Today, we are excited to share part 1 of a 5-part series -  a community radio interview.  In this series, you will hear directly from our Program Manager in Sierra Leone and community members. We will share the remaining parts in the coming weeks. 

Below are highlights from the first interview segment.  A reporter from Radio Sella Okentun 94.0 conducted the interview.

Abu Conteh, Program Manager of Develop Africa Sierra Leone, explains:

I believe education is the poor man’s friend, and my motto is to educate every child. We intend to provide educational support to our beneficiaries. For the past ten years, we have been supporting this community with education because the focus is to build the capacity of our young people through education. Buying food items or clothes may be easy, or you may even say “essential,” but when you educate one child, you have educated the whole village. By extension, you have educated the whole community, one child at a time leading to the whole district, and eventually, the whole nation becomes educated.

As part of educational support, we provide financial support and educational materials, like brand-new bags, exercise books, pens and pencils, and every other educational material that will inspire the child to study further. Develop Africa focuses on different aspects of education. For example, at K.W.S.S we support education through the computer training program. At one of the schools in Freetown, FAWE has provided a whole computer lab promoting computer literacy; similarly, at Juba too, we have provided a massive computer lab. Our educational support is not limited to primary intervention; it spans from elementary to tertiary. We’ve got students who have graduated from IPAM University and Fourah Bay College, and we have supported them since childhood.

Furthermore, we provide the older students with textbooks, reading books, pens, and pencils, every child attending the school has something to take back home, because while these things may seem “regular” to most school students, for children in Kamawornie the luxury of having a pencil was like having a diamond. Coming to school, having the educational material changes the worldview of the little child.

Of course, the sustainability of such projects is always a big question. But Develop Africa has gone the extra mile to ensure that such projects are not just a one-time success. Some of the children were taken care of even before they started school, they were enrolled in schools, and some were guided and helped to appear for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), demonstrating that the children got support for the past 6 to 9 years. And as mentioned before, some kids have been supported from primary through university, so sustainability is hinged on the child's performance. If the child continues to do well, he/she will receive support through university graduation. Of course, if the child does not do well, the sustainability or lack thereof would be in his/her or the parent’s hands. After all, the efforts of the child and the parents are as important as the support from any NGO to make any project a success or sustainable.

Another cause of great concern for such projects is monitoring the whole process. For any project to be successful or sustainable, it is imperative that monitoring regularly is conducted diligently. At Develop Africa, we do it annually, and one of the exercises includes sitting with the parents and the child, examining the report cards, and setting out the rules out. Parents must sign a contract and say the child should score at least 50%. The ones in colleges and universities should score at least 3 points. So, across the board, mechanisms are put in place occasionally to ensure the donations given with good intentions are not misused. Parent dialogue sessions are held regularly where the parents are told what is expected; feedback is collected from the parents, speaking to the children and encouraging them. 

Apart from this, there are also mentoring programs so that the children have another avenue to express themselves. Because clearly, we know that one of the biggest problems in this country is that someone will just come and do something, and we will leave him. And when the other distribution comes, they will gather other people. Mentoring ensures the beneficiaries are in constant touch with the volunteers, can share their pain and problems, and can celebrate their success. Especially in a country like Africa, the children are responsible for studying, and it is the parent’s responsibility to ensure their children are encouraged to attend school. Unfortunately, many parents do not even talk to their children; they leave the kids to themselves if they want, go to school; if they don’t, then it’s left to you, which is not encouraging. They should be able to create a dialogue, and they should be able to talk to the children about some things affecting them and the reasons for their poor performance. A mentor encourages the parent to draw the children closer so that they will know their challenges and what they are going through at school and that we can collectively help them grow.

Only by such mentoring, support with educational material, and financial aid, if and when needed, can we grow these children into adults who are responsible citizens who will be able to give back to society. Good citizens help push the country forward from their small corners, and the efforts of Develop Africa and its volunteers and donors will help catapult this to greater heights.

Develop Africa's mission is only possible thanks to your support.  Monthly donations are the most effective way to help educate future leaders, but every dollar donated makes a difference!