Educate a Girl, Educate a Nation - Sierra Leone

Dear Project Supporters,

In July 2015, we introduced you to one of this project's beneficiaries, Isata. In this report, we provide you with her case study and progress.

Isata was born in August 1999. She is sixteen and a half years old. She comes from a very poor home. Isata’s father abandoned them when Isata was very young. Her mother is a single parent and they live in a slum dwelling and hawk charcoal for a living.

Janet said, "One day Isata and her mother went to sell charcoal in my compound. At age eleven years Isata had not started schooling. Upon enquiry I found out that she was not going to school, because her mother could not afford her school charges. I asked the mother to enroll Isata in school with assurance of sponsorship. I enrolled Isata in the Develop Africa sponsorship project."

Isata started school in class one at the Saint Thomas Municipal School in 2009. She was always among the top ten pupils in class. After six years of primary schooling, Isata has graduated into Junior Secondary School (JSS) at the Freetown Secondary School for Girls.

All things being equal, she will spend three years in the JSS and will sit to the Basic Education Certificate Examination which will qualify her to enter the senior Secondary School.

Isata and her mother are very grateful to Develop Africa and its donors whose sponsorship has made it possible for her to go to school. Isata is working hard in her new school to achieve her goal.

YOUR support made this happen! Thanks so much.

Best Regards,

Develop Africa team

Links:

• Closing the Gender Gap: Lessons from Africa

Dear Project Supporters,

According to theguardian - "...an estimated 58 million of primary aged children are still out of school, 31 million of them girls, the majority living in sub-Saharan Africa. Gender disparities increased in secondary and tertiary education, despite more young people enrolling over the past 20 years." ~ Two-thirds of world's illiterate adults are women, report finds

In the photo above, Kadiatu is holding a handwritten letter she prepared to express her thanks. In her letter she said...

Dear GlobalGiving,

Thanks so much for your support that is helping me to further my education. I am now in Junior Secondary School Three. I love to go to school and learn because it is the only way I can achieve my dream of becoming a banker. My favourite subjects in school are English, Math and Social Studies. I belong to a family of four. We live in a two bedroom apartment. I have two sister. My mother is a trader. I love to cook and to read books. My favourite colour is pink. Thanks a million for your support. Love, Kadiatu - (end of letter)

According to Huffington Post - "The Brookings Institution affirms that educating a girl in particular can kick-start a virtuous circle of development. More educated girls, for example, marry later, have healthier children, earn more money that they invest back into their families and communities, and play more active roles in leading their communities and countries." ~ There's No More Valuable Investment Than in a Girl's Education

Thank YOU, because of YOUR continued support Kadiatu and other girls like her can go to school to achieve their goals.

Best regards,

Develop Africa team

Links:

• Two-thirds of world's illiterate adults are women, report finds
• There's No More Valuable Investment Than in a Girl's Education