By Mali Gruber | Special Projects
This past month, MindLeaps Executive Director Rebecca Davis visited MindLeaps Guinea, where MindLeaps has been present since 2011. In 2017, MindLeaps opened its own center in the capital city of Conakry, using its tailored, codified dance program to attract children who had previously lived on the streets or had escaped prostitution. This is crucial considering that 46% of Guinean primary school age children are out of school, and 49% of youth ages 15-24 have no formal education. Additionally, 51% of girls are married by the age of 18, and 21% by the age of 15.
Rebecca Davis visited MindLeaps Center in Nongo, Conakry as well as the homes of several MindLeaps students. For many Guinean students in the program, MindLeaps provides much needed stability and security. Indeed, about half of MindLeaps families live in abandoned buildings and are frequently forced to move when the building becomes legally occupied. Many children sleep on the floor with little to no bedding and often, no dinner.
Three such students, siblings Assiatou, Omar, and Abdallaye, lived in a decaying house near the Conakry MindLeaps center. During the rainy season, the roof leaked, leading to sickness within the family and forcing them to leave. Their only option was to stay with relatives outside of the city, meaning that unfortunately, the children could no longer participate in MindLeaps dance classes. However, MindLeaps was able to provide school sponsorship for all three of the children, and today they are living in better conditions and will all be heading to school in the fall!
Despite these challenging home situations, the MindLeaps Guinea program is thriving. The children arrive to the center enthusiastic to learn and improve their dancing skills. The US Embassy has recently provided expansions to our English program. Our Guinean trainers are some of the best: Salifou and Faby are both currently abroad for a month working on MindLeaps programs in Kenya and Mauritania respectively. We are excited to see what they achieve beyond Guinea and are happy that they are part of expanding MindLeaps' work across the continent.
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