Your ongoing support is greatly appreciated as it continues to make an impact on the future leaders in Sierra Leone.  Below is an update from the Sierra Leone Develop Africa team, regarding the challenges related to delivering school supplies to remote villages.   You can also see in this video how challenging it is to navigate the roads.

The main roads between Freetown to Makeni are paved and suitable for standard taxis and other vehicles which will take approximately 2hrs 30m to get from Freetown to Makeni when using your private car but will spend more time when using public transports. The distance between Freetown and Makeni is 138 km. The roads to provincial towns like the Makeni to Kamakwie road are in very bad shape and will take approximately 4hours to 30 minutes to cover a distance of 55 miles. Despite the ongoing work in recent years, there are still many more miles to be covered before the journey could be safe.

Travelling by road is probably the most dangerous part of getting books and supplies to Kamawornie a village in the far north of the country where Develop Africa is supporting the primary and junior secondary school as well as providing academic support to the village teachers.

Getting to Kamawornie from Kamakwie is another 11 miles and here there are no public taxis or minibuses except motorcycles, bicycles or walking on feet. Motorbikes are often the only form of transport.

We usually make use of the Poda’s(minibuses), they are the cheapest form of transport but are poorly maintained, stop frequently, and pack passengers tightly.  Minibuses travel between major routes and will generally contain more people than there are seats.  Private own vehicles especially NGO’s are much more respected at checkpoints than the public transports as the local police will only ask for identification and applaud you for bringing development to their communities.  

While the roads will continue to be a challenge, the students and teachers in Kamawornie were very thankful for the school supplies and learning materials.  It is thanks to YOU, that these school supplies were able to be distributed to students in Kamawornie.

Our recurring donors are truly making a lasting difference.  If you haven't had the chance to sign up for a recurring donation yet, we warmly welcome your ongoing support as we continue to provide children in Sierra Leone with the educational resources they need to be the future leaders of Sierra Leone.