“Education is the great engine to personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that the child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.”
—Nelson Mandela

The Facts

The 11-year long Sierra Leone Civil War resulted in the destruction of 1,270 primary schools and in 2001, 67% of all school-aged children were out of school.

Currently one out of three school-aged children are out of school. Education in Sierra Leone is legally required for all children starting at six-years-old at the elementary level and three years in secondary school but a sheer shortage of schools, teachers, and poverty has made it extremely difficult.

So how did SOSL tackle this enormous educational crisis?

It all began with our flagship school Muddy Lotus.

Muddy Lotus primary school is located in the diamond region of Kono.  There are currently 415 students, six volunteer teachers, and one paid headmaster. In 2006, we transformed this school from a roofless three classroom building into a functioning and safe school. It took 10 days, 150 wooden boards, 50 bags of cement, six trips of sand, six trips of marble, 25 bundles of zinc, five iron doors, 16 workmen and a willingness to work from dawn to dusk. Muddy Lotus now boasts a brand new roof, cement flooring, painted interior and exterior walls, repaired toilets, permanent desks, and new iron doors with locks.

Muddy Lotus is the first sustainable schoolhouse built in Sierra Leone, using the innovative earthbag method created by architect Nader Khalili. Inspired by the Muddy Lotus transformation, the government and UNICEF are now looking to use the earthbag method to build all schools in Sierra Leone.

For the past four years, SOSL has fully funded and supported the Muddy Lotus school. At the same time since 2007, we partnered up with FAWE (The Forum for African Woman Educationalists). In the past three years, SOSL has financed 5 primary and secondary schools through FAWE and 1700 students. Our sponsorship includes financing the teachers’ salaries, providing school supplies, paying tuition, and when needed building additional schools and toilets.

Our Future? That's Our Business.

Shine On Sierra Leone is partnering with Fundacion Paraguaya and their Teach A Man to Fish model to create something special! Muddy Lotus Primary School, our flagship program and home to 600 students, is preparing to transition from a donation-based initiative to fully community-determined and financially self-sustaining enterprise. It is increasingly clear that sustainable change is inextricable from empowered self-determination. To sustain the degree of change necessary for a thriving and robust Sierra Leone, SOSL needs to raise $50,000 by the end of 2011 to ensure that the transition gives rise to Muddy Lotus' highest potentialities as an institution for educational and economic empowerment.

It is absolutely true that donations of every amount make a difference; our Spare Change campaign has proven that. To make my wish come true and donate whatever you can spare, please visit
www.yoursparechange.org.