by Katelyn Komisarek
In 2002 Sierra Leone ended an eleven yearlong civil war. In 1991 the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) started the war under the command of Foday Sankoh, Abu Ahmaed, and Pashid Mansaray. Before this many students, including Sankoh, Ahmed and Mansaray, were expelled from the country, not listing a reason why. Sankoh, Ahmaed and Mansaray fled to Ghana then Libya where they attended a military training facility, recruiting people along the way. Control of Sierra Leone’s diamond industry was a main objective in the war. In 1998 Sierra Leone was ranked the poorest country in the world, and as of 2008 they only have a per capita GDP of seven hundred dollars, that means on average a working person will make seven hundred dollars a year. Diamond mining is their main export, so they easily opened up to the trafficking of firearms and ammunition, and soon following that drugs.
The nation took a huge hit from all of this and is now struggling to get back up on their feet. Kids in this nation need a good education. Teachers from rundown public schools are leaving to go to private schools where they get paid better and on time most of the time. Private schools offer, by far, a better education. On most occasions, kids that graduate from a private school can afford to be sent out west for further education, usually in England or the United States, but most of these kids will return to help their country.
Even though public school is free a lot of families struggle to by books, supplies, and the uniforms needed for school. Luckily a lot of countries support struggling nations like Sierra Leone and send them backpacks and supplies so it can cut down the families expenses and what they have to buy. In a recent count 375,000 kids are out of school, mostly girls. These kids will get jobs to help their families and some girls will get married young with no idea how this will affect them later in life.
The current President Ernest Bai Koroma, who was once for a short period of time a teacher himself, finds disappointment in the nation’s failing school system. He has made many recommendations to help the school system but so far nothing has been done. The nation showed very poor results in two public tests given competing against other schools in West Africa, the President found these results unacceptable. The nation may be seeing a turn around and a lot of help from natives and other countries. Former child soldier Ishmael Beah built a school in his village through his foundation, he also donated $22,000 to help fight illiteracy and make a good education accessible and available, especially to the mentally and physically challenged kids and orphans.
