now our story

The Sierra Leone Yoga Project was born from three intertwined stories connected by yoga:

The first is the story of T-Man, a former child soldier who overcame his past traumas through yoga practice and teaching, helping others along their healing journey.

The second is the story of Ana, a Spanish cooperative worker who arrived in Sierra Leone for a different job but decided to share yoga during her stay.

The third involves a group of young people from Kabala who, in 2013, gathered to discuss activism and their future and discovered yoga as a tool for enjoyment and connection.

In 2013, Ana met T-Man, Sierra Leone’s first yoga teacher, and together, they decided that Ana would continue the work he was doing in the capital city, Freetown, and expand it to Kabala. Interest in yoga grew rapidly in both places, but the Ebola crisis in 2014 interrupted their efforts.

Tragically, T-Man passed away from an untreated illness due to the collapse of the healthcare system during the epidemic. When Ana received the news, she felt not only immense sorrow for the loss of her friend but also deep sadness at the thought that his legacy and the project might be forgotten. However, over time, the young people of Kabala kept the yoga practice alive, remembering what they had learned and sharing it with others.

Thus, the Sierra Leone Yoga Project was born—out of a desire to preserve and expand this community. We want men, women, and children to have access to yoga as a tool for self-discovery and empowerment, fostering community bonds, generating income for personal projects, and renewing hope for a better future.

In October 2018, thanks to the support of many people who believed in the Sierra Leone Yoga Project, two of the project’s founders, Iris Rangil and Ana Cortés, traveled to Sierra Leone to reconnect with the yoga community.

The goal of this trip was to re-establish contact with the yoga community in the country and assess the situation of yoga teachers and practitioners, their aspirations, and the challenges they faced.

We never imagined what we would find: the yoga community was more active than ever. Over the years, dozens of people had been trained and were teaching yoga in schools, rural areas, hospitals, universities, and even in the military.

There are many challenges to keep moving forward—lack of financial resources, materials, and specific training for class management. However, there is also a wealth of experience, hard work, understanding of yoga, and the ability to adapt it to different populations and circumstances.

We left Sierra Leone feeling that T-Man had planted a seed that had not only grown but was thriving, unstoppable in its expansion.

Today, the yoga community in Sierra Leone is more active than ever: dozens of teachers offer free classes in various parts of the country, retreats and regular sessions are organized around the capital, and the desire to keep learning is undeniable.

At the Sierra Leone Yoga Project, we are committed to listening to the needs, intentions, and desires of the yoga community in Sierra Leone. That is why, since the project's inception, we have maintained close communication with key individuals in the field, supporting their projects, initiatives, and work in yoga and beyond.

Some of the initiatives we have supported include:

• Scholarships for students to participate in a Children's Yoga Teacher Training in 2022.

• Purchase of tarps to place on the ground for outdoor yoga sessions.

• Purchase and distribution of water containers with taps and soap for handwashing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our approach is horizontal—the Sierra Leone Yoga Project supports projects and ideas that arise within Sierra Leone because local teachers and practitioners know best what is needed at any given moment. Our primary role is to share the stories of each committed yoga practitioner in Sierra Leone with the world and to build networks that connect them with local and international partners who can support them in achieving their goals.