DR. ADAMA KALOKOH: Bridging Cultures and Changing Lives Through Impact Sierra Leone

Jul 8, 2024

Where compassion meets leadership, Dr. Adama Kalokoh, the Executive Director of Impact Sierra Leone, emerges as a remarkable figure, embodying dedication, resilience, and vision. She is a global humanitarian, a passionate advocate for the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and a celebrated leader in women’s empowerment. Dr. Kalokoh’s multifaceted career also includes the roles of a Chairperson with the Global Goodwill Ambassadors Foundation (GGAF), motivational speaker, and author. She recently received a 2023 US Presidential Lifetime Achievement award for volunteer services at the 5th Edition of the Jacobs-Abbey Global Institute for Leadership Studies Annual awards ceremony. Her previous accolade as one of the Most Distinguished Women Change Makers in Africa for 2020-2021 by City Scope Africa underscores her influential role in driving positive change across the continent.

Dr. Kalokoh’s deep-rooted passion for helping others was nurtured by her parents, James I. Conteh and Harriett Memuna Sesay, and further fueled by her four-year tenure in the U.S. Air Force. Her academic pursuit at the University of the District of Columbia, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Education, set the foundation for her leadership and advocacy work. Distinguished as a Thurgood Marshall Scholarship recipient, Dr. Kalokoh’s early commitment to public health and community service was evident during her AmeriCorps Promise Fellowship, where she made significant impacts in the DC area. Dr. Kalokoh’s story is one of relentless impact, positioning her as a powerful catalyst for transformative change.

HERITAGE AND PASSION

Born and raised in Washington D.C., USA, to Sierra Leonean parents who migrated to the United States in the late 1970s, Dr. Kalokoh’s upbringing was steeped in the rich cultural heritage of Sierra Leone. “I am the second of five siblings,” Dr. Kalokoh shares, “and we were raised in a loving-African home environment. I have been making a difference in people’s lives in Sierra Leone for more than 20 years.”

The journey that led Dr. Kalokoh to humanitarian work was both personal and profound. “The death of my father in 1997 was a pivotal moment for me. It made me realize that Africa is my home, and I needed to honor his memory by making a tangible impact there,” she reveals. This realization spurred her first trip to Sierra Leone in 2003, a visit that crystallized her purpose. “My life was forever changed, and my true purpose was born. I am a proven example that when you connect your roots, your culture, and your passion, your true purpose is born. I had to remember who I was, to dive into what was inside of me, therefore becoming the true woman leader I was destined to become. My status as a first generation West African positioned me with having unique skills to be a leader in international development.”

IMPACT SIERRA LEONE

In 2019, after years of involvement with various nonprofit organizations, Dr. Kalokoh took a bold step to establish Impact Sierra Leone. “After letting go of my fear of failure and learning so much about the Nonprofit sector, I launched Impact Sierra Leone so I could better serve communities at greater capacities,” she explains. “I hope that my efforts will inspire other descendants of Africa to embrace their culture and positively impact their home country.”

The purpose of Impact Sierra Leone is to empower, educate, and enrich the lives of underprivileged communities around the globe. Impact Sierra Leone operates under the framework of the United Nation’s SDG program and uses it as the overarching umbrella to direct its programs and efforts.

“Our focus is on the reduction of socioeconomic challenges in Sierra Leone and beyond through empowerment, education, skills training, sustainable agriculture and building strong partnerships with the Diaspora community. Impact Sierra Leone is supporting careers, encouraging education, fulfilling dreams, and addressing the following SDGs in Sierra Leone: No Poverty. Zero Hunger. Quality Education. Gender Equality. I’m delighted to use my position and voice to help people. To fight hunger, deal with food insecurity, promote economic development, and lessen poverty in underprivileged communities, we developed and launched a program called Seeds of Life in 2021.”