My recurring problem: how to get strong women to teach the girls and provide a positive role model. The women who should be teachers by now have not been invested in at the appropriate ages in the past. Accordingly, finding women to recruit as teachers is a real problem. Sadly, even when we find and…

Still out of breath after the whirlwind tour organised by Jan and Anne [my long-suffering diary arrangers] Kofi and I are now back in Sierra Leone. It was hectic, but it needed to be and there are many positives from the trip in terms of new fund-raising initiatives and support. There was a very encouraging…

The ‘Welcome Jimiyke to UK’ fireworks in Battersea Park! At long last, Jimiyke is in the UK ready to be assessed for treatment. Thanks to the hard work and generosity of many. He was given a horrible time in the airport. His ticket had somehow or other bypassed the system and there was no boarding…

Just to share a little taste of our tropical joys….. Fancy a bit of this on your shoulder? ‘Champion’ is the local name for a little black and red acid fly. Kofi has a little scrape on his shoulder too and they have been walking on my face as well. How delightful. It may be…

The sun rising over the Malama Hills – the view from EducAid Lumley [Freetown].A couple of weeks ago, I posted Juldeh’s success and consequent plight on the blog. He had gained a place at Fourah Bay College, successfully saved £250 over the year [almost unheard of here] and was in the happy position of needing…

The Women’s Project started in Lumley, Freetown in March 2006. Its target beneficiaries were girls who wanted to go to secondary school but, for whatever reason, were not at an appropriate academic standard. The project started with 18 girls and Henrietta Sandi [lead women’s project teacher] and her colleagues went looking for more every afternoon,…

While kids are kids and we would not pretend that our students are universal saints who always thirst for knowledge, it would certainly be fair to say that we see far greater willingness to put themselves out for education than we would from the average UK teenager. I do not remember, while teaching in a…

Newspaper cutting from ‘Awoko’. It doesn’t matter where our staff go at the moment, they are congratulated at every turn. Once again, we have 100% pass rates in the junior secondary [key stage 3 equivalent] public examinations [BECE] and Magbeni, in particular, are right at the top of the whole Northern area. Our aim now…

EducAid at night with it’s new electricity provision. I met someone from World Bank in June. I was simultaneously outraged at the impunity with which, those who can, blatantly steal donor funding and at the incompetence of the aid agencies who unquestioningly hand over large amounts of donor money; amused at the woman’s naivety and…

Sitting up in their bench beds.3 years ago or so, we realised that the one room in Alhassan’s mum’s bungalow which was for the live-in girls, was just not sufficient, in comparison to the need. We put steel doors on the top floor of the school to secure it at night, found space for a…

Some of our youngsters have the most harrowing tales from the war. A few of them interviewed each other as part of the BBC ‘Hunger to Learn’ series. Although, the versions they told in the interviews were quite calm, it gives a little taste of what they have been through. The courage and determination of…

A month or so ago, Issa Fowai, our second student to achieve international scholarship, set off across the world to study engineering in China. This was a fantastic achievement and was, surprisingly, done entirely on merit [Sierra Leone not being known for its meritocracy!]. He has kept us posted with news of the ups and…

Today, the family held the 40 days’ ceremony for Alhassan. Lots of money was spent on lots of food and lots of people came and said some prayers and then ate lots. The family and friends came from near and far once more. I struggle to find much meaning in the whole thing. More meaningful,…

The differences in cultures is nowhere easier to see, between Europe and Africa, than in the bereavement process. To my mind a significant contributor to many families’ poverty is the amount of money that has to be spent on burying the dead in order to avoid ‘bad name’, and to avoid losing the dead person’s…

More goodwill and support from outside Sierra Leone. While the Paris to Brussels cyclists were training and foraging for funds to complete their bike ride, my very dear friend, Mike, was training for his first marathon. One week after we completed our mad trip, Mike made his own trek across Europe and participated in the…

On the one hand, things are pretty tough, coming back without Alhassan as guide and back up. It is hard having to face the day to day attrition of grinding poverty, the most powerful face of which is the daily category of meaningless and needless deaths. It is equally hard facing the wearing corruption, our…