September 8th is International Literacy Day. This day reminds us about the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights. It also emphasizes the need to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society.

At Develop Africa, education is in our DNA and our core focus. We realize that literacy and promoting reading are foundational elements of an impactful education.

School is just around the corner.  The Develop Africa Sierra Leone (DASL) team is packing 141 backpacks full of school supplies including- notebooks, erasers, pencils, crayons, rulers, pencil sharpeners, pens, and calculators.

August 12th was International Youth Day. As we observed International Youth Day, Develop Africa reaffirmed its commitment to youth development and empowerment. We lend our voice, support, and commitment to creating a world of intergenerational solidarity among all ages. We agree that the potential of the youth that can be harnessed from continuous collaborations across generations.  In Sierra Leone, Develop Africa focuses on the development of youth to empower them to become future leaders, which is only made possible by generous donors.

Your continued support is greatly appreciated and is helping provide long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) also called bed nets or mosquito nets to families and individuals in Sierra Leone. These mosquito nets create an effective barrier and provide protection from mosquito bites while families sleep.  Because of the mosquito nets they received, families like Agness's family pictured here can now sleep without worrying about mosquito bites at night.

In June 2022, the DASL program team facilitated a Lego project pilot; two sessions were organized (June 18^th & June 25^th) for ten young ladies using the 5 Legos Mindstorms sets purchased and shipped to Sierra Leone thanks in part to generous donors like you. 

Thanks in part to your support, another girl’s mentoring session was held at the end of May on Leadership and Smart Thinking. The goal of the mentoring session was to discuss adolescent leadership and smart thinking and to teach the girls essential problem-solving tips.  Thirty-four young ladies between the ages of 10-20 years old in Freetown attended the mentoring session. Food and transportation money was provided to all participants.  

Thanks to your ongoing support of girls' education, 100 girls at the FAWE School, an all-girl school, received notebooks to use in class.   A total of 624 notebooks were distributed to the pupils present ranging from class 1 to class 5.  

During the distribution, the girls were grateful for the notebooks they were receiving.  A senior teacher at FAWE said-

One of the ways educational support is provided to young ladies is through vocational training.  This provides crucial training in marketable skills, which are vital for poverty reduction, economic recovery, and sustainable development.  

Thanks in part to your ongoing support 27 drums full of school supplies have arrived in Sierra Leone. Distributions to multiple schools and students will take place in August as students get ready to go back to school in September. 

We greatly appreciate your ongoing educational support for students in Sierra Leone.  The hardware & networking students recently had a practical. Prior to the practical, they had been practicing how to install an operating system on a virtual machine.  For the practical, the students were set up in teams and had to open the system units and remove the faulty hard drive and the old CMOS battery and then replace both with newer units that were purchased thanks in part to generous donors like you.