John Caulker

John Caulker (28 November 1970) is a Sierra Leonean political and social activist. He has founded several important nongovernmental organizations.

Early life Caulker was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Before the Sierra Leonean Civil War (1991–2002) started, Caulker lived with his mother there.

He was a MSC Criminal Justice Student at University of Leicester UK in 2005 and 2006.

Early career In the mid 1990s, Caulker founded the Forum of Conscience. He would dress in jeans and long T-shirts and enter rebel camps to interview the fighters and record their wartime stories. This organization helped him realize his mission to help communities in Sierra Leone affected by the civil war by setting up his own NGO.

Origins A United Nations-special backed court spent over US$300 million attempting to prosecute some of the war criminals in the Sierra Leonean Civil War. Caulker believed this to be a misuse of funds and decided to set up an organization that would do more to help the everyday person heal from the wounds of the war. The program relies on a diverse array of support ranging from village chiefs to war victims. The following day, they host a ceremony in which the participants sacrifice an animal (usually a goal or fowl). This was to prevent Sierra Leoneans from interpreting history in a way that might encourage future conflicts.

Funding Catalyst for Peace provides assistance, not only acting as an outside overseer to provide funding, but also committing staff members and expertise to contribute to Fambul Tok's mission.

Caulker and the Fambul Tok staff attempted to educate locals about how to prevent the spread of Ebola. This required full community cooperation, from the staff to the chiefs to the people. The virus affected many families in Sierra Leone, in particular creating many orphans. Due to the belief that a village raises a child, Fambul Tok encouraged orphans to remain in their original communities should their parents pass away. The conference aimed to create a more community-centered approach to governance where the government would include popular opinions in policy making. The meetings took place in Moyamba, Kailahun, and Koinadugu districts. Building on the foundation he created through the Bridging Communities Network (BCN), Caulker worked with the community and policymakers on how to build sustainable, forward-looking policies to encourage local and national scale development.