This past month, forty-five (25 girls and 20 boys) beneficiaries participated in an inter-mentoring debating competition about whether or not formal education is the key to personal success.  The goal of the debating competition was to improve beneficiaries' research and public speaking skills and to shed light on formal education and personal success.

Eight beneficiaries participated in the debate; four girls from the girls' mentoring group and four boys from the boys mentoring group. The boys mentoring group supported the motion that formal education is the key to personal success while the girls mentoring group disagreed with the motion. Each speaker spoke for eight minutes and the debaters’ discussed series of points to support their stands. 

At the end of the debate, the Develop Africa Sierra Leone (DASL) team and the judges (two males and two females) distributed certificates and prizes for participation and best performances; Misheal emerged as the best speaker of the debate and was given a certificate and prize.  Mattia the second-best speaker was also given a certificate and prize as well as Haja who was the third-best speaker.  In the end it was determined that the girls won the debate.  

Develop Africa Sierra Leone team manager (Mr. Abu S. Conteh), gave a brief background of Develop Africa and the mentoring project. He stated that the mentoring project seeks to contribute immensely to the beneficiary’s overall development and academics.  With the help of mentoring sessions, future leaders can become motivated and be more confident in their abilities.

Your continued support is greatly appreciated as it will enable more mentoring sessions and educational resources for the future leaders of Sierra Leone. If you haven't had the chance to sign up for a recurring donation yet, we warmly welcome your ongoing support.