Kakondobie Primary School

In north-eastern Sierra Leone, around 26 miles (42 km) from Kabala, the district headquarters town of Koinadugu, lies the Kakondobie community. The majority of the village’s inhabitants are farmers. Sierra Leone is desperately poor. It ranks 184 out of 189 countries on the Human Development index in 2018, the same year the Sierra Leonean government embraced “free” education for all. Not surprisingly, the governmental program has focused more heavily on populated areas. Although parents in rural communities receive free education, they still have to pay for school supplies which can create a barrier for their children to receive an education.

While the costs are not substantial by American standards, many of the parents in Kakondobie cannot easily afford it. Uniforms are $8.00. Shoes cost $10.00. Textbooks are $10.00 per dozen! The 215 children attending Kakondobie Primary School also receive one meal each school day. Sadly, enrollment has dropped 50% due to hardship.

The primary school is more relaxed on the uniform, shoes, and textbook requirements, but those are not optional to attend high school. In fact, many of the teachers at the primary school are volunteer high-school graduates, eager to help the younger children stay in school. Education is very important to the people of the village. They understand that education is the key to the future.

Our goal is to raise funds to help the children attend school as well as obtain more training for their teachers. Raising funds to help the children attend school would help offset the costs that families would have to pay for school. Currently, those that are volunteer teachers receive a small compensation from the community. If the volunteer teachers receive funds to gain their teaching certifications, they can be recruited by the government to teach and would be paid by the government, helping both the students and the local economy.

Thank you for taking the time to read and learn a little bit about Kakondobie Village. Your donation, no matter the amount, would deeply impact the children, their families, and the community of Kakondobie. To be able to send children to school without parents having to worry about tuition costs and allowing the volunteer teachers to receive teaching certification will allow the children to receive higher quality education, the teachers to receive more income and help support the community of Kakondobie.