The Street Child office in Bo on the 31st May 2023 at their Hanci Road office started to implement the Education for Every Child Today project.
It is a four-year project that targets 40,500 children across Sierra Leone. It aims to remove the barriers to education for children from poor backgrounds, disabled and pregnant girls who have dropped out of school.
The Program Coordinator, Hawa Shour also disclosed that the project “provides teaching and learning materials for children, especially in remote areas and gives economic support in the form of business grants to parents or caregivers”.
She urged parents to ensure that their children attend school regularly. She admonished that Street Child as an NGO is playing its role but the rest of the work is left with parents as they are going to get the credit and enjoy the benefits.
The representative from the Ministry of Social Welfare informed the parents that government cannot do everything which is why Street Child has stepped in.
Responding to the bursary and school materials given to a school pupil, Isata Kamara was very “thankful” to street child for sending her back to school after dropping out but said she expects more. The intervention areas that this ‘EFFECT Project’ covers are social support, economic support and infrastructural support.
The target beneficiaries are untrained and unqualified teachers, disabled children, parents or caregivers, school children and businesses.
The session was chaired by the section chief for the Simbaru section where the Street Child office is, Santigie Bangura.
The session was climaxed by the giving of the vote of thanks by a parent, Mariama Sheriff.
