Like many young graduates, I once believed that life after university would be easy. With my degree, I thought that securing a job in a bank or corporate office would be a smooth and straightforward process. That dream fueled my years of study, pushing me to excel. But now, standing on the other side of graduation, I am confronted with a harsh reality—one filled with frustration, disappointments, and an uncertain future.
“If I win, you have to make me a promise, ok?” Abiola earnestly says to me as we sit on
the playground playing tic-tac-toe.
“It depends on the promise,” I respond with a smile.
“If I win, you have to promise to be my friend forever,” she says.
All girls, regardless of the circumstances in which they were born, have the right to a quality education. A quality education provides the foundation for an individual to realize his or her dreams.
In Africa, over twenty-four million girls do not attend primary school, and boys outnumber girls in school attendance by at least 8 percent. And of those girls who do enroll, 9 percent more drop out before the end of the sixth grade than boys. Source: Carol Bellamy, “Statement on the Launch of the Girls Education Movement, “ Uganda, August 15, 2001.
Sponsoring a child in Africa has numerous benefits for both the child and the sponsor. Here are ten benefits of sponsoring a child in Africa:
Education: Sponsoring a child in Africa provides them access to education, which is crucial for their personal development and future opportunities. It helps break the cycle of poverty by empowering them with knowledge and skills.
The inky black darkness of night is receding as the sun goes up. It’s 7 am and I hear the dreaded footsteps of my mother on her way up the stairs. In a matter of seconds, she opens my door, turns on my light, nudges my shoulder, and tells me “it’s time to wake up.” 5000 miles west and four hours earlier (West Africa is 5 hours ahead of the East Coast), a 15-year-old girl awakens to her alarm clock. However, instead of the nudging of her mother or a wailing alarm clock, she hears the clucks and screeches of hens and roosters outside of her home.
Education connects all human beings together and is a fundamental human right. Thanks to education we learn about the fundamentals of the world and the lessons that come with it.
Education has been a jewel from the start, with a broad category of topics we can learn about and implement in our lives. It provides pathways for the people of today to learn from the past, learn of the present, and learn how to make their futures full of discoveries.
On our trip to Sierra Leone (see previous blog post), my wife and I had the opportunity to briefly visit the village of Kamawornie, tour the local primary and secondary schools, and meet with teachers, students, and parents. Our short stay in the village opened our eyes though to not only the desperate requirement for basic educational resources, but also to the fact that for a few dollars we could meaningfully address this need.
My wife and I returned in February 2020 from an extraordinary trip to Sierra Leone. I retired in 2019 after a 35-year career in banking and as part of my new journey became involved with Develop Africa. The founder, Sylvester Renner, and I agreed that to appreciate and understand the impact of the organization fully, I should travel to the country, meet with the local team, and visit the various projects in both Freetown and more remote villages. As my wife and I told Sylvester on our return, the experience was life-transforming.
When the former US president Barack Obama visited Kenya in 2015, one of his remarks that remained etched into the psyche of his audience was his pearl of wisdom on equality.
“You know, we're in a sports center. Imagine if you have a team and you don't let half of the team play. That's stupid. That makes no sense,” the president quipped.
I live in Sierra Leone, and on a daily basis I see chronically neglected, traumatized, homeless children and adolescents, even young children walking around the streets of Freetown with ragged clothes and mostly in unhealthy situations begging for food, money or any small odd jobs that could provide them food and other basic necessities and these acts usually exposes them to the danger of violence and drug abuse.
Families in Sierra Leone face unprecedented challenges due to rising costs. Inflation makes it difficult for them to afford basic food staples such as rice, cooking oil, and onions.
Extending a helping hand can alleviate a significant burden and provide essential relief to the less fortunate.
Help provide relief by donating today!
