As a non-government organisation Shepherd’s Hospice relies on fundraising and charitable donations to meet its costs.

The hospice building was twice destroyed (1998, 1999) in the 11-year civil war that badly affected Sierra Leone during the 1990s. However, intermittent funding from the UK enabled the reactivation of the hospice’s work and, with the additional help of Help the Hospices and the World Bank, the main building (Building 1) was completed in mid-2002.

In 2001, designated funding from the Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development (CORDAID) and Bread for the World supported education programmes focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention and care, while UK funds were still needed for drugs and general running costs.

Further funds, including those from the US Embassy and UNICEF, enabled construction of a second building (Building 2) to provide garage, store and support services (kitchen, dining room, resource centre) for training. This building was completed in late 2003.

Funding has also been received from the US Embassy, Catholic Relief Services, Friends of The Shepherd’s Hospice (UK), Christian Health Association of Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.⁶ Additionally British Executive Service Overseas (BESO) supported accounting training programmes in 2002 and 2004 with placement of their volunteers, and Help the Hospices (HtH) funded a palliative care education and training course in 2002.