BY: MOHAMED SAHR
Sustainable Education Africa (SEA) has for the first time launched reading to progress program with the theme “The role of parents and community leaders in promoting women and girls’ access to education” on Saturday 26th March 2022 at the newly constructed Freetown City Council (FCC) building.
Alpha Habib Bangura, the founder and of Sustainable Education Africa said the program is rooted on reviewing of a selected book authored by a Sierra Leonean on a monthly basis with the aim of discovering the secrets for progress and change through books.
Noting that the selected book for this month is ‘’Jeneba’’ written by Talabi Aisie Lucan that which has a direct mental picture to the reality of women and girls access to education and how society is supporting them.
He believed that there are lots of things hiding in books, and it is only when books are read that would aid people to travel through the world. He said this program speaks lauder volume in aiding and abating women and girls in gaining quality education.
The founder and pioneer Alpha Habib Bangura said the program would be spontaneously looking at modern days Sierra Leonean books as a way of picking up the experiences of the leadership skills of people and specifically the role of young people in developing the country. ‘’One of the silver linings at the end of the day would be for us to actually impact a generation of young Sierra Leoneans and Africans to start taking actions in solving problems at various communities,’’ he said.
He averred that more formational values would be added going forward. Adding that reading is one aspect of the change the society is longing for. He urged the nation to keep supporting women and girls by inclining their potentials in different walks of life, as they are part of the society.
Ynonne Aki-Sawyerr, the Mayor of Freetown City Council said the things that conditioned the passive role of women in society include early marriage, sexual violence, bias and cultural norms.
She revealed that women and girls should utilize the establishing opportunities so that they should be in competition with their male counterpart.
She said Freetown City Council has worked with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in establishing postgraduate courses for female medical students to be experts in some of the medical fields. ‘‘Employing these chances would serve as spring board for women and girls involvement in society,’’ she stated.
Dr. Aisha Fofanah Ibrahim, lecturer of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone said the importance of reading books would help to figure out a number of things which are opened to interpretation. She said the barriers women and girls face in acquiring education are; exposure to sexual violence, expectation of society to women and girls, sexual harassment to name but few.
She advised women and girls to empower themselves through education as it would help to settle their family constraints together with their husbands especially when it comes to matrimonial issues.
Christiana Lansana, who served as the host of the program said the event has viewed as a platform where young people would implement some of the things they have learnt through book reading as well impacting society. She encouraged young people to continue reading books and embrace positivity in societal development by changing the perceptions they hold.
Thiamu Jalloh, one of the students of Fourah Bay College appreciated the founder for bringing up such program as it gears towards orientating the minds of young people in changing the narrative of the society. He said one of the take-home he has gained in the program is by seeing women as partners and they are part of development. Therefore, they are capable to take the front lead.
