Affia Primary School

The village of Affia is approximately five kilometres from the town of Kabala with an approximate population of 973, most of which women and children. Affia and the surrounding communities are predominantly Muslim and the main economic activity is crop farming intermingled with raising sheep and goats.

Established in 2002, Affia Primary School became a CAUSE Kids partner school in 2009 through a connection with River Park Baptist Church in Calgary, AB. The school struggled with classroom congestion until 2010, when a new three-classroom structure was erected through funds from CAUSE Kids. There are four other community villages that are sending their kids to the Affia school.

The village provides agricultural support to the school for the breakfast and lunch program. The school has latrines and a well rehabilitated by CAUSE Canada.

Recently the community has shown their interest in furthering their children’s education by establishing a Secondary school. Children from the community and surrounding area who graduated from Class 6 in 2010 are able to begin Form 1 in Affia.

Three teachers in Affia are qualified teachers and three more are pursuing their qualification through the Distance Education Program with support from CAUSE Kids.  Since partnering with CAUSE Kids, enrolment has increased from 139 to 237 (136 boys, 101 girls).

Baptist Primary School

Two strong structures exist on the schoolyard, providing adequate class space for classes 1-6. One building was built through a government program and the other through funds from CAUSE Kids. Due to a lack of quality teaching and basic learning materials, CAUSE Kids saw the need to begin a partnership with the school. With support from UNICEF, CAUSE Kids has been able to provide support for basic learning materials and, in 2008, CAUSE Kids began our sponsorship program in the school.

Students now receive education from five trained and qualified teachers. Three of the teachers at Baptist Primary received training through the help of CAUSE Kids.

Along with the two three-classroom buildings, Baptist Primary School has latrines and functioning water well.

Koromasilia Primary School

Established in 2003, Koromasilia Primary was the first CAUSE Kids School. The school has three structures, one of which was built by the Bangladesh Peace Keeping force, another through support by UNICEF and the third through CAUSE Kids with funds from a generous Canadian donor.

An agricultural community, predominately Muslim, the people of Koromasilia are active in their support of the school. The school originally came about through the efforts of Mr. A.B. Conteh who began by teaching 20 students.  Following years saw greater support from other families in the community.

A six-mile trek from Kabala, students who attended Secondary school faced a long commute.  In 2010, Koromasilia established a Secondary School, providing students moving into Form 1 the opportunity of studying in the village. All 39 students who graduated in 2010 are attending the new Junior Secondary School, receiving their education from qualified volunteers from Northern Polytechnic in Makeni. Out of the eight teachers (6 male, 2 female) five have received training through the Distance Education Program

The school has latrines and a water well.

Sulimania Primary School

Located 6 miles from Kabala, the primary school in Sulimania has been running since 2005. Classroom space and school furniture had been an issue for the past years, with the older students meeting under a leaky thatched roof. Thanks to a generous Canadian donor, a bright blue and pink school is the first structure that greets visitors to the town. 

Newly constructed through funds from CAUSE Kids, this school building increases class space to accommodate students in classes 1-6, and new desks and benches have been provided. 

Sulimania is a largely Muslim town and the school enjoys good participation from the community. The community has provided a swamp for rice and land for a school garden, providing fresh produce for school meals. Irrigation techniques are being used that allow two crops of rice from the swamp, doubling its output. The school has latrines and a well, rehabilitated by CAUSE Kids. There is a clinic in the town, but no resident nurse in the village.

Of the six teachers, only the headmaster has received official training though all have received new teaching and learning materials. Since partnering with CAUSE Kids, school enrolment has more than doubled from 102 in 2008 to 209 in 2010.

Wesleyan Church of Sierra Leone Primary School

Established in 1984, WCSL is a Christian school in Kabala. The three classroom buildings form a “U,” setting the schoolyard apart from the town around it. 

All three buildings are sound, the newest one recently completed as part of a government project. CAUSE Kids helped to renovate another, with the oldest building constructed by the Ahmadiyya Mission.

Since partnering with CAUSE Kids, WCSL has been transformed from a few classrooms with virtually no desks and chairs and few learning resources into a school with textbooks and teacher’s resources in every class and sufficient furniture for all the students. 

Of the ten teachers (4 male, 6 female) five are qualified teachers, one is a trained Theologian, and three are currently pursuing training through the Distance Education Program with support from CAUSE Kids. The school has latrines and a well and the enrolment is approximately 440.

Heremakono Primary School

Established in 1976, the Heremakono primary school sits atop a hill in the small town 8 miles outside of Kabala. Students from six surrounding villages attend the school. This school currently is the latest to become fully-supported by CAUSE Kids.

The students in classes 1-6 are cramped in one two-classroom structure and a small house for staff. Space is clearly an issue as enrolment is resting at the 400 mark.

The students enjoy strong agricultural support from their community. Meals are augmented by crops grown by the community and funds from selling the produce in markets. The school does still lack basic teaching and learning materials, and only one latrine serves all 400 students.

The school has four trained teachers and a strong School Management Committee and Mother’s Club, groups designed to support the school and community.

Senekedugu Primary School

Established in 1994, the primary school in Senekedugu was blessed to receive a new structure through a government program. Despite this, a second older structure had becoming increasingly unsafe and the school needed a new building to provide safe and adequate space for all of the students in the village.  CAUSE Kids is delighted to announce that a new school building was officially constructed and handed over to the community in June of 2011.

The community has large agricultural potential and hosts several other CAUSE Canada programs. While the school has latrines, there is no water well, forcing students to draw water from the stream. The school also benefits from strong community support and has a health clinic near by.

Of the 7 teachers (5 male, 2 female), three have received training and one is pursuing training through the Distance Education Program. Current enrollment is approximately 207.