Hope is transforming into action through community-driven initiatives! With support from UNICEF, ActionAid, and its partner, Womenโs Action for Human Dignity (WAHD), girls in Bombali District, Sierra Leone, are reclaiming their right to education in ways that centre dignity, agency, and cultural relevance through safe spaces and different skills training programmes, as well as renewed hope through educational supports.
At the handing-over ceremony of educational support in Makumpbana, ActionAidโs Regional Manager North, Fatamata Jalloh, emphasised the projectโs focus on empowerment:
โWe directed efforts to create safe spaces where adolescents can thrive and develop diverse skills. When we noticed continued dropouts, we asked, โWhat structural barriers remain?โ Today, we are supporting seventy-four (74) out-of-school girls aged 10-19 years old with essential learning materials โ school uniforms, bags, shoes, books, pens, and sanitary items โ with a total budget of NLe120,000 to ensure their reenrollment by January.โ
This approach reflects a commitment to dismantling exclusionary practices and affirming education as a right, not a privilege. She emphasised collaboration with education stakeholders to ensure enrolment, noting, โWhile timing with the school term was a challenge, we did not want these children to wait another year. This aligns with our commitment to support free, quality education for those often overlooked.โ
Haja Betty Alimamy Sesay, Director of WAHD, highlighted the importance of inclusive education rooted in community participation:
โWe are based here, but children from neighbouring communities are also involved. Parents play a vital role in sustaining these efforts. Letters written by children helped identify those who had left school, reminding us that their voices must guide solutions.โ
She further encouraged parents to uphold ActionAidโs child sponsorship programme by retaining their children in the communities, noting that these initiatives amplify local agencies rather than perpetuate dependency.
The Deputy Director of MBSSE in Bombali, Lahai Feika, affirmed the systemic nature of the challenge:
โEducation is a right, yet poverty and structural inequities have long been barriers. Today, these children return with pride, dignity, and hope.โ He urged ActionAid to expand the initiative, citing data that over 4,000 children remain out of school in Bombali, a stark reminder of the need for sustained, equity-focused interventions.
The most powerful testimonies come from the sponsored children themselves: Aminata, 17 years old, left school in SSS 2 due to financial constraints. โI started selling rice bread, then became pregnant and gave up on school. When the UNICEF safe space project staff asked about my interest in returning to school, I said I wanted to return to school. Today, I have my materials, and I feel ready and thankful.โ
This initiative is not charity; it is justice. It reflects ActionAid and partnersโ commitment to dismantling systemic barriers and supporting the free, quality education drive of the government for all, especially those historically marginalised.
