A SYMBOL OF HOPE

In Sierra Leone it is custom for all the students to wear uniforms and matching shoes. I believe it is a practice they inherited from the British who colonized Sierra Leone for many years and ultimately initiated their formal education system. While I understood the reasons for CAUSE Kids to provide these items to the students, it wasn’t until I was in a classroom that I understood their significance. Surrounded by grade one students, who like grade one students everywhere can barely contain their energy, we began to call out names to come receive the new uniforms and shoes. Mr. Bangura had carefully measured all the students and local tailors had sewn the small blue and white outfits to fit each individual child. While both the uniforms and shoes were bright and very cute, it was the students who walked carefully to the front of the room that really touched me. As soon as both items were checked to fit, the small grade one kids would clutch them closely to their chest, hurry back to their seat and show their friends. And the next day as the kids wore their new gear to school, their pride was obvious and beaming – especially with the girls. New uniforms and shoes alone will not make a difference for these children and their country, but they are undoubtedly a symbol of the hope and confidence that education provides.



Photos: A few of our future leaders, proud of their new uniforms and ready to take on the world

ALL THE CASAVA YOU COULD EAT

As I stood in the middle of one of our school gardens, surrounded by cassava plants that came up past my shoulders and the beautiful hills of Sierra Leone, I felt an immense optimism for this fertile country. Two months before I came to Africa, the “Global Food Crisis” had hit and the foods and grains that are typically treated merely as a commodity in the West were decreasing in supply and increasing in price: Simple economics in a well-developed market economy. While people in Canada had to reach deeper into their pockets at the supermarket, higher prices of grains in Sierra Leone forced families to buy even less – often resulting in not just smaller meals, but fewer of them.

In a country with a vast and untapped agricultural potential, it is upsetting to know that it imports more food than it exports and that its people are malnourished and dependent on a market that they are rarely a part of. A systemic mix of poor infrastructure, lack of technology, politics and other factors that come with poverty have stunted the growth of agriculture in Sierra Leone and has kept its people from obtaining the “food sovereignty” they deserve. The potential is here, however, and our school gardens are a small and important step in the right direction. Our students are learning about agriculture and science and also get to eat what they grow when the crops are harvested. And as CAUSE Kids grows, so will the number of well-educated future farmers who will both feed and free their country. As always, a big thank you to all our supporters who are helping to nourish young minds, bodies and spirits!

Photos: A student waters some of the vegetables in the school garden and one of the mothers dishing out a big bowl of casava and sauce for lunch at the school.

A TEACHING MOMENT

An exciting part of my work so far with CAUSE Kids has been to see some of the school construction projects that CAUSE has undertaken. I have seen many schools that CAUSE has built in the last few years, and have been part of the renovation and building of two buildings (four classrooms) at one of our CAUSE Kids schools. These projects are all very tangible and impressive to see. One day I was visiting a building that we are considering rebuilding – it is a dark, mud-brick structure with dirt floors that one of our schools is using as a classroom for grades one and two. In spite of the darkness, however, what I heard has lit my imagination. “One banana, two banana, three banana . .” was the music coming from the grade one class as the teacher led the young scholars in learning how to count. Mirroring their teacher (who also had her baby on her back), the children were full of energy and excited to engage in their learning. It struck me then that whether these children were in a cramped mud-brick classroom or under a mango tree, their teacher would be inspiring them to learn and grow. I do not cease to be similarly inspired by the teachers here who overcome so many barriers to bring the light of education to so many children (up to 100 in a classroom). I am excited to work with Canadians in continuing to provide better environments for teachers to teach in, as well as investing in them with training, quality teaching resources and the support they need to shape our future.

Pictures:
1) Our Hero Grade One Teacher
2) Teacher Training: CAUSE Kids supports teachers in obtaining professional development and upgrading their skills

November Update

Greetings from Sierra Leone!

After almost two years of managing the CAUSE Kids program in Canada, I have moved to Sierra Leone to help support the program and wanted to send you a quick update on our activities and successes. Our local staff have been working hard and are doing a superb job of coordinating the program, and my role is to assist them in implementing better systems to serve you, our sponsors, as well as to help in expanding into more schools and communities. I have been meeting with CAUSE staff, teachers, councillors, other NGOs and the Ministry of Education to understand better how CAUSE Kids can continue to increase the quality of education in Sierra Leone.

Spending many hours in our schools over the last few weeks, I have been very encouraged by our work. Teachers have tol d me how the training they are receiving is making a difference in the classroom and that increased

books and supplies are helping the students to learn. They also told me that because of improvements in the schools there has been an increase in enrolment this year and that students are healthier and more attentive because of the nutrition they are receiving. The school gardens continue to be one of our greatest successes as vegetables and grains are harvested for breakfast and lunches. The schools have also retained many seeds and have created “seed banks” that will make the gardens sustainable for seasons and years to come.

One project I have been especially excited to be part of is our installation of solar lights in our three schools. Speaking with Isatu, one of the grade six students, I asked her what she thought CAUSE Kids could do that would be the most helpful in her school. Without knowing our plans, her answer was “to have lights in the school so that I could study at night for exams to get into secondary school.” One week later I was very moved to see her and her classmates in the school, after dark, studying their books.

I was also honoured to see students move into two newly “rehabilitated” classrooms. One of our sponsors chose to celebrate her 50th birthday by raising money to renovate one school building and build another new one in Koromansiliai.

A new foundation, improved drainage, larger (and more) windows, a concrete floor and new desks, benches and blackboards will be a better place to nurture young minds.

It has also been amazing to meet the many students who have just graduated to secondary school. Because it is our philosophy to support ALL the students in the schools (sponsored or not) we were able to provide tuition and uniforms for 109 girls and boys to continue their studies into junior-high. Predictably, without your generous support, less than half that number would have advanced past primary school. Your help and concern motivates the students to work hard and dream big.

I could go on for pages about all I have seen and the difference your support is making, but I will leave it at that for now. We are working to improve our website to get you better and more recent information so please check http://www.causekids.ca/ and look for more details.

Some of you have been asking about Christmas gifts for the students, or making a donation to CAUSE Kids. Because students have few reading materials, we are trying again this year to purchase a reading book for each student. The cost of seven books is $40 and if you wish one can be designated specifically to the student you sponsor.

Thank you everyone for your support and I hope the holiday season finds you and your families healthy and well with much to celebrate. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone from all the CAUSE Kids teachers, students, families and staff in Sierra Leone!

Introductions

Welcome to the CAUSE Kids Blog. With these stories we hope to share with you some of the successes, challenges and hopes for CAUSE Kids. As a quick introduction, the main contributor will be me, Travis Wilkins, and I have recently moved with my wife Erin to Sierra Leone to assist with the CAUSE Kids program. I have worked in the community development field for several years and in addition to a business degree, I recently completed a Masters in Education. What can I say; I love learning and believe that education is not only a right for every child, but it is a common path for all of humanity to find peace and prosperity. I hope that you will enjoy the stories!















Travis and some of the students after a tour of their village.