Introduction
Sierra Leone is a West African country with a population of approximately 8.6 million. Approximately 60% of the population adheres to Sunni Islam, and 30% is Christian. The different religions coexist peacefully, and schools are often mixed. The country suffered severely from a ten-year civil war 25 years ago and an Ebola epidemic in 2014-2015. Sierra Leone is among the least developed countries in the world. Nearly 60% of the population lives below the poverty line, 43% of whom live in extreme poverty. The majority of the population is illiterate. Primary and secondary education are currently freely accessible, but the quality is depressingly low.
After the end of the civil war in 2001, SEHH began supporting individual schools, first in the refugee neighborhoods surrounding the capital, Freetown, and since 2008, various schools in the interior. Smarter Hospital began its support in 2014. Renovation of primary schools in Yele.
The support is provided in direct contact with the school administration. This can now be done via email and the app. We maintain a relationship with three large secondary schools and several primary schools in three regions. As a rule, we develop the annual program in dialogue with the schools. They indicate their priorities. We ask for a contribution towards the costs. It has to come from both sides!
Yele
The village of Yele, with its surrounding hamlets, has a population of approximately 25,000. It is located dozens of kilometers from cities and is only accessible via dirt roads. Its isolated location hinders local development, and the standard of living is low. This also applies to the state of education.
The support for SDA Secondary School (900 students) began with providing scholarships for girls and the construction of a well and toilets.
For four years now, we have been investing in the quality of education by training teachers. They receive instruction from local experts on how to improve their classroom practice from a didactic and pedagogical perspective. And that is paying off. We cover the training costs, with advice and financial support from Wilde Ganzen. The training has been expanded to ten primary schools in the Yele area in the 2024/25 academic year.