Sierra Leone

“I love coming to school! Before I came, my aunt and uncle taught me a little but now I am at school I am learning so much and they teach me very well. After school I do my school work before it gets dark and if there is time I try and teach my sisters”.

Agnes, age 12, who attends Kroo Bay School

Sierra Leone has been ravaged by more than a decade of violent conflict. Many young boys were recruited as child soldiers and the majority of children witnessed the horrors of the war including abuse, rape and the loss of family members. It ranked as the poorest country in the world in the 2007 UN Human Development Index.

Widespread migration along with a high level of sexual violence during the war has contributed to an increase in the rate of HIV infection. Although most people have heard of HIV/AIDS, there is still little knowledge of how it is transmitted and there is significant stigma and discrimination attached to the disease. Young people are particularly vulnerable and the HIV infection rate among young people is more than double the national average.

Children in Crisis in Sierra Leone

Children in Crisis has been working in Sierra Leone in partnership with Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) since 2000 to rebuild and rehabilitate schools and train teachers. In many areas the school which Children in Crisis has built is the only one in the area and enables hundreds of children, who would not otherwise have the opportunity, to go to school.

Since 2002:

• five schools have been built or refurbished
• allowing over 1200 children to attend school

Starting in 2004, 300 primary school teachers have now been trained to provide HIV/AIDS education, with a focus on teaching children to recognise situations when they could be at risk of infection. Around 22,000 children in the districts of Freetown and Kambia have attended lessons given by these teachers.