Hope Academy for Girls, Sierra Leone

EDUCATE A GIRL. TRANSFORM A COMMUNITY.

About Hope Academy

Mona Partner in 2022

Founded in 2017, Hope Academy is the only Junior and Senior Secondary School for girls in the Western Area of Sierra Leone. Offering a formal six-year program, the school provides high quality, holistic education in a clean, spacious, and supportive environment to engage, educate and empower girls who are at risk of dropping out due to financial constraints, suspected abuse, or exploitation. 

The Challenge

Past and present events have created overwhelming obstacles for access to education in Sierra Leone. Most of Sierra Leone’s infrastructure was destroyed during its civil war (1991- 2002) and rebuilding has been slow. Access to education for girls in rural areas continues to be a challenge. While significant progress has been made over the last ten years in decreasing the gender gap in education, girls are still more likely to drop-out of school (particularly post-primary). Many girls are on the verge of dropping out of school due to underachieved grades, financial constraints, abuse and/or exploitation. These risk factors form part of the criteria and selection process for new intakes to Hope Academy.

The Solution: Secondary Education for Girls

Hope Academy for Girls provides its students with six years of tuition-free, high quality, and holistic Junior and Senior Secondary education, giving them the tools to achieve their highest potential.


The school follows the Sierra Leone National Curriculum with recognized text books and provides a clean, spacious environment conducive to learning.

Homemade, healthy lunches are also provided for all students and staff. 


Hope Academy students taking the Basic Education Certification Examination (the national government exam) have a 100% pass rate, a considerable feat when taking into account both the context of Sierra Leone's education system and the context of the population Hope Academy serves.

How we help

Mona's partnership with Hope Academy supports the school trough funding for scholarships, staff salaries, learning materials, and teacher training to ensure the continued provision of high quality education.

Hope Academy's 2025 Progress

With your help:

  • 93 girls from 5 communities educated and empowered 
  • 28 parents engaged in educational activities 
  • 8 teachers trained 
  • Completed science laboratory and computer lab construction 
  • Ran a free daily nutrition program

Hope Academy's 2026 Plans

Mona's commitment: $29,817

  • Educate 80 students and prepare 21 for national examinations 
  • Equip newly built science laboratory and computer hub 
  • Train and retain teachers, including sponsoring 4 graduates through formal teacher certification 
  • Provide scholarships covering transport and food for 7 highly vulnerable students


Support Hope Academy's 2026 Plans

Mona's 2026 Visit to Hope Academy

When the Mona team visited Hope Academy for Girls this year and asked students what they loved most about their school, the answers kept returning to the same two words: safe and calm. 


That feeling showed in how the girls treated one another. Sitting under a tree with them for hours, our Global Program Officer heard students talk not only about their own dreams but about their classmates' dreams, pointing to one another proudly: she will be a doctor, she will be a famous football player. They spoke in will statements rather than want statements, confident in the futures ahead of them. 


Madam Aliea Kamara, the school's founder, described last year's graduation day, when the girls cried at having to leave. Hope Academy has become a place where students who face significant challenges outside of school are loved, respected, and cared for, and are able to bring their academic success to fruition. 


Her son, Mokay, described what she has built as an incubator for hope in a country and environment that can otherwise feel hopeless.

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