about us
Commit and Act is dedicated to training health care workers in vulnerable communities support people struggling with trauma, domestic and gender-based violence, and mental health difficulties.
Health care workers are provided with training in an evidence-based therapeutic approach called Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT). Our employees are also given ongoing supervision and support. We also conduct research on our projects so that we can refine and improve the services that we provide based on data and participants' evaluations.
vision
Our vision is that in the face of all circumstances, people choose to create and live their lives according to their values and empower others to do the same.
Mission
Our mission is to empower vulnerable populations in crisis areas by providing science-based, culturally sensitive training for health workers and other professionals, shelter with medical and legal help to victims of violence, and doing scientific research to evaluate our services.
our story
2011-2025
From colonial occupation to independence… From authoritarian rule to democracy… From civil war to nascent peace… The story of life in Sierra Leone has been one of tragedy and starting anew.
This West African country, home to seven million people, is one of the poorest in the world. Basic essentials such as electricity, clean water, and education are unavailable to much of the population. Many people still carry deep-seated trauma borne from the brutal civil conflict, the 2014 Ebola outbreak, and ongoing gender violence.
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Beate Ebert, a licensed clinical psychologist from Germany, learned the gravity of the situation in Sierra Leone at a conference in [2010]. There, during a presentation by author Sarah Culberson, Beate became inspired to visit Sierra Leone herself. The country lacked mental health infrastructure, and Beate knew she had something to offer.
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During her first trip to Sierra Leone, Beate met Father Peter Konteh, the leader of the Caritas foundation in Freetown. Father Peter recognized the need for psychological support within his community and was eager to collaborate with Beate. In the first workshop arranged by Father Peter, Beate trained participants in a method of therapy called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is an empirically supported psychotherapy that helps patients cope with a wide range of mental and physical conditions, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
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Out of the 30 workshop participants from NGOs around Sierra Leone, a young social worker stood out. Hannah Bockarie, herself a survivor of trauma from the civil war, was eager to apply and share ACT within her community. From then on, Hannah became a transformative member of Commit and Act. She started working as a volunteer. In 2014, Hannah registered the Commit and Act Foundation Sierra Leone as an independent local NGO. Although she was the only staff member at the beginning, by 2021 she had become Country Director, supervising more than 55 employees.
Ever since meeting one another, Hannah and Beate have been visionary partners. They empower each other in a very unique way.
Today, Commit and Act has developed a model we believe is applicable to many communities around the world. ACT therapy can help people face mental health challenges linked to post-war trauma, domestic and gender-based violence, or poverty.
Our volunteer, Carolina Gavira, is now extending this mission to Colombia. In a country that has endured more than five decades of armed conflict and continues to struggle with high rates of domestic and gender-based violence, the need for trauma support is profound. Working in partnership with local organizations such as CAA–Colombia, Carolina is introducing ACT-based workshops to help women who have survived domestic violence process their trauma and rebuild a sense of safety and dignity. Just as in Sierra Leone, the goal is not only to heal individuals but to strengthen entire communities by creating networks of resilience and hope.
"I learn so much from Hannah's heart and thinking,
from her caring spirit and bold vision."
Beate Ebert
International
Advisory Board
Hannah Bockarie
Sierra Leone​
Founder and Country Director Commit and Act Foundation Sierra Leone
BEATE EBERT
Germany
Founder and 1. Chairwoman
Commit and act Germany
Jennifer Nardozzi
United States
Member of
Commit and Act North America
alba
stabile calvo
Germany / Spain
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2. Chairwoman and media designer Commit and Act Germany.
Some of our principles
as an ngo:
1
Outside of Sierra Leone, we all volunteer
We get paid back with the satisfaction of seeing how our time contributes to improving the lives of many individuals. As volunteers we also take care of our own expenses when we travel to Sierra Leone, we don’t use the funding for that.
2
Culture comes first
We don’t tell anyone what to do – not within our teams and not in our projects. The ideas for projects come from the country and the local people themselves, who express their needs. Together, we shape these ideas as a team, learning from one another and, above all, striving to influence the culture as little as possible.
3
a bit of history
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is a West African state on the Atlantic coast. It shares borders with Guinea and Liberia and has approximately six million inhabitants of different ethnic origins. Islam and Christianity are the predominant religions that live very peacefully and respectfully with one another in the country.
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Sierra Leone has been through an extraordinarily brutal civil war that lasted more than 10 years and ended in 2000. Many residents are still suffering from the consequences of their bad experiences. War wounded and former child soldiers live next to displaced persons and victims of sexual violence. In his moving autobiography “A long way gone”, Ismael Beah, who now works for Human Rights Watch, describes the living conditions as a former child soldier in this civil war.
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There are practically no institutional psychosocial support offers in this country so that many people have to live without the necessary help. Despite these hardships, Sierra Leone has been able to rebuild its society and economy in recent years. The country is extremely poor and almost half of the population works in agriculture to survive. The country was last hit by the Ebola epidemic. The epidemic in Sierra Leone is now considered to be over, but the consequences are profound. People have panicked and still suffer from fear and grief at the uncontrollable spread and renewed loss of thousands of people under terrible circumstances; Numerous doctors died of the epidemic and left a gap that could not be filled in the already completely inadequate health system. The loss of the timid economic progress that has just been made leads to increased poverty, frustration and increased violence against the most vulnerable, the girls.
Colombia
Colombia is a South American country with coasts on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It has around 52 million inhabitants, including Indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombians, and those of mixed and European descent. Spanish is the official language, and Christianity is the predominant faith.
For more than fifty years, Colombia endured armed conflict between government forces, guerrilla groups, and paramilitaries. Millions were displaced, and countless families faced violence, kidnappings, and loss. The 2016 peace agreement with the FARC was a major step forward, but survivors of displacement, massacres, and sexual violence continue to struggle with trauma and insecurity.
Psychosocial support remains scarce, especially in rural areas where survivors often lack access to professional care. Still, Colombia has made progress in peacebuilding, reconciliation, and economic development. Civil society organizations play a key role in supporting victims and creating spaces for healing.
Despite persistent challenges—economic inequality, poverty, and widespread gender-based violence—Colombia is a country of resilience and cultural richness. Strong community traditions and peace initiatives are helping Colombians rebuild trust and envision a future beyond violence.
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