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Education week flies the flag for girls in Sierra Leone
Dec 19 2009, 15:06 PM |
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| Dec 16, 2009 01:50 PM
In Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest nations in the world, more than half the people live below the poverty line and education is not a top priority, especially for girls.
In Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest nations in the world, more than half the people live below the poverty line and education is not a top priority, especially for girls.Poverty takes a heavy toll on family incomes in the West African country and forces parents and guardians look to their children for extra money. This often leads to children dropping out of school, or prevents them from going in the first place.Children in many parts of the country are also exposed to verbal, physical and sexual abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Girls’ Education Week, a nationwide campaign run by the education ministry, aims to boost awareness in local communities about the importance of education, especially for girls, and encourage more parents to send their children to school every day and finish their education. Run by the Ministry of Education Youths and Sports, the week, in October aimed to highlight the issues and challenges of educating girls in Sierra Leone and push for stronger policies that will see more girls complete their education.
Hawa Marrah is one of more than a hundred girls across the country whose achievements at school were praised during Girls’ Education Week and rewarded with school materials and uniforms. Hawa, 12, goes to the Islamic Primary School in Kabala, in northern Sierra Leone. She is one of five girls from her district who had the best results in the National Primary School Examination.Because of the low pass rates of girls in this part of the country, Hawa’s achievement is all the more impressive. Where she is from, few girls actually complete their primary and secondary education.
Across the country, only 69 per cent of primary aged children go to primary school. At Primary school, boys’ and girls attendance rates are almost equal. But there is a high dropout rate for girls and their enrolment in secondary education is low with only and estimated 19 per cent of girls attending. The biggest obstacles to girl’s education in the country are early pregnancies, child marriages, poverty and sexual abuse, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Hawa is one of the few girls who have been able to make it this far.“I studied with candles and kerosene lamps every night because there is no electricity supply in my community, “ she told the aid organisation. “Yet I feel so privileged to have taken the exams and passed with high grades like children in other areas of the country who have better facilities. I am so proud I made it,” said Hawa, who hopes to become a doctor. “Some of my friends have dropped out of school due to early pregnancies and marriages,” she continued. “In fact, a good number of them have fallen victim to cultural and traditional prejudices which continue to keep them at home instead of in school.”
By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children
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