The present realities

The Ebola crisis, although conditions are much better, is still not over and has so far claimed 3582 lives in Sierra Leone alone.

There were ten confirmed cases of Ebola in Freetown in week ending 11th July, and three more in other parts of the country. During the past year (July 2014 - June 2015) we sent  over £8,000 to Freetown and  £2,000 of this was for Ebola relief which provided food for orphans and needy families as well as basic medical supplies and protective gear, disinfectant and buckets. Six teachers went on Ebola training and information was shared with the local community.

47 people died in the local community and 28 orphans in our school lost their parents during this Ebola crisis.

No visit has taken place from the UK because of crisis and there are no direct flights yet from the UK.

A report from the school.
The school has 547 pupils in the nursery and primary and 225 students in junior secondary and senior secondary classes.        

Classrooms that were under construction have now been completed.

Closure of schools
All schools in the country were closed from September to April and from Oct to March we paid the teachers half their normal wage. After the schools reopened, they were able to supply teaching and learning materials to pupils and teaching staff.

We currently pay all but three of the teachers in the school. The Government pays for them and have promised to take on all who have been through Teacher Training College.

The school has requested funds for building work in view of the growth of the Senior Secondary School, and also for instruments for a band.

A further visit from Derby will be considered when the medical situation is clearer.