Programme for Children,

Sierra Leone

About Programme for Children

Mona Partner Since 2019

Founded in 1985, and formally registered as a nonprofit in Sierra Leone in 2004, Programme for children (PFC) is an example of participatory community-based development at its best. supported by Schools for Salone, the Danish Children Fund, and Mona Foundation, it works in collaboration with community members, local and religious leaders, and government agencies to improve access to education for students of all ages in Sierra Leone’s rural villages.

The community provides land and manual labor. PFC secures funding, oversees the construction of schools, libraries, or vocational training centers, and provide educational support including school supplies and health services for girls. The Ministry of Education trains and certifies and pays the teachers to ensure students receive a high-quality education.

In 2023, with support from Mona Foundation, PFC built two new schools: a junior secondary school in Kpatobu and a senior secondary school in Tihun.

The Challenge

The unique, essential and differentiating context for the projects Mona Foundation support in Sierra Leone, is the history of country (Bunce Island as a slave trading point, Freetown as the British settlement for the freed slaves following the American Revolution, blood diamonds and the exploitation of their natural resources by many countries even to this date, a brutal civil war lasting 11 years that left thousands mutilated, Ebola outbreak that took thousands of lives, and finally the establishment of their democratically elected government. SL is now a secular nation with the constitution providing for the separation of religion and state and freedom of conscience. Muslims make up about three-quarters of the population, though with an influential Christian minority, and one of the only countries in Africa where religious tolerance is a part of their cultural norms and identity.

Against this background, it is truly a miracle that the government has committed 22% of its GDP to education, and its First Lady is leading a campaign advocating for women’s rights. Wherever we went we saw the huge billboards – Marriage My Choice. Education My Right; United Against Rape; Hands off our Girls; Free Sanitary Pads, etc. 56% of the population earn less than $1/day.

Joseph Lamin, the founder and the Executive Director of PFC, raised by a missionary family and educated in London with support from a Danish patron, graduated with a master’s degree in Global Development only to return to Sierra Leone. He has committed himself to providing access to quality education for the children of Sierra Leone.

Learn more about Sierra Leone

The Solution: Programme for Children Programs

Access to Education

Programme for Children works with villages to address their local needs for access to education. The village people secure and clear the land for their school and PFC constructs the school building with a water well, latrines, and a hand-washing station.

It also provides the furniture, books, materials, and supplies needed to get the school up and running.

Teacher Training

Teacher training and certification is an integral part of supporting education in Sierra Leone. Programme for Children, in collaboration with Schools for Salone, works to support all teachers at the schools it builds to complete the government's certification program. This ensures teachers have the skills and training needed to be effective. The program takes place during school breaks over three years. Once certified, teachers are eligible for government payroll.

How we help

Mona Foundation began working with Programme for Children in 2019. To date, we have funded the building of two elementary schools, one middle school, a library serving 7 surrounding villages and a large addition to the Muloma Vocational Technical Training Complex. Mona also provides for the furnishings, books, learning materials, and supplies, and supports teacher training and certification.

2023 Achievements

Kpatobu Junior Secondary School was built, furnished, and staffed with 6 certified teachers
Tihun Senior Secondary School built

2024 Needs - $53,205

Sponsor the teacher certification of 6 teachers for Kpatobu, $7,200

Sponsor the teacher certification of 6 teachers for Tihun, $7,200

Purchase much needed office equipment

Support PFC's 2024 Needs

Updates

Tihun School Outside View showing fresh paint, white top half, blue bottom

School Nearing Completion

November 16, 2023 - Tihun Senior Secondary School building project is nearing its final stages of construction. Today, painting of the buildings has commenced. The school consists of four classrooms, a Principals office with toilet and storage room, staff room with two toilets, water well and hand pump to be installed after the raining season and a four compartment septic toilet. This project is on track and progressing on schedule.

89 Girls and boys attending Kpatobu School standing in 6 rows in front of the school.

School is in Session!

November 5, 2023 - Kpatobu Junior Secondary School construction is complete and has welcomed 89 students - 49 girls and 40 boys! The school is serving 9 villages, impacting about 1,600 community members. The 6 teachers (3 female and 3 male) have been enrolled in the governments teacher certification program.

Latest Update

August 2021 - Four months after the ground-breaking ceremony in March, the families in the very remote village of Masosingbi have a primary school for their children!

The new school, funded through Mona Foundation, has four classrooms, a bathroom with four stalls, and two hand-washing stations. A water well and hand pump installation are in progress. Materials and schools supplies have already been delivered.

The school will soon welcome 250 students (120 girls and 130 boys) whose only option had previously been to walk 6 miles to the nearest school. Now, with a new school in their own village, education will be more accessible and improve the health and well-being of all of the children in this community for years to come.

The video linked below shows the progress of the school's construction.

Watch Now

2021

This year, Mona is providing for the training and certification of nine teachers: six from Njomborhun and three from Masosingbi. Schools for Salone and Programme for Children are currently working to get all the teachers in the schools we have helped build certified by the government through distance learning.

With $3,000 provided last year plus the $2,700 for 2021, all teachers teaching at Mona Foundation-funded schools will be either certified or working toward their certification.

Overcoming the 'hungry months'

In 2020, Mona supported an addition of four classrooms for the Muloma Vocational Technical Training Complex. The expanded center will have a dual purpose: to provide a teacher training center serving 7 villages, and to provide vocational training to 100 women and men to help them through the ‘hungry months’ between harvests. Despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, construction was completed on schedule.

2019 Opening Ceremony

The Mona Foundation team returned in late September 2019 from the opening celebrations of the middle school Mona funded in Njomborhun village in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

The trip was a profound experience. We have never been more inspired by a determined people. As a result of the dedicated efforts of the community and government, children from six villages will now receive a quality middle school education in a safe environment.

Building the school was a dream come true for the villages, and their delight and gratitude were obvious throughout the ceremony.