accredited to serve. Both the U.S. and Liberia have established criteria for licenses, certificates, diplomas, etc., and SAMDA will be sure to follow the rules in all cases.

We believe that our unique Liberian-American heritage can be advanced through diverse cultural expressions. This will also be one way of giving Liberia a special place in the American conscience.
In postwar Liberia, numerous programs of art and humanity, such as tribal music, faith-based musical groups, cultural dances, the teaching of cultural values and languages, etc., have come alive. Most of these programs need to be encouraged, developed, and promoted as part of national reconciliation, peace, and understanding. SAMDA intends to encourage the artists and their groups to participate in public performances, produce artistic works, and gain public exposure. If needed, a limited classroom cultural education may also be provided.
There will be no fees charged for these programs; however, donations will be solicited during events to pay for traveling expenses of artists.

SAMDA will provide group education, selection of the cream of the crop, assistance with project planning and development, small loans, and ongoing technical/management assistance to ensure success with loan repayment and enterprise. We will use the household registration method to find individuals interested and those who show promise in microenterprise development,

We will provide business startup loans to individuals in rural postwar Liberia at the beginning stage and in the U.S. in the future, averaging from $250 to $500. SAMDA plans to begin with ten loans (5 for $250 and 5 for $500) in the year 2013 and increase the number and amount of loans annually.

The term of the loan will be six or twelve months, depending on the loan amount and project size. 8% interest will be charged.

Heads of households who have successfully undergone SAMDA microenterprise training and who have demonstrated potential for successful project implementation through class participation will be eligible for this program.

For each loan, SAMDA’s management team will provide technical assistance and oversight of bookkeeping/accounting process to ensure timely loan repayment.

Also, SAMDA loan recipients enrolled in the microenterprise program will receive debt management and credit counseling services to ensure success of the program.

SAMDA’s microenterprise program in the U.S. and Liberia will periodically involve supporters of the organization willing to see the program succeed. Like-minded microenterprise practitioners and investors will be invited and given the opportunity to come alongside SAMDA with resources and expertise.

Also, we plan to bring together microfinance practitioners and investors who will help create jobs and opportunities for building stable and sustainable communities. The future plans are to provide assistance in workforce preparation, job readiness training, job placement, ongoing career development, and direct employment of skilled personnel.

We plan to provide temporary relief and assistance to the neediest, including children, youth, the elderly and the handicapped, by offering such help that will enable them to get back on their feet. These may include, but not necessarily limited to, the following:

• Providing transportation assistance for rural students;
• Assisting with clothing and accessories for suffering families;
• Helping with transition housing for homeless families and individuals;
• Providing companionship and in-home support for lonely elderly residents;
• Providing emotional counseling for individuals on the edge of breakdown;
• Being a listening ear to the marginalized, the last, the least, and the left-behind;
• Providing career counseling, coaching, and development for the unemployed;
• Providing temporary help of all types based on individuals’ needs.