Sustainable Rural Development
is our passion
TVL was founded as a 501(c)3 in 2012.
Vision & Mission
Pathway to Sustainability
Our Vision
A world with equitable access to quality education, health resources and self-sustaining communities in rural underserved communities.
Our Mission
Strengthen sustainability and reduce extreme vulnerabilities in rural Sierra Leone.
How
Through close community relationships, partners, solar-powered technology, new infrastructure, and vocational education programs, we are strengthening sustainability in rural communities.
Our Team
Driven by Impact
LEADERSHIP
Micheal McGirr
TVL Director,
Past National Program Leader, USDA-National Institute of Food & Agriculture
Tamba Lamin
TVL Executive Director,
Founder, TpISENT &
Senior Technology Architect for Accenture
Evelyn Lewis
TVL Director,
Founder, SBTS Group & TrainingSol
Colleen Rossignol
TVL Director,
Past Managing Director
TVL - Sierra Leone
James Bowen
Sierra Leone Country Manager
James has been with TVL since 2015, when he launched the Early Childhood Education program that now has operations in 4 Baoma Chiefdom communities. James leads rural teacher training session in early childhood education, Sierra Leone operations and manages the Gerihun Community Resource Center.
OUR PARTNERS
Sierra Leone
United States
Training Sol
Vocational Training
SBTS Group
Technology
Sierra Leone Rising
Digital Literacy
N'Jala University
Solar Advisor
WeOwnTV
Media
TpISENT
Technology / Digital Library
SpeedNet Inc.
Internet
KCG Solar Enterprise
Solar
ManoCap
Social Benefit Investments
Rise Network
Education
Library Development Initiative
Education Non-profit
National Peace Corps. Association
Development Partner
African Library Project
Education Non-profit
Friends of Salone
Non-profit
Waterbearers
Non-profit
Peacebuilders
Non-profit
Lobitos Creek Ranch
Multi-media
Schools for Salone
Education
TCP Global
Rural Micro-financing
Our Story
Cross-cultural acceptance and long lasting relationships.
Mr. Fillie and RoseAnn in front of the village barrie - meeting hall.
How it all began...
The Village Link began its journey over three decades ago when RoseAnn Rotandaro, TVL’s late Founder, joined the Peace Corps. Assigned to Sierra Leone between 1977-1979, she grew very fond of the country and especially the pastoral village of Golu, tucked away near the Sewa River. During her days in Golu, she befriended Mr. Fillie, a head teacher at the local elementary school and his family. Eventually, she invited them all to live with her in her Peace Corps. house.
Years passed, and in 1990, a brutal civil war erupted in Sierra Leone that lasted eleven years, killing an estimated 50,000 and leaving the country’s infrastructure in demise. Many villages in the vicinity of Golu were destroyed. Eleven years after the war ended, RoseAnn – at this time an attorney representing high-tech companies in Silicon Valley – returned to Sierra Leone with hopes that the place and people she had grown to love decades earlier had survived the atrocities committed. She harbored a particular hope that the Fillie family was still alive and well.
The village of Golu and the Fillie family did indeed survive. Repeated rebel invasions during the war period had forced villagers to flee their homes; Mr. Fillie lost his job as the head teacher in the village. Like many, the Fillies escaped into the bush and existed by subsistent farming methods. But the villagers resettled Golu after the war ended. The older ones remembered RoseAnn and welcomed her warmly. This profound human connection led to the idea of using computers, technology, and the Internet as development tools in places like Golu. RoseAnn returned to California, resigned from her law practice, and started The Village Link, a 501(c)3 registered nonprofit organization.
For more information on Sierra Leone and why TVL has chosen to focus on education and entrepreneurship, check out these statistics.
Check out photos of RoseAnn and the Fillies throughout the years.
