Refugee Education Sponsorship Program

We were recently contacted by somebody trying to locate a refugee program in Sierra Leone. We are not sure if these are the correct people, but they certainly seem to help refugee schools and runaways.

By clicking the links, they will take you to the original site this interview is taken from.

From there you will be able to contact them. Good luck nd hope this helps, as it certainly seems like they are doing a great deal to help.

Project Runaway: Sierra Leone

 

Interview with Alimamy Sekou Bangura

by Catherine Harris

RE-zine: Could you please tell us a bit about yourself, your background,how you became involved with iEARN?

Mr. Bangura: I am Mr. Alimamy Sekou Bangura, a Teacher Facilitator with the HIV/AIDS Project.

I taught for 8 years at several institutions and secondary schools in Sierra Leone, including: Agricultural Vocational Institute, Portloko, Northern Sierra Leone, (1991-1994), Albert Academy Secondary School, Freetown, (1998-2000). My interest in the Social Sciences has helped me transform the educational sector of iEARN Sierra Leone. I currently teach at the Government Model Secondary School in Freetown. I am dedicating my skills, and expertise, in volunteering in the iEARN HIV/AIDS education campaign to give meaning to the lives of persons affected with HIV/AIDS in Sierra Leone. I am a graduate from the Milton Margai College of Education and Technology, I hope I can use my enthusiasm to revive and transform the educational sector in the area of telecommunication technology, which is lacking in a developing country like Sierra Leone.

iEARN’s growing network of students in Sierra Leone gets a lot of media coverage about how the programs in IEARN have made a difference in students’ lives. One such student Ishmael Davies approached me first hand and talked about the program. He was happily awaiting my arrival like a new convert into the globe world of friendship and understanding made possible through the internet.
RE-zine: What are the aims of iEARN?

Mr. Bangura: Over the past three years, there has been a collective interest in connecting Sierra Leone children, youth and refugees to the Internet. For instance, iEARN Sierra Leone was established to develop the talents of youths in our information technology world, and to allow them to think critically about global issues affecting their lives, families, and communities as well. We also want to create community Internet centers country wide so our children and youth who are refugees, war affected children and women fighters, have opportunities to share their stories with their peers around the world. iEARN uses HIV/AIDS campaigns, Peace, No War Zone, Education through technology, Anti-drug campaigns, and Social unity Youth activism of global development as a way to passes its message to the youth/students and teachers/facilitators/adults in a suitable and easy way through student’s music.
RE-zine: How did iEARN and RESPECT first become involved with each other?

Mr. Bangura: This is a long history and I am not able to trace it from the root but I can explain how I came in contact with RESPECT. To start with, I was a head teacher facilitator for health issues especially HIV/AIDS in iEARN Sierra Leone, and also teaching at one of the refugee schools Government Model Secondary Schools over the years when the National coordinator for iEARN Mr. Andrew Benson Greene Jr. a long term friend introduce me to Marc Schaeffer the coordinator for RESPECT International Canada who is a long time friend who helped him to attend the Africa-Canada youth symposium that took place at the University of Canada because of my hard work in iEARN Sierra Leone. I decided to take my time to show case my involvement in the organization of iEARN Sierra Leone to Marc Schaeffer. He responded positively to my note he said “Alimamy it is a great pleasure to hear from you, I am very pleased indeed to hear about your positive experience working with iEARN and very important work you are doing with HIV/AIDS awareness. I welcome your effort to get other refugee schools and teachers in the RESPECT program. It is my great hope that this year will see Sierra Leone as one of the core Affiliates of RESPECT. Please do tell me when you become aware of schools that will be participating in our letter exchange program. Of course, snail-mailing us the form with the letters will suffice as well. Once a refugee school is participating in RESPECT, we also list them in our growing RESPECT refugee schools sites. As this sites grows, I think it will be a good resource for participating schools, and will help to give refugee schools some small web presence, that we can expand as desired.” It is there I started distributing refugee forms in schools facilitated by teachers.
RE-zine: How does RESPECT help your community?

Mr. Bangura: First, I must thank you for giving us space in the RESPECT e-zine. The letter exchange programme was a joy for the students making new friends and potential for long lasting friendship. RESPECT has helped our local community through RESPECT/iEARN student’s music, creating unity and friendship in all works of life. And equally erasing the bloody war stains in our minds replaced by friendship, peace, and development and through the quarter of music.
RE-zine: What do the young people in Sierra Leone learn by communicating with children from other countries?

Mr. Bangura: There are lots of things they gain during their communicating process.

1. Increasing their letter writing skills.
2. They learn their culture by seeing pictures of other people.
3. Learn new campaign and musical techniques.

RE-zine: What is your biggest achievement from the last years?

Mr. Bangura: I was appointed as Coordinator for iEARN Sierra Leone. I also succeeded on the letter exchange programs with students in Canada and Sierra Leone. On HIV/AIDS I collaborate with a teacher in Holland who is the National Coordinator iEARN Holland: Bob Hoffman. The title of the project is HIV/AIDS BEYOND MY BACK YARD 2003-2004 where about fifteen schools from different countries participate. See www.iearn.nl
RE-zine: What kind of challenges does everyone in your community face?

Mr. Bangura: Our community in Sierra Leone is faced with many challenges. The challenges range from acquiring basic needs, like shelter, food, students go to school on hungry stomach, clothing, and transportation. Most often refugee students go to school on hungry stomach. There is a lack of quality ICT tools as well as a lack of indoor and outdoor studies equipment to empower student and adult outreach.
RE-zine: How do the people respond to the challenges?

Mr. Bangura: We respond to these challenges by meeting with relief and humanitarian organizations like ADDRA, CARE, DCI-SL and making them aware of the plight of these children who are refugees through iEARN. Sometimes these organizations do help with basic needs like food, shelter and clothing. Personal contributions are made by iEARN Sierra Leone staff to aid the war affected youths and refugees with transportation to and from the center. Radio and TV coverage of the plight of those children is made possible by iEARN staff. The creation of a community access center is a great way to help our young people affected by war get ICT access as a post war strategy for capacity building.

We responded to this by renting musical instruments/equipment and video cameras. Students do grumble and become impatient over delay in getting these gadgets.
RE-zine: What are your hopes for Sierra Leone in the future?

Mr. Bangura: Our hopes for the future are to acquire better ICT tools, and transportation are our main challenges. We also hope for the students’ interest in music to be met by providing musical instruments and video equipment and hope for more collaboration in the future.

Project Runaway: Sierra Leone

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