Now imagine a small rural town in Sierra Leone, West Africa where educating girls is seen today as important to rebuilding their community – and their country.
This blog is about girls education in the small town of Rotifunk, Sierra Leone – about educating girls and giving them computer skills. Skills that will allow girls from poor families to leapfrog into modern jobs or create small businesses where they can support their families and help build their country’s post-war economy.
When you invest in a girl, you invest in Sierra Leone.
This blog is also about bringing solar technology to Rotifunk to create a solar powered computer lab for a new girls school. You can read here about this community and the ups and downs of making this kind of project happen from concept to installation.
The “I” in
this blog is Arlene - a
former Peace Corps Volunteer who returned to Rotifunk in 2011 to understand what's happened in the
aftermath of the war. I saw much to celebrate and returned in 2012, finding how
easy it was to once again become engaged in this beautiful town and chiefdom.
Rotifunk is the seat of Bumpeh Chiefdom, and was devastated in Sierra
Leone’s eleven year civil war.
It’s about 40 miles southeast of the capital, Freetown, and sits on an
old road connecting the seats of several chiefdoms in Moyamba District. Rotifunk was hit hard by the war as rebel
soldiers made their way to the capital, burning and looting as they went. Every building in this town of then 10,000
was burned except for a church and a mosque, and its people forced to flee. The result was total collapse of the
socio-economic fabric of the community, and a once industrious town found
itself in abject poverty.
But the war ended in 2001. A democratic national government was
installed with two peaceful elections since, and a third election coming in
November. Nation building is well
on its way.
Now
a safe, peaceful, country, Sierra Leone is still, however, one where ¾ of
families struggle to live in the aftermath of their civil war on $2/day or
less.
Rotifunk has been rebuilding its town and preparing for its future by educating its children – many of whom had their education interrupted by the war. Primary schools and the original co-ed secondary school where I taught were rebuilt first, thanks to generous donors in Norway.
These donors also constructed Prosperity Girls High School and in
2009 launched this first all-girls school for the town of Rotifunk and
surrounding villages of Bumpeh Chiefdom – an empowering place for girls to get
an education and develop into productive young women. These girls are the less fortunate in the Chiefdom, including war orphans, the physically challenged, teenaged mothers, and girls who come alone from small villages and must find room and board in town to get an education.
PGHS
has been a big success, quadrupling enrollment to about 200 as it starts its 4th
academic year of 2012-13.
Educating girls is now seen as one the best investments you can make
with development dollars. With
education, women invest in their children & communities, multiplying the
benefits for all.Rotifunk wants this generation of its girls to be not only literate, but computer literate. But in a town with no electricity, charging a computer is a dilemma. Gasoline powered generators are expensive to buy and operate, polluting and noisy.
Fortunately, practical small scale solar energy technology has made its
way to Sierra Leone. Solar powered
systems are starting to pop up around the countryside. Computers and solar power are now becoming reality
for Sierra Leone – and its school children. It quickly became clear this is the way to go
for creating a computer lab in Rotifunk.
Prosperity Girls High School started its proposal for a
solar powered computer lab under the able leadership of its Principal,
Rosaline Kargbo and her staff. Follow progress
of the project here step by step. Your
comments and advice are welcome - and of course, your support.
Invest in a girl – and you invest in Sierra Leone.
No comments:
Post a Comment