Sorry, I can't think of a better way to say it: "Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime."

A British-based charity has taken this tired truism and refreshed it. AFFORD, the African Foundation for Development, is galvanizing business-savvy members of the large African diaspora to travel to war-torn Sierra Leone and advise small business owners. And we are talking small - pharmacists, beauticians and market stall owners are among the participants.

The project is young, with only about 400 businesses in Ghana and Sierra Leone helped. But the idea has the backing of big guns at Britain's Department for International Development (DFID).

"It makes sense," said Jessie Kenya, a project officer at AFFORD, after a recent screening of a film about the organisation's work in Sierra Leone. "If you can help somebody run what they are already running, then we are helping address job creation."

Along with creating jobs, AFFORD is trying to change long-standing assumptions about the continent. It's created a nifty graphic, which sadly is not available online, with two contrasting maps of Africa. One represents "what most people are saying about Africa" and is made up of words like "aid", "charity", "war", and "debt relief". The other, more brightly coloured map represents "what most Africans are saying they need" and is covered with "trade", "jobs", "capital" and "enterprise".

You get the picture...

AFFORD's outlook challenges embedded assumptions about an Africa mired in violence, anarchy and hunger. In Sierra Leone's case, many imagine lots of folks in need of the most basic essentials - medicine, food, clean water and shelter.

Perhaps these attitudes are understandable - Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war left 50,000 dead and half a million displaced. The country conjured up images of civilians whose ears, lips and limbs had been mutilated or amputated by militia groups.

Of course the picture is more complex than these stark images imply. And as always happens during such conflicts, many Sierra Leoneans fled and settled in other countries. (As an aside, it is estimated that some 20,000 skilled professionals are leaving Africa every year.)

AFFORD is making use of the experience, skills and goodwill of the African diaspora to help create jobs and foster business communities in countries that have been left behind.

AFFORD's initiative comes in the wake of a U.N. Economic Commission for Africa summit in 2005 that said Africa desperately needed "broad-based employment creation." The organisation has run two trips to Sierra Leone - with another scheduled to start in about a week - and two to Ghana. It is also in the process of setting up business centres that will foster small enterprises after volunteers return home.

AFFORD admits that the program's effectiveness will take a longer time to assess.

"It is an evolving process and we know that it is also costly," said Kenya. "It's not feasible to know in two meeting with a certain entrepreneur whether they are successful. So between last year and this year we are still very much on the testing phase of the programme."

What really caught my attention about AFFORD's work was its focus on the diaspora - something that has already garnered the attention of the people at DFID.

In a statement released in December, DFID said it "recognises that diaspora groups and individuals can play significant roles in their countries of origin. Not only through the sending of remittances ... but also through transferring skills and knowledge…"

Or as DFID's Xavier Lecacheur told a small crowd at the screening: "No civil servant understands the problems of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). They need people who live and breathe business problems."

A problem, everyone agrees, is funding. Often entrepreneurs feel intimidated by banks that do not serve their needs. So micro-credit is very important to foster entrepreneurs in places like Sierra Leone, says AFFORD, although the organisation is not looking to expand in this area.

Like many of the people who make use of its services, AFFORD is also looking for cash.

"We do look for on ongoing basis in engaging with Africans in diaspora," says Kenya, adding quickly, "And we're also looking for funds."

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