History

  • Mr Harald Pfeiffer came to Sierra Leone as a physiotherapist at Masanga Leprosy Hospital in 1988.
  • Sierra Leone was a country not only lacking in infrastructure but also poor sanitation and limited health facilities.
  • The Swiss Sierra Leone Development Foundation was established as an NGO in 1996 with its Headquarters in Gland, Switzerland. In 2001 it was transferred to Sierra Leone.
  • Between 1991 and 2001 the civil war brought misery to the whole country but Mr Harald continued to visit regularly every year.
  • When Masanga Leprosy Hospital was destroyed by rebel troops during the war, there was an urgent demand for a bush hospital near Makeni, the Northern Province capital.
  • Directly after the war ended, in 2002, a piece of land was purchased  and the construction of Magbenteh Community Hospital began.
  • The hospital was finally inaugurated in 2006 in the presence of the late President Ahmad Tejan Kabba.
  • A group of individuals from Holland provided financial assistance from 2006 until 2011.
  • In 2012 a strategic plan was settled, restructuring the NGO, reviewing the projects and their sustainability.