After his visit to Sierra Leone and the EducAid schools, Alex Channon has sought to raise interest in and awareness of both the country and the programme.  Here he is telling the youngsters he teaches, about Sierra Leone, during a non-uniform fund-raising day for EducAid. Thank you Alex and Thank you St Thomas of Canterbury…

Abdul Dumbuya and his drama group are the talk of the town in Port Loko. The HIV/AIDS Media Global Fund Project organised a drama competition to which EducAid Rolal was invited.   Once again, the EducAid team walked away with the honours. Congratulations to all of you who competed and well done too to Abdul…

Alison in training for her big run. Alison Higgs, long term friend of EducAid, who was last featured on this blog in a very fetching Santa outfit, is on the run again. Alison teaches art at the Bridge Academy in Fulham and has got the whole school behind her fundraising (and awareness raising) campaign.  She…

In Lily’s own words……. Mics, Chimps and Angel Delight                                                                        Lily Johnson I was thinking of going to Alton Towers in February half term, but then I got an invitation to spend two weeks with EducAid in Sierra Leone. Guess which one I chose? My dad, Richard, and I set off…

It is incredibly encouraging when staff and students take unprompted initiatives, for the improvement of the service provided by EducAid, even at considerable personal effort. The photo below is of the first half of a girls’ dormitory and female staff quarters being built with great support from staff and students.  The students have made the bricks themselves…

Mohamed Sannoh, one of EducAid’s earliest students (he joined us at the age of 10 when we sponsored him at primary school before we had our own schools) is celebrating again. We were very proud of Mohamed’s achievements when he became our first EducAidian graduate to finish his degree, completing a four year Accounting course…

Thank you Leweston.  Greatly appreciated by us all at EducAid…. World Book Day 2011 – promoting reading and supporting EducAid Following the success of our World Book Day efforts last March we decided to run a similar event on Thursday 3rd March this year and we celebrated with a dress-up day and book sale.  Our visitors on the day were…

While we remember women all over the world, today, and seek equality of rights for us all, I am thinking of the beautiful strong young women of EducAid.  May they be given the chance to fulfil their potential and have their impact on the world.  Here are some of them…… If you are interested in…

EducAid Lumley IT room in action. Project work. EducAid Rolal IT room in action. A couple of months ago, EducAid received a good number of 2nd hand computers from a partner school in the UK.  The idea was to boost the ICT department and get computers into all schools for staff and students to get…

From time to time, people hear of EducAid’s work and volunteer to come over and help out for a period. We have had a few youngsters nearing the end of their formal education and now a small number of teachers at the other end of their careers. Pat Payton, retired as a chemistry teacher from…

The visitors brought over piles of boxes of collected goodies for EducAid. You can get more on there than that.  This is Sierra Leone! Brima, temporary tour guide, with some of his guests. First on the ferry across to Freetown from Lungi, where the international airport is. For a long time, EducAid has been friends…

A spot of after class down time. The Junior staff spend their school holidays in teacher training classes but relax a little with a football at the end of the day. A year ago, EducAid began supporting a pilot distance teacher training course in the Port Loko Teachers’ College.   Currently, only around 40% of teachers…

EducAid has been running its own schools for just over ten years in Sierra Leone.  The challenges, hurdles and blockages have been enormous.  So many of those we expected to help us, actually made life more difficult.  It is hard to not assume that, in a country where providing education is a business not a…

For some reason, during the war, anything with equipment of any sort (and the more incomprehensible the more it was the case) became a target for the rebels.  Schools were burned down but laboratories seemed to rouse an additional level of frustration and nearly all school labs and equipment were destroyed. Now, great swathes of…

Sheku Turay, 20, disappeared from the Freetown school a few months ago and after many enquiries we eventually found that he was staying with a distant relative and was seriously ill in the Magbeni community. He was losing weight dramatically but had only been treated with local medicines.  AA, the lead teacher in Magbeni, intervened…

Offloading stuff at Magbeni, a couple of stops before their final destination. Nervous grins as Max and Charlie move into their new accommodation. Chez Max and Charlie for the next few months. Moved in and working out their next steps. From the wilds of North London to the wilds of Maforki chiefdom, Port Loko district.…

For those of you that have followed the ups and downs of Jimiyke’s progress over the last 18 months, these pictures will gladden your hearts.  After an extremely traumatic childhood, Jimiyke turned his life round when given the opportunity of free education, even becoming head boy when he reached the top of the school.  Just…