By Mary Sirah Kamara, Field Officer - Freetown
The Scholarships Program is one of One Girl’s core programs that is geared towards supporting young girls to stay in school.The program focuses on reducing some of the barriers to girls’ acess to education such as poverty, teenage pregnancy, early marriage, child abuse. We work to reduce high school dropout rate, and to subsequently increase the contributions of young girls to the development of their communities.
One Girl Programs Staff leading a discussion around scholars' academic performance
We are delighted to start the new (2021-2022) school year as part of the program across two districts in Sierra Leone; Freetown (Western Area Urban and Rural) and Tonkolili. Our team hosted a two-day Orientation and School Materials Distribution meeting for Scholars from across the two districts. Scholars were asked to come along with their parents/guardians. The meeting introduced One Girl’s expectations of Scholars for the new academic year, and also readdressed the role and responsibilities of parents/guardians in supporting the Scholars with their studies. We also explored ways to improve school punctuality, good behavior and also how proper parental supervision could be implemented to support Scholars' schooling. There was also space for the distribution of school materials, sanitary pads, monthly lunch funds to all continuing Scholars and to new recognised top Scholars; to encourage other Scholars to aspire to becoming Star Scholars in both Freetown and Tonkolili. A Star Scholar is an exceptional Scholar who is able to keep up her grades, treats others with respect, is punctual at school and regularly attends extra classes.
The meeting was kicked off with tough conversations around Scholars' performance in the 2020-2021 school year facilitated by One Girl’s Program Team. Top Scholars for the 2020-2021 academic year were presented with gifts to keep them motivated and were invited to give a brief motivational talk to encourage and inspire other Scholars to work hard to achieve their dreams.
One Girl’s Program Staff presenting a gift to a Star Scholar for 2020/2021 school year
Members of different communities (Education and Women’s Committees representatives) and Scholars’ parents/guardians were invited to share their advice and insights for both Scholars and other parents/guardians present. They made meaningful contributions such as: Scholars to make use of this golden opportunity as it is more powerful when a girl is educated, Scholars to avoid peers that will influence them negatively but rather click with positive and like-minded friends, parents to focus on Scholars school performance by proper and daily monitoring which includes parents engaging with teachers from time to time. At the end of this discussion, a role play was displayed by the parents/guardians and Committee representatives which also drew attention to some of their roles and responsibilities in supporting Scholars to become Star Scholars in the 2021-2022 academic year.
Some of the Scholars who received school materials for 2021-2022 academic year
The Programs Team distributed black backpack (bag) containing two pairs of black low heeled full shoes, two pairs of white school socks, one pair of ceremonial socks, eight ledger books, one box of blue ink pen, one geometry set, one scientific calculator, five face masks, school belts, beret/felt hat/veil, school uniforms with badges and school T-shirt to each Scholar at the end of the meeting. Girls were also provided with a printed study time table to help them plan for their daily studying/reading.
Back to School is an exciting time for all of us here at One Girl. We reflect on the year that was while making plans and looking forward to all the adventures the new year will bring! Here’s wishing all One Girl Scholars the very best of luck!
Click here to find out more about One Girl's Scholarship Program.
About the author - Mary Sirah Kamra
Mary is a Field Officers in Freetown, and coordinates all program activities in their designated area of operation. She also ensures that scholars are participating fully in the programs and achieving their full potential through regular monitoring and collaboration with focal teachers and the One Girl team.
