There are many dedicated educators in Sierra Leone seeking to provide students with the best opportunity for their students to learn in their classrooms, but often as the students are striving to pay attention to the lesson, they are stymied by the fact they are uncomfortable as they sit for hours on hard wooden benches, or in some cases, even sitting on the floor.
With that understanding, in recent years Bread and Water for Africa® has begun acquiring school desks. Partnering with The Reuse Network, a nonprofit organization from schools in the U.S. which are updating their classroom furniture and shipping it to countries in sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.
Right now, we are seeking to ship two 40-foot containers to be filled with 659 student classroom desks from the port of Long Beach, California, to our partner in Sierra Leone, Rural Youth Development Organization (RYDO) for distribution to several rural schools.
Another of our Sierra Leonean partners, Faith Healing Development Organization (FHDO), has established school campuses in Freetown and in rural areas in some of the county’s provinces that are providing educational opportunities for more and more students each year.
“Sierra Leone’s literacy rate is less than 30 percent, which makes it dire to invest in education and sustain already established structures” states FHDO director Rev. Francis Mambu, whose organization has received school desks from Bread and Water for Africa® previously.
“As the school populations continue to increase, so does the need for durable classroom furniture,” says Rev. Mambu, who adds, “Over the years, FHDO has been spending huge sums of money in the procurement of new school furniture, especially during the start of each academic year.”
It has been reported that the issue of insufficient school desks in Sierra Leone, and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, poses a significant challenge, especially those in rural areas serving children and youth living in poverty, affecting the quality of their education, and their comfort in the classroom.
As a result, students often have to sit tightly side by side, hindering their ability to take notes, focus on the lecture and participate fully in their classroom lessons.
Even when the schools have desks, frequently they are poorly constructed and made from low-quality materials, are too small for the students, making them uncomfortable and potentially leading to poor posture and other health issues.
RYDO program director Joseph Kobba, who is looking forward to receiving another shipment of desks soon, reported in November last year following a shipment of 728 desks which were distributed among six primary schools that today:
“The children have a very conducive classroom environment. The school’s roll has increased as seating accommodations have improved. We are grateful for the continued educational support from Bread and Water for Africa®.
“Investing in children’s education lays a better foundation for the progress and prosperity children of Sierra Leone need. The donation of school desks has improved classroom conditions, which is currently attracting more children to attend school regularly.”
