In Othmen N’Yellah’s village of Porto Loco, on the northern coast of Sierra Leone, 70 percent of girls do not attend school because of poverty. N’Yellah wants to change that. As a candidate running for local elections in July, she feels the time has come for women to have a greater voice at the community and national level.

“The first time I ran as a candidate I was not prepared. I was inexperienced and I lost,” she said. “But I feel that my community needs a person like me who can improve the quality of living in our villages. I want raise funds to build a school for our village.”

Thanks to a USAID-sponsored democracy program focused on increasing the participation of women in politics, Mrs. N’yella and other women are getting the training they need to run as competitive candidates. Working in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the USAID program recently launched a series of workshops across Sierra to familiarize prospective women candidates on the electoral process.

The workshops focused on such issues as identifying voter needs, developing a campaign message, fund raising, budget skills, and training volunteers. Participants also reviewed such topics as voter lists, poll monitoring, and the importance of listening to voter needs.

“The workshop made a big change in me,” said N’Yellah. “I now feel more eligible, skilled and confident. I am more convinced than ever of the importance of women in participating in political decisions.”

The USAID sensitization campaign has had a dramatic impact in widening political participation in Sierra Leone. A few years ago the idea of women actively taking part in the country’s political life was almost unheard of. With the opening of the political process, women now see an opportunity to run as serious candidates. Topping their list of issues are development of education and health facilities, and the improvement of infrastructure.

July’s local elections will be for 456 councillor seats and 19 mayoral position scattered across Sierra Leone. Approximately 17 percent of registered candidates are women. However, USAID and NDI believe that greater participation of women as voters and candidates will also have an impact on parliamentary elections.

“We are working to increase the presence of women in the parliament to thirty percent,” says NDI Country Director Honorine Muyoyeta. Currently women occupy only 16 seats in Sierra Leone’s 124-member parliament.

The NDI program also encourages political parties to award more significant party positions to women and to supports female candidates. In additions, the program organizes town hall meetings to provide information about the electoral process.

NDI along with USAID support is steadily raising awareness across Sierra Leone on the importance of women’s political participation as voters, candidates and political party members. The program promotes voter education, encourages greater participation of marginalized groups, and builds trust between communities and governing councils. It also provides assistance to civil society leaders determined to advance democratic values.

Mostly the program touches women such as N’Yellah who want to take part in shaping Sierra Leone’s future. “Thanks to the workshop preparation I believe my chances of winning in these elections is much higher,” she said.