Education in Sierra Leone
Why did we start with building a library ?
A desire to give their children a good education is something common to parents all over the world. The value that people place on education in Sierra Leone was absolutely clear from the moment that the Kori project began. The very first request was for a proper library! Once built this library has been used continuously, both by the population of Taiama, and by people from the surrounding area.
Before the Sandy Raffan library was there, some children had few, or no, books except the Bible. Now there are a variety of children’s books available for the many small schools in the chiefdom. These schools also vary hugely. Some of them are housed in good sturdy buildings, but others are just groups of children who are only able to meet in the non-rainy season. As it rains for around five months, it is easy to see how much education those children are missing. Even many of the schools with buildings need attention and investment.
How does the education system in Sierra Leone differ for the UK?
As in Britain, children attend school from 5 to 11 years at the primary stage. For children under 5, official nursery education is only provided in the towns and fees have to be paid. As a result, under fives sometimes accompany their older siblings to school. Primary education is supposed to be funded by the government. This can only happen if the school is registered with the government, because qualified teachers will not be paid otherwise. As with the Bob Simson school, before it can register, a school must have latrines and a pump to provide access to clean safe water.
Like good teachers across the globe, those in Kori are extremely dedicated to the children in their care. Several of the Kori trustees are themselves teachers, so they can recognise a good teacher when they see one! However, even once a school has a water pump and latrines, the registration needs to be approved by the authorities, which takes a very long time. When all this has been done, the teachers will then be paid a steady salary, and also gain status in their community.
Because of these issues, many of those bringing education to the Kori children are volunteer teachers. Although good teachers, often they cannot afford actual teacher training, and can only survive financially by growing and selling vegetables.
Next time we will look at what happens if children have been able to have primary schooling, despite the obstacles, and are ready for the next stage of their education.
What’s the latest news from Sierra Leone?
Fantastic Progress at the Bob Simson School!
2020 has been a difficult year for the whole world. The global pandemic has resulted in many deaths, and has led to lockdowns in a lot of countries to try to reduce the number of COVID cases.
In Sierra Leone, the people have had to contend with not only the pandemic and lockdown, but also the usual rainy season. It is a real credit to the determination of the people of Kori that we have big progress to report! The Bob Simson School now has a roof. It also has window frames, and some good strong steel doors. The deep veranda is finished and will give essential protection from the hot sun, as well as keeping the students dry as they move between classrooms during the long rainy season.
We need your help…
To be able to register the school with the Education Ministry, the school must have latrines for boys and girls, as well as a borehole and pump to supply clean water. Registration by the government means they will pay the teachers and the exam system can take place. The cost to do this will be £11,000, but the good news is that we already have pledges of £6,000 so we just need to raise £5,000 to have the school ready for registration.
Those of us who live in developed countries, where clean water is available just by turning a tap, can sometimes forgot how lucky we are. We can easily follow the medical guidance about handwashing, to help reduce the chance of spreading diseases such as COVID. In Sierra Leone it is much more difficult, so providing these latrines and clean water will make a vital difference in the lives of the children and their teachers and families.
Every parent around the world wants the best for their children – health, education, and access to clean water. By supporting the Bob Simson School, we can help some Kori area parents to provide these basic rights to their children.
Blackboards by Boat
What joined the the little blackboards?
Last time our little blackboards were waiting in Maidenhead for the start of their trip to Taiama. They were not alone! Over the last few months, hundreds of donated items have come here from all over Britain. During the lockdown here, a lot of people have been knitting baby clothes and blankets. These, together with medical supplies and school textbooks, have all been packed into boxes and suitcases and stored in garages, sheds and gardens around the area.
How do you coordinate items for shipping?
Finally the great day arrived at last. The shipping container would come to be filled with our things. First everything needed to be moved to where the container was being brought. For this we enlisted the help of a lot of strong people, whose families had come from all over the world. Vans and big cars came to be loaded to the limit, then delivered their bags and boxes, furniture and supplies to the container.
Garages were cleared out – almost their entire contents transferred to big lorries. All this activity had a time pressure – the container had to be packed completely in only a few hours, so our small army of helpers from all over the world worked fast! It was wonderful to see our international group of people all joining together to ensure our collected supplies would reach Sierra Leone safely and efficiently.
How do you go about packing a container?
There were a group of professional packers who came from London, who left not a cubic centimetre of space free in the shipping container. Trowels and blackboards were fitted in little corners between tables and chairs, while rakes slotted in behind school shelves. It was like an enormous exciting jigsaw puzzle – with experts completing the picture.
What happens after we close the container doors?
By late afternoon, it was all done. Our container was full to capacity and began its journey to the port of Tilbury, in Essex. From there it is loaded onto a ship travelling to Sierra Leone down the west coast of Africa.
It is hopefully getting to the docks in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, in early August.
New verandah at Bob Simson Secondary School for extra shade
In this photograph we can see Rose standing with the village council on the new school’s verandah. This will provide extra sun protection and make it possible to move between the classrooms in the long rainy season. At the moment, this school has no latrines or a well. The floors are still pressed mud (where plants and trees were growing), so they need concreting. The windows will be concrete air bricks, allowing ventilation and more security .
The children came to see the progress on their new school building. Although it was holiday time, they proudly put on their uniforms to show how pleased they are that their school is being re-built.
Work on the Bob Simson Secondary School has started in earnest.
The five month long rainy season in Sierra Leone starts in April. At the Bob Simson Secondary School at Bei Largo, whose roof blew off in a bad storm in 2016, work has started early to avoid these wet months.
The foundations are being dug for a veranda using reinforcing rods. The refurbished classroom has the same reinforcements in its walls.
The money to build the walls has been raised, so now the next step is to raise funds for the rafters and zinc roof panels. All these measures will hopefully strengthen the school buildings against future storms.
