Posts by Miriam Mason
Photo Exhibition – Save the Date
Really happy to announce a photo exhibition organised by some of our most committed volunteers. The event includes a stunning photographic exhibition on EducAid’s work inSierra Leone, with a focus on the obstacles faced by girls and womenin the country. The talks originate from interviews held with girls in SierraLeone about their experiences, and the…
Read MoreOur World, Our Eyes, Our Imagination
In June and July 2012 the students of EducAid Lumley, EducAid Rolal and EducAid Maronka took part in a project to learn photography. The stories of their lives in Sierra Leone along with their ‘snaps’ have been published by one of our most valuable volunteers, Irena Przybyl, in a book entitled .Our World, Our Eyes,…
Read MoreComing soon: a new face of EducAid Sierra Leone
So….. it’s still the same old EducAid working in the same ways: High quality education for the most vulnerable in Sierra Leone; Great value for money; Destroying poverty with education; A values led approach to all we do etc etc. but we are getting a new face. The website may have served its purpose for…
Read MoreBig big thank you to Nick Nixon for running for EducAid
A couple of weeks ago, cousin Nick Nixon, egged on by his sister in law, Lucy, took to the streets and ran a half marathon to raise money for EducAid. In his words: There was a combination of factors which inspired me to take part in the Half Marathon and raise money for EducAid. Firstly,…
Read MoreAchieving their potential step by step
The new head girl and head boy addressing the assembly after their induction. Jaminatu Morie joined EducAid via the Women’s Project, our catch up education programme for secondary age girls who have not been allowed to go to school properly previously. She had been out of school for some time and was unsure of how…
Read MoreAminata Fofanah (20) RIP
Magbeni Village – Home for many years of Aminata Fofanah and her grandmother, Rugiatu Jah Aminata Fofanah, past pupil of Magbeni and Lumley from some years ago and grand-daughter of the nurse in Magbeni, Rugie Jah, had recently come back to school in Lumley. At twenty, she had decided that while she might have mixed…
Read MoreEngineers Without Borders – UK sending a volunteer to EducAid
A few years ago, Rose Atkinson was attending Sherborne Girls School. Rose heard about EducAid first at a talk at her school. It rang bells therefore when she saw a volunteer position advertised by EWB-UK to come and work with us for a while. David O’Donnell has worked hard for several months putting together a…
Read More‘Education is a privilege not a right.’
We will not be held down. We will keep climbing! ‘Education is a privilege not a right.’ So said, President Momoh a quarter of a century ago. It was not the only cause of the war but it has to be viewed as a significant contributor to the readiness of so many youngsters feeling unfulfilled…
Read MoreFuture Leaders of Sierra Leone Against Corruption
S.K. and Kabiru – Head boys of Lumley and Rolal respectively. Making the arrangements for the establishment of a chapter of FLSLAC in Lumley. Exciting new society developing in EducAid among the students. Tired of the country’s corruption, they are committing themselves to new ways of thinking and behaving. Yes! …..and this is their charter…
Read MoreCalling all cyclists
Every year or so, EducAid organises a big sponsored bike ride. It is generally fairly challenging, great fun and most importantly enormously rewarding because it can raise a good sum of money for us on our core activities: running schools, feeding children and training and paying teachers and so on. We are really excited about…
Read MoreBook launch: Our World, Our Eyes, Our Imagination
Irena Przybyl, an old school friend of Miriam’s, went out to visit Sierra Leone and worked with groups of children to take photos of their world to enable them to tell their own stories in their own way. Irena has worked for months since on collating and editing and organising. She has raised the money…
Read More2 out of 3 …….
STG and Wahid, two very impressive young men – amazing overcomers who are determined to be part of a new and reformed Sierra Leone A few years ago, we had a trio of bright lads who did everything together and appeared to be really pushing to the top as fast as they could go. They…
Read MoreJustice? Equality? What are they? Haven’t seen any round here for a while!!!
The war is surely not over but we have just won a minor victory. After 1 week of battling with the family we have finally managed to secure the safety of one of our girls: victim of an attempted rape assault. How extraordinary to find the father of the girl trying to do a deal…
Read MorePatrick Horn in EducAid
Patrick Horn is a regular visitor to and supporter of EducAid. He was with us at the end of last year and here is his write up in his own words in the Parbold Church newsletter: I spent three and a half weeks living in three of the EducAid Schools in Sierra Leone during October…
Read MoreRebecca running in Reading for EducAid
Dr Rebecca Horn has been visiting and supporting EducAid for many years, the last time being in summer 2013 when she came to work with a team of staff and students to set up our Monitoring and Evaluation systems. When I say summer, I do mean deep rainy season August of course, though! This time,…
Read MoreDangerous times
So…. In 2012 when the last round of public senior secondary exams were allowed to take place, only 10% of the candidates countrywide passed. Worrying! Very worrying! Very worrying for all concerned. The minister’s solution? He cancelled the 2013 round of exams and decided that all candidates must undertake a 4th year of Senior Secondary…
Read MoreOne beautiful smile less this Christmas – HipHop RIP
Saidu, always known as HipHop, for his easy ways and lack of fuss about anything – the little one who could sleep balanced on a bench or curled in a corner – had the most beautiful smile and was the sort of child everyone just wanted to take home with them; everyone except his family…
Read MoreEducAid 2013-2014
2013 had some very hard things happen. We have lost a number of students. Their young lives were cut short before time and their families have lost the hope that they brought to them and we have lost their gifts from our midst too. They have gone and we are left. Let the light that…
Read MoreMagbeni – Such very very hard news!
Last week we were celebrating Magbeni’s fantastic achievement in the recent public exams. This week we are in mourning. Kadija (17) and Aminata (16) were playing in the river while doing their laundry and were caught by the currents. Jumping from a nearby boat and playing in a river they have known since they were…
Read MorePublic exams – 100% success AGAIN!
Once again, all EducAid’s Junior Secondary Schools had 100% pass rates in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Countrywide, the standards are consistently closer to 40% pass rates. With some of the poorest and most vulnerable young people in the country, EducAid achieves very very different results. Magbeni came top of the EducAid stakes and…
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