Thank YOU for helping to pave the way to a brighter and better future for young ladies in Sierra Leone. On October 11th we celebrated the International Day of the Girl Child.

 This is a day that we are all passionate about.  International Day of the Girl Child promotes girls' empowerment and fulfillment of their human rights.

Thanks in part to your ongoing support, the Develop Africa Sierra Leone (DASL) team along with African Girls Code launched an eight-week pilot program to provide free coding. 

The purpose was to introduce African girls to the male-dominated world of programming and encourage young women to pursue a future in computer science and other STEM-related fields.

31 secondary school-aged girls in Freetown, Sierra Leone participated in the pilot program. 

The goals for this pilot launch were to:

Nearly 1 in 4 girls of primary school age are out of school in sub-Saharan Africa.  There are currently 5.5 million more out-of-school girls of primary school age than boys, worldwide.

The barriers that deter children from attending primary school vary across and within countries but are often associated with poverty, geographic remoteness, armed conflict, lack of school infrastructure, and poor-quality education. Moreover, these obstacles often interact with gender inequality to intensify learning disadvantages for marginalized girls.

Thanks in part to your ongoing support, the Develop Africa Sierra Leone (DASL) team held another girls’ mentoring program on the topic of entrepreneurship (part two).  Twenty-six young ladies between the ages of 10-20 years old in Freetown attended June's mentoring session.

The topic of entrepreneurship was covered by speakers, Luz G. and Diana K. C.

One of the young ladies that your generous donations have helped support is Geraldine. She tells us in her words how she is doing now- 

I am a final year student at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) studying Banking and Finance. In June 2021, I wrote my final exams in college. I will be graduating in October 2021. I have learned many things about academics and social life and experienced some of the challenges of adulthood. I am prepared and eager to explore the opportunities that the universe presents. 

Thanks in part to your ongoing support, the Develop Africa Sierra Leone (DASL) team held another girls’ mentoring program on the topic of Peer Pressure. Twenty-five young ladies between the ages of 10-20 years old in Freetown attended May's mentoring session.  See the full photo album of photos here.

One of the challenges girls face in Sierra Leone is the threat of Malaria.  Thanks in part to your ongoing support, mosquito nets treated with insecticide were distributed to young ladies following a recent mentoring meeting.  The young ladies were very thankful for the mosquito nets they received.  

May 28th was Menstrual Hygiene Day which focused on promoting good menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) for all women and girls.

Thanks to your ongoing support, the Develop Africa Sierra Leone (DASL) team held another girls’ mentoring program on the topic of Entrepreneurship. Twenty-two young ladies between the ages of 10-20 years old in Freetown attended April’s mentoring session.

The mentoring session was a success with guest speaker, Luz G., making a virtual presentation on entrepreneurship and then having a Q & A session.  Luz identified entrepreneurs as problem solvers; she asked the girls to write down ten problems in their community that they would like to solve.

Because of YOU, more girls are getting their education and the support they need to become future leaders in Africa. The FAWE school, an all-girls school, was able to add 6 new monitors to their computer lab thanks to your support.

The teacher reports that the classes were so effective that the girls love coming to their computer class. The students are now showing proficiency in moving the mouse, typing on the keyboard, changing the desktop background, changing date/time, opening programs like LibreOffice Writer, closing/minimizing/maximizing programs, and many more.