Ho down for EducAid

Ho down for EducAid!
Mike Ruse [my long-suffering best friend from Uni days] has been do-si-do ing and swinging his partners with the congregation from a nearby church in Southampton on EducAid's behalf.

Much hard work went into the arrangements and we are very appreciative. We promise to spend the proceeds well!

Amazing what people will do for charity! Last time I saw him, he was bald!

If you are interested in knowing more about EducAid's work, please contact www.educaid.org.uk

The Big Boss is in Town

So....Jimiyke is back with a clean bill of health and very happy to see his friends again here. They were very excited to welcome him home! It has been an amazing experience but at times some serious homesickness. He is back, now, teaching in the IT room while working out his own next steps.

Swithun explains stuff. He likes explaining.

And, Swithun [founder of EducAid and my baby brother] and Adrian Carr [long-term fundraiser and supporter of EducAid] are in town too.

Swithun and Adrian in spectator mode in Magbeni.

The African Society perform their dance and drama.

Inside the new Rogbere building. Quite hot so let's hope we can persuade the builders to put a ceiling in!

Happily, Swithun, in his role as the big boss, is not too difficult a task master and he is actually very encouraged by the progress of the project since his last visit 3 and a half years ago. They have been shown everything. They have checked out the new building in Rogbere which EducAid are to be contracted to run as of September. They have observed plays about the White Ribbon Campaign [please see http://www.educaid.org.uk/EducAid_Sierra_Leone/white_Ribbon_Campaign.html], an international campaign of men against violence against women, about girls' education about social studies, the African Society and more. They have been questioned and quizzed by staff and students and the Maronka community as a whole but seem to be bearing up well.

There are always the positives but life in Sierra Leone is rarely unadulterated positive. Swithun and Adrian have been faced with some of the harsher realities of living and working with the sort of war affected, vulnerable youth who make up the EducAid beneficiaries. There have been threatened stabbings of teachers and students. There have been thefts and so on.

However, the big things Swithun keeps on talking about are firstly, the strength of the leadership team and how very important that is because it means the project is not too Miriam dependent! [I will shortly be completely surplus to requirement : )] And, the second big difference since last visit has been the significant increase in female students. Last time there were 6 girls in Magbeni and 12 in Rolal. This time there are over 60 girls in Magbeni and over 100 in Rolal. The Women's Project is clearly achieving its aim. This is a massive step forward in terms of addressing poverty which is so clearly the underlying reason for everything we do.

If you are interested in knowing more about EducAid's work, please go to www.educaid.org.uk

Jimiyke on the scene again

Jimiyke, last year's headboy, has gone quiet over the last few months. After a traumatic 2009 when he nearly died of what was probably TB, sat his final senior secondary exams, had Hepatitis C antibodies detected, eventually, after much battling with immigration, he got to the UK in November. This was thanks to the generosity of a number of families who have taken him in, cared for him, educated him [in ICT] and provided access to the medical facilities he required.
He is now in the final stages of his trip. Given a clean bill of health, he is getting ready to put his new found ICT skills into action.
He returns on Sunday, travelling with Swithun, hopefully to take up his teaching responsibilities once more. We are greatly looking forward to having him back. Meanwhile, for a taste of what he has been up to when going into donor schools, follow this link: http://www.stmaryscambridge.co.uk/uploads/1/Spring_Accolade_2010.pdf

If you are interested in knowing more about EducAid's work, please go to http://www.educaid.org.uk/

It was looking good and then.......

I had just been thinking up a new positive blog entry.
Firstly, there is the excellent new road to Kenema. Wow! No potholes for 200 miles. Almost unheard of in Sierra Leone.
Secondly, there was an amazing decision made, allowing a woman to contend for a position as chief. Definitely unheard of in Sierra Leone.
Then.....I was brought back down to earth.
My laptop with all my work, photos etc was stolen by a thief with the most amazing sleight of hand imaginable from a vehicle full of people.
I think the only thing I cannot access again is my photos of Alhassan. If anyone has any good recent photos of him, I would be very grateful if you could forward them to me. I have otherwise let Kofi down significantly.
I will also be unable to update the website until I can replace the laptop I built it on, please forgive any aspects that go out of date in the next few weeks.

Definitely too much excitement!.

Obai Santigie and his brother Alhaji receive the keys after their months of hard work to make the school building become a reality.

Drummers and dancers - part of the cultural celebrations.

Cultural high wire performance - another contribution to the celebrations.

Fatmata, a very young member of the women's secret society. She has declared her desire to attend Maronka primary school. There is now some hope we can enable her to detach herself from these women, who not only lead the dancing during celebrations but, are also the high priestesses of female circumcision!

Sinna, the orator, impressing the Norwegian visitors with his excellent English and his confidence in front of a crowd. He became a live-in student in Maronka when we threatened to take his father to the police for the vicious beating he had given him. His father has now abandoned him and he has been adopted into Obai's family. Mercifully, this does not seem to have damaged his progress!

Pa Alimamy, Obai;s brother who is deaf and dumb but who has worked with tremendous energy and enthusiasm as part of the building team.

The finalised new building - by far the poshest building EducAid uses.
10th March, 2010, Maronka's brand new building, built by Norwegian donor agency, Forut, was opened and handed over to EducAid.

Obai [Chief] Santigie has led a team of community members to build this beautiful new school. The construction materials and the technical advisors were provided by Forut but the labour has been provided by the community who are inordinately proud of their achievement.

The community danced into the wee hours and the excitement was great. However, our new challenge is to ensure that the quality of the education that takes place inside is even more beautiful than the shiny new paint!

If you are interested in knowing more about EducAid's work please go to www.educaid.org.uk

White Ribbon Campaign

On International Women's Day, 8th March, EducAid Lumley launched its White Ribbon Campaign.

The White Ribbon Campaign is an international campaign of men working to end violence against women.

An initial 31 young men committed to upholding women's human rights:

-to stop discrimination against women

-to stop early marriage

-to stop female genital mutilation

-to stop wife battering

-to stop sexual harassment

They will work with partners in Nottingham and elsewhere, with similar aims, and organise meetings, campaigns and sensitisation amongst men who want to be part of the solution to end this universal problem.

If you are interested in knowing more about EducAid's work please go to www.educaid.org.uk

Almost too much excitement!

Gaza's team - Rice for the hungry winners of the intertutor group football league
Once a year, the timetable relaxes a little and, having worked hard together all year, we have a week of short school days followed by inter-tutor football matches followed by a staff match and the school outing to the beach.

Last week was the week and everyone took full advantage of the slower pace. Much fun was had by all!

EducAid Lumley - School Outing

DJ Ndola.

The 'Cogent Boys' & the 'Excellent Crew' in their outing finery.

Isata, having a break from the dancing.

Thomas Darboh, set for a good time.

Hannah, ready for the party.

Musa Bundu, all smiles.

And then to top it all, AA and I were invited to pop and see how the other half live. We went to a 'Mardi Gras Charity Ball' held to raise funds for a number of Freetown charities, including EducAid.

The Mardi Gras Charity Ball at the Country Lodge'.

AA exchanges Magbeni for the Country Lodge.

If you are interested in knowing more about EducAid's work please go to www.educaid.org.uk