Edward Emmanuel Remembered for Decades of Disability Rights Advocacy in Sierra Leone

Edward Emmanuel, the founder and executive director of One Family People, has been remembered for more than two decades of advocacy on behalf of persons with disabilities, street-connected children and other vulnerable people in Sierra Leone.

Tributes were delivered during a funeral service on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, at Let My Gate Be Opened – Solution Cathedral, also known as the Revival Power Assembly.

A career built around inclusion

The Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone recalled that Emmanuel first came to the Special Court in 2004 and developed a relationship with its outreach activities from 2007. The Court said he was working with street-connected children before registering One Family People by 2008.

His advocacy later expanded to persons with disabilities, including deaf people and, subsequently, children and young people with autism. The Court also recalled Emmanuel’s reportedly spending nights with vulnerable people sleeping at an abandoned bus station to better understand their circumstances.

One Family People grew into a disability-focused human-rights organisation involved in inclusion, advocacy, capacity building, partnerships and resource mobilisation. According to records cited by The Calabash Newspaper, the organisation allocated billions of Leones to partner groups, including the Dorothy Springer Trust, Kono Cheshire Services, Disability Awareness Action Group, Welfare Society for the Disabled, Polio Persons Development Association and Sierra Leone Autistic Society.

Francis Kabia described the approach associated with Emmanuel’s work in terms of empowerment, saying: “We should not give persons with disabilities fish; we must teach them how to fish and stand by them every step of the way.”

Advocacy through culture and public action

The Great Walpoleans, linked to Emmanuel’s service journey, used music, dance and drama to give people with disabilities a platform to demonstrate their abilities. Hadiatou Diallo recalled that the work developed from difficult years on Walpole Street.

Jamesina E. L. King, a former chairperson and commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, described Emmanuel as a determined and courageous disability-rights advocate. She also recognised his contribution to the wider movement associated with the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2011.

One Family People’s work extended to public institutions and disaster planning. In 2021, the organisation engaged the National Disaster Management Agency on the inclusion of the needs and voices of persons with disabilities in disaster preparedness and response.

Emmanuel referred to persons with disabilities in 2022 as “powerful, radiant agents of change,” reflecting the emphasis his work placed on ability, dignity and participation.

Projects that carried the work forward

In May 2025, a sensory room opened in Grafton for children with severe and multiple disabilities. The Calabash described it as Sierra Leone’s first such facility. The project received support from Liliane Fonds, Miva, Il Giardino di Ngali2, the Champions Club of Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Social Welfare.

One Family People also launched its Programme for Inclusion and Empowerment in 2025, focusing on children and young people with disabilities. During a March 2025 visit to children at the Mahanaiem Rehabilitation Centre in Grafton, United Nations Resident Coordinator Seraphine Wakana documented Emmanuel’s engagement with the children.

According to Sulaiman Jabati, Emmanuel had also shared a vision for a solar project that could create jobs and opportunities for persons with disabilities shortly before his passing. The organisation’s programmes subsequently continued to expand.

The Residual Special Court said Emmanuel often ended conversations with the words: “God bless you and God be with you always.” His funeral tributes presented that personal message alongside a broader legacy of advocacy, partnership-building and efforts to create greater inclusion for people with disabilities across Sierra Leone.