education
sierra leone communinty in minnesota
educational programs
Our education programming focuses on three key areas
Scholarships for college-bound students in Minnesota
Scholarships and school supplies support for primary and secondary/high school students in Sierra Leone
STEM programming – Promoting activities and working with organizations that encourage students of color to engage on Science, technology, Engineering, Math and other sciences
SLCM continues its support of education in Minnesota through donation of bookbags and supplies and scholarships for higher education.
We also support over 200 students in Sierra Leone through the Sierra Leone Aid Initiative.
http://www.ayvnewspaper.com/news/sierra-leone-aid-initiative-supports-over-200-orphans-pupils/
In Sierra Leone, through the Sierra Leone Aid Initiative, we provide tuition where needed, supply books, uniforms, structural building supports, and teacher supplements for schools and orphanages in the western area and Koidu district.
LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
Our education support programming focuses on three key areas:
- Scholarships for college-bound students in Minnesota, and schools supplies for K-12 students
- Scholarships and school supplies support for primary, secondary school, and orphanage students in Sierra Leone
- STEM programming – Promoting activities and working with organizations that encourage students of color to engage on science, technology, Engineering, Math, and other sciences
In the US . . .
Since 2014, SLCM has awarded over 60 annual scholarships ranging from $300 to $600 dollars per person to college-bound students and students in first year of college. Eligible students must have at least one parent be from Sierra Leone or of Sierra Leonean heritage. They must be in 12th grade preparing for college or be in Year 1 as a full-time college student. So far, we have been fortunate to award scholarships to all eligible applicants.
We also provide free bookbags with supplies each year for K-12 students in need. This event
In Sierra Leone . . .
In Sierra Leone, through the Sierra Leone Aid Initiative (SLAI), we provide tuition where needed, supply books, uniforms, structural building supports, and teacher supplements for schools and orphanages in the western area and Koidu district. We serve primary and secondary school students, as well as orphanages. SLAI has helped over 5,000 students and families since 2000. This program in SL is supported by other partners such as:
Grace Lutheran Church in Saint Paul, MN, ( https://www.gracelutheran.fyi/ and various individual donors providing funds for tuition, lunches, uniforms, school bags, school supplies, and teacher support.
Read an article about our 2022 distributions here:
http://www.ayvnewspaper.com/news/sierra-leone-aid-initiative-supports-over-200-orphans-pupils/
SLCM also supports scholarly artistic expression in Sierra Leone through initiatives such as the dynamic “Discovering
the Hidden Pens” poetry competition in Sierra Leone. https://www.facebook.com/Poetsofthelionmountains
LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES
about the
Sierra Leone Aid Initiative (SLAI)
SLAI is a member organization under SLCM. SLAI was founded by eight Minnesota families in 1998 to address the problem of Street Children in Freetown after the rebel invasion of the capital on January 6, 1998. Street children were defined by the government of Sierra Leone as child victims of the civil war that have lost homes and families, and had no apparent family connections or home to go to. While there were many such children in the entire country, Freetown was especially populated by Street Children because many of them, having lost families and homes, found their way to the capital. Within the decade after the official end of the war, street children still proliferated the streets of Freetown and were subject to human trafficking.
While managing a clinic and foster home in Sierra Leone, SLAI solicited donations from individuals and churches in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul to provide food, shelter, and basic medical care for the children. A few years later, SLAI formed a partnership with another organization that assisted street children called the Leonenet Street Children Project (LSCP). Ms. Pinkie McCann-Willis served as the first Country Director for LSCP. Ms. Clementina Kamara, who passed away in 2006, was the first Country Director for the joint services of SLAI and LSCP. Services offered included basic family care of food, shelter, and clinical services. SLAI and LSCP also worked with United Nations organizations and other non-governmental organizations to provide family reunification services for the children.
The next stage of service provision was placement in foster care facilities around the Western area for children without families. SLAI also provided placement assistance in schools, and later provided tuition and book assistance and scholarships for many of the children.
For most of the period between 2010 and 2019, the majority of SLAI’s services go towards disbursement of scholarships for school fees, books and uniforms for children in twenty-four schools in the Western area and an orphanage in Bo. Scholarships for secondary schools students were for school fees only, and are awarded on a three year basis, starting either at the start of Junior Secondary School (JSS), or at the start of Senior Secondary School (SSS). For primary school students, school fees were lower or not applicable, so SLAI included provision for books and uniforms. The Country Director monitors student progress, and interacts with families and school administrators to process payments and provide reports to the SLAI administration in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Since the government of president Bio announced free tuition in schools, SLAI has expanded the support program to include more schools and school supplies. In many instances, “other fees” have replaced tuition and so SLAI makes assessments of needs and applies the support resources accordingly
about our
Greater stem program
The Greater STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program was formally incorporated into our programs in 2016. In addition to a mission to increase literacy in science and technology, our version of STEM programming is an expansion of STEM to include students of all ages, and the creation of a network of parents and volunteers to help kids with their homework. This initiative provides young minds opportunities to build skills in critical thinking collaboration, communication and creativity in problem-solving.
Please see photos of some of the activities our students have been involved with over the past couple of years.
