About SLBSA

About SLBSA

Sierra Leone’s Recent Story

A country at war..
Sierra Leone Civil War 1991 – 2001

The Sierra Leone Civil War, fought from 1991 to 2001, was a devastating conflict marked by extreme violence and significant human suffering. During the conflict there were multiple coups, shifting alliances, and a complex web of regional and international involvement, all of which led ultimately to tens of thousands of casualties and millions of people being displaced.

In 2010, children in Sierra Leone were still barely existing in a precarious situation, with an estimated 250,000 refugees and 600,000 internally displaced people.

When Sierra Leone came to our attention, just three years after the end of the war, it was the second poorest country on earth on the United Nations development index. Liberia, where the RUF started, was the poorest.

A devastating virus …
Ebola outbreak 2014 – 2016

In 2014 when the economy and peoples optimism were beginning to slowly grow, Ebola entered Sierra Leone from neighbouring Guinea. The government imposed quarantine restrictions to try to stem the spread of Ebola and, as part of the drive to prevent people gathering together, all schools were closed in June 2014. By January 2015 over 10,000 cases had been reported with 3,029 deaths.

All the schools have now reopened and the population are working to sow seed and recover from the effects of quarantine when they were unable to harvest or tend their crops. Most families grow their own food and starvation has caused great hardship. The economy, which was already in difficult times before the epidemic, has been badly hit. The recovery from the virus has left an unacceptable number of dispossessed and helpless people living on the fringes without adequate basic living, nutrition or health provision.

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Who are we?

The Sierra Leone Bo School Appeal’s main aim is to provide help for those children most in need who would otherwise not receive an education beyond primary school. Our aim is not to wholly fund the daily running of the school but to help the school provide an environment to continue the children’s secondary education to enable them to become independent adults able to take part in developing their own local economy and be part of the growth of Sierra Leone. We do this mainly by sponsoring individual children, fundraising for capital projects and other exceptional expenditure incurred at St Paul’s School.

In the UK we have a committee of 15 volunteers. This is a mixed group, of varying ages and backgrounds, each of whom brings a unique contribution to our work. We share the fund raising workload, administrative and other tasks. We have no paid staff and all administration is carried out and paid for by the volunteers. The committee receive no expenses and any visits to Sierra Leone or elsewhere are entirely self-funded by those undertaking the trips.

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West Wittering beach, West Sussex, U.K.

Our story so far…

During the civil war the rebels used local schools as their headquarters as they moved through the country, leaving most of them in ruins. Education in Sierra Leone is generally faith based and, beyond primary stage, provision is very sporadic. In 2005 Bruce Holben attended a conference which was looking at post war reconstruction of the education system.

Bruce learnt that the Anglican Church managed 51 primary schools in Bo District but had no secondary school. The vast majority of pupils were unable to complete their education as they were being denied this basic building block that would give them a better chance in adult life. Whilst primary education in Sierra Leone is free, secondary education is not and the fees are unaffordable for most families.

And so, thanks to Bruce and all those with him who were inspired to make a difference to the children of Bo, St Paul’s is a thriving and successful secondary school – giving a chance at a successful future to so many children.

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Cont… Bruce passed his findings onto the West Wittering Church and local people were determined to do something about the situation and in concert with the church in Bo made plans for a secondary school. In Bo, the church itself was starting to provide a secondary school in makeshift conditions, in underground, or crypt, rooms under the cathedral. They needed a purpose built facility to cope with the huge demand from the community for schooling.

The project took two years from starting to raise the funds to completion of the school buildings. The building had to be done in stages; as money was donated it was sent out to allow each phase of the construction work to be completed. The school buildings cost more than £30,000. The development comprises six classrooms and an administrative block.  Four hundred children were admitted straight away, many of them well over school age having had their education halted by the war. A party of 12 from our local area attended the official opening in 2008 when the school was named St Paul’s.

Sponsorship
It is now some ten years since St Paul’s opened and today the school provides a secondary education to more than 600 students. Of those, some 200 children who would otherwise not receive a secondary education are able to attend thanks to the support they receive from our sponsors here in the UK. Sponsorship is a major part of our efforts and is of growing importance. Each year, working with and taking advice from a small committee from the local community in Bo our aim is to increase, by 20 or so, the number of children we can help. This is dependent on us being able to find new sponsors each year and to replace existing sponsors who may, for one reason or another be unable to continue.

Capital and other projects
Building and similar projects are funded by fundraising and donations to our general fund. We collaborate with the school to assess their needs and develop the school’s fabric and longevity. Since 2008, we’ve funded storm drains, toilets, and more. Our most significant project was an assembly hall in 2012, costing nearly £30,000. Prior to its construction, the 600 children had to stand in the sun or rain when congregating. The assembly hall now serves other schools and is a popular examination and community center.

The Ebola epidemic severely impacted Sierra Leone’s community, causing hardship for children, staff, and families. The school was closed for over a year, affecting the sponsored children’s families. We alleviated hardship by funding food aid, sanitation equipment, and radio broadcasts to educate children on Ebola precautions. When restrictions lifted, we supplied agricultural equipment, seed, and handwashing water. The school underwent a deep clean and repainting to attract children. We’re pleased that none of the sponsored children contracted Ebola, but we accepted two orphaned children for sponsorship. The Bo Mother’s Union is responsible for seven younger children orphaned by Ebola who may be eligible for sponsorship in the future.

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The future
St Paul’s is rated in the top 5 schools in Bo District. Due to the political system in Sierra Leone the school has not received state recognition despite huge efforts by all of us over many years. Until this recognition is granted the school can only provide education for the first three of the six years of secondary education. This means St Paul’s students have to complete their secondary education at a “senior secondary” school. Their attendance and progress is closely monitored from St Paul’s.

It is our dream and ambition to secure the state recognition and allow St Paul’s School to offer both the junior and senior secondary education to prepare the children for adult life, whether in further education or elsewhere. Following the recent visit of the Bishop of Bo, Bishop Emmanuel Tucker to the UK (including a stay with us in West Wittering) and his whole hearted support to press for the school becoming licensed we are more hopeful of receiving recognition for St Paul’s School.

We are now seeing the first pupils move on into work or higher education, but many more sadly are still unemployed so that a major plank of our current strategy is to provide help to get children into further education, jobs or into business enterprises of one form or another. Sierra Leone has over 70% youth unemployment, the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.

We are looking to help one or two young students, who have been sponsored through secondary school, the opportunity to attend university. We are also looking to help a limited number of students through vocational training. Our funds are limited so we will not be making promises to someone who will need funding for several years, unless we are sure we have the finances available. We are also exploring working with a Worthing based charity called Aid for Trade, who run a number of training programmes to help people into jobs or set up in business on their own.

In conclusion
Our involvement with St Paul’s is both a pleasure and a privilege. If you would like to be involved in giving children a chance in life and making a difference please donate.

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