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Sierra Leone: Education
http://org.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/hjelmgren/africa09proj3lev.html

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Elaine Avgoustakis

World History- Hjelmgren

Period 2, 5/19/09

SIerra Leone: Education

 

            Schools in Sierra Leone have no toilets, water fountains, or an adequate amount of blackboards in their classrooms (BBC NEWS | News Front Page).  The rebel armies have destroyed many schools in Sierra Leone leaving seventy percent of the children unable to receive a formal education.  Since 1996, Sierra Leone’s schools remain in poor condition. Many children, who are eager to learn, are not capable of doing so. Their families can not afford to provide an education for them. Also, the school buildings are unstable, resulting in forced evacuation by the students.   The poor educational system in Sierra Leone is negatively impacting the youth of the nation. 

            The existing schools of Sierra Leone are dangerous and provide a difficult environment for the children to endure.  The teachers of their schools are not well educated; they are volunteers from their local villages. This means that their teaching ability is quite low compared to the teachers of the United States, for example.  The schools there do not consist of buildings like here or have many classrooms to fit all the students.  They have one roomed schools and most of the children are forced to sit on the floor because the classrooms are so cramped (BBC NEWS | News Front Page).  One teacher at a Sierra Leonean school stated, “How am I supposed to teach children here?  There is no water, no toilets, and we need more blackboards.  We need to help build a better school (BBC NEWS | News Front Page).”  Teachers of local schools are concerned with their school’s conditions while the students are grateful they even have a school.   The schools not only are cramped but after the rain the school’s roofs usual topple in.  The schools are built from branches and reeds and it takes three weeks to repair a roof.  This forces the children’s education to be put on hold so the roof can be fixed.

            Money plays an important role in a child’s education.  Joseph Conten had to drop out of school because he couldn’t pay the school fees.  Children that do not have the money to pay for school are forced to get a job instead of an education. Now Conten drives a taxi and barley makes enough money to eat.  He wants to get an education but unfortunately he can not afford to (VOA News - Voice of America - English News Homepage).  Also some children are not enrolled in school for the sole reason that their parents can not afford a school uniform and are too embarrassed to send their kids without one. Another example of how money affects a child’s education is if a family member dies; children are taken out of school to be used in child labor to help their families (BBC NEWS | News Front Page).  Money dictates whether a child will go to school or not and many Sierra Leoneans live in poverty.

            Many adult Sierra Leoneans are uneducated and their children a lot of times suffer the same fate.  The schools in Sierra Leone are poorly built and the teachers are not qualified to teach.  Sierra Leone is a country of poverty, and since students need to pay school fees in order to get an education many are not enrolled in school. Education is a solution to the problem of poverty.  People in our country can help Sierra Leone’s education by donating money to help build better schools and donate supplies for the students.

 

 Annotated Bibliography

"BBC NEWS | Photo journal: Getting an education in Sierra Leone, Starting." BBC NEWS | News Front Page. 18 May 2009 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/06/africa_getting_an_education_in_sierra_leone/html/1.stm>.

This website told me about how scarce there are schools in Sierra Leone and gave me a visual image of what the schools look like there.

 

"Education in Sierra Leone Failing at Risk Youth." VOA News - Voice of America - English News Homepage. 18 May 2009 <http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2009-02/2009-02-23-voa12.cfm?moddate=2009-02-23>.

This website told me about how children had to drop out of school because they could not afford them and were forced to get a job.

 

"Free The Children - Education in Sierra Leone." Free The Children - Home. 18 May 2009 <http://www.freethechildren.com/programs/schoolbuilding/schoolbuilding_buildinginsierraleone.htm>.

This website provided me information on how children are benefitting from the schools in Sierra Leone and what others could do to help them.
http://org.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/hjelmgren/africa09proj3lev.html

Last Updated: May 22, 2009