Who We Are
The Yak Jones Foundation was founded in 2015 and officially launched in 2016. The Foundation focuses on promoting literacy in Sierra Leone. We believe that reading is the foundation for all learning.
Our Mission
Our mission is to bring back the reading culture to Sierra Leone and change lives. In Sierra Leone, public libraries are limited, and many schools and parents cannot afford books (especially non-subject matter books) necessary for effective teaching and learning. According to the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) done in 2021 by UNICEF, 64% of Grade 2 students and 73% of Grade 4 students struggled with text comprehension.
Our Intervention
Through our interventions, we are ensuring that all children gain basic literacy and numeracy skills and remain avid readers through life.
Our Vision
- A country with libraries in as many institutions as possible.
- A network of Reading Coaches supporting the development of literacy and reading skills across the country to complement the efforts of the Government and other partners in the education sector.
- A generation of avid readers empowered to become more critical and independent thinkers.
- A nation with increased potential to develop the productivity of a 'future worker'.
Meet the founder
Yakama Manty Jones is a distinguished economist and researcher with over fourteen years of professional experience, currently serving as Project Leader and Country Head at Delivery Associates Ltd. In this role, she advises on public service delivery systems across Africa, while on secondment from her position as Director of Research and Delivery at Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Finance. There, she spearheads efforts to support evidence-based economic policy-making. A senior consultant and academic, Dr. Jones teaches at Fourah Bay College and holds postgraduate qualifications from the University of Manchester and the University of London. She co-founded the Peninsular Innovative Group and the philanthropic Yak Jones Foundation, which promotes literacy in Sierra Leone. Dr. Jones is also the founder of Data Mansah, focusing on data-driven social and economic development. Recognized as a leading voice in her field, she is a TEDx speaker and has been acknowledged as one of the 50 Most Influential Young Sierra Leoneans and recently honoured as one of the Forty Under-Forty in Africa
