Sierra Leone |
School Life The volunteers visited a number of schools in the township for a first-hand experience of school life. They found that there are many basic similarities between the schools in Sierra Leone and schools in the United Kingdom: |
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The timetable includes English, Maths, Science, PE, RE and Creative Arts; |
Each morning begins with an assembly and the children have Registration twice a day; |
And, of course, the children look forward to their playtime break. |
| Despite the many similarities, there are also vast differences. The schools in Sierra Leone do not have Year Groups like ours. Because their are not enough teachers, the classes are very large and have children of different ages. Many teachers are not paid for their work and schools can go months without recieving any money. This often means that they cannot even afford to buy simple resources such as pens and paper. The pictures below give a powerful demonstration of this. | ||
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This is Fatima. At the end of each school day, this young girl sweeps out her classroom. |
She sorts through the things she has brushed out, collecting any small pieces of paper... |
...and carefully unfolds and flattens them so that they can be reused the next day. |
Think! |
Next time your computer does not run as quickly as you would like, or if you have to share a text book because there are not enough for the whole class - Be thankful for the resources that we have! |
Food Buying food is a different experience in Waterloo, Sierra Leone. There are no shops or supermarkets where stocks are piled high and sold cheaply. Instead there are market stalls where foods such as fish, meat, fruit and vegetables are sold. The problem is paying for it. The people are poor and cannot afford to feed their families daily. Miss Cain reports, 'Most families will eat just one meal every other day.' She also tells how it is unusual to see children eating during the school day. For most, 'Lunchtime' is just a time to have a break from work. The children in this photograph are an exception. They are the very youngest and special efforts are made to feed them as well as possible, even if it means that others have to go without. |
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Miss Cain says, 'One lunchtime, a teacher offered to share some fruit with me. I thanked him but refused his offer. But he insisted saying, "It's OK. I ate yesterday."' |
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Think! |
Next time you are tempted to jump the queue in the dinner hall because you are 'starving', or complain because you can't have your favourite meal - Be thankful for the food that we have! |
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