In 2008, Royal Asscher launched a Sierra Leone-focused charity project called Stars of Africa. The project aims to improve infrastructure in Sierra Leone by creating funding for education and healthcare and to establish self-sufficiency programs. The project is named after the largest diamond ever found the 3105 carat Star of Africa (Cullinan) diamond, cut by the Asscher family in 1908. However, the Stars of Africa initiative aims to highlight the fact that the true Star of Africa, its most precious resource, is her people.

After spending time with a global non-governmental organizations assessing needs in Sierra Leone, Lita Asscher concluded that the Stars of Africa project should ultimately focus on providing people with the cornerstones of society; health, education, economic stability and societal relationships. The Stars of Africa initiative seeks to create tangible differences in all of these areas, directly supporting the people who need the most help.

Initially the Stars of Africa project will seek to help children working in the mines end their labor and begin attending school or vocational training. Too often, working in the diamond mines is a child’s only choice between starvation and survival, but children deserve to be nurtured. The Stars of Africa project endorses child sponsorship, so a child can eat well, attend school, and receive healthcare.

Another project aim is to provide micro grants to vulnerable families who now depend on their children’s income from the mines, so that they can establish an economic base and achieve greater self-sufficiency. For example, a family will be given a micro-grant to buy and breed livestock and chickens which offers them milk and eggs, and a source of renewable income.

The project also seeks to support discussion between community leaders and stakeholders (including chiefs, mine officials, child welfare committee members, and community-based workers) to better communicate on important social issues by working with experienced NGO’s.

Presently we cooperate with the Diamond Empowerment Fund, which supports education initiatives for disadvantaged people in diamond-rich African nations. Our donation sponsors students from Sierra Leone who attend the African Leadership Academy, founded on the belief that ethical leadership is the key to transforming Africa.

Though the initial outreach for help and support will be one child at a time, Lita Asscher will continue efforts to raise funds to help the people of Sierra Leone and other developing nations. The beautiful children in the Third World have hope and optimism; this hope is justified: there is a future to look forward to.