Pam Parish

Walking through Kroo Bay, I was completely surprised by the number of children hanging around. It was the middle of the day and hundreds of children roamed around, most with baskets or bowls of items on their heads for sell. Those that weren’t selling were too young and just roamed around, seemingly unattended by any adult. I had never understood child labor until I saw it in Sierra Leone first-hand. The shear number of children, as young as 6, selling things to make money for their families was unsettling.  Most of these children were war-orphans who have settled in Kroo Bay with adults who took them in – in a lot of cases, the reason for taking them in was to put them to work to help provide for the household.

In what seemed like the very heart of Kroo Bay is another part of the trash-filled river with a bridge walkway to cross. It is upon this river, filled with trash & pigs, that the brightest beam of hope in Kroo Bay sits - the Sandra Hairston Literacy Center. As we began to cross the bridge the sounds of children singing could be heard coming from a small building sitting right at the water’s edge.  It was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Crossing this bridge in the heart of poverty and squalor the likes of which I’d never before experienced, only to hear the sweetest sound of a chorus of African children’s voices singing praises to God. I’ll never forget the feeling of hope and true awe that I felt at that moment.

We stepped off of the walkway back onto the muddy ground and made our way onto the small porch area of the school. Awaiting us on the porch were several of the Kroo Bay council members, dressed in formal African attire, beautiful robes and hats and the school’s headmaster. The porch was divided into two sections with one whole side sectioned off by a piece of cloth to make an additional classroom.

The building that houses the school is very small, in whole about the size of our family’s two-car garage. The inside was divided into four separate classrooms based on the ages of the students with two classrooms operating on the front and back covered porch areas of the building. In all, about 200 students attend the Literacy school.
That morning, as we had loaded up the jeeps to travel to Kroo Bay, Joan had handed me a handwritten paper by the school’s headmaster, intended to give me the background of the school.

I can find no better words than those he wrote, I will re-type it for you here:

Documentary Sandra Hairston Literacy Center, Kroo Bay, Freetown, Short History, Present Status and Its Impact

Sandra Hairston Literacy Center is located within the Kroo Bay community. Kroo Bay is one of the well-known slums within the Freetown Municipality with little or no infrastructural development such as pipeborne water, educational facilities, electricity, improved housing system, road network and a general poor surrounding. The general outlook of the slum is tantamount to a village setting. Poverty of the people is a matter of great concern.

Kroo Bay holds approximately ten thousand residents mostly muslims that hailed from different parts of Sierra Lone. The Kroo ethnic group of Sierra Leone were the first to settle or inhabit and as fishermen, built sheds to continue their fishing activities. Later, other ethnic groups joined in, more so during the rebel incursion with little or no hopes of returning to their places of origin.

Sandra School was established in 2006 with twenty-six registered kids under the supervision of Madam Rogers, the voluntary teacher then. The establishment of the school can be traced far back following the Joshua International Ministries’ Campaigns to train children in the gospel as commanded by God in Proverbs 22:6. During this era, the desire was expressed to introduce a non-formal school system for the less fortunate kids residing in the slum. The school became Sandra Hairston Literacy Center for the Underprivileged Children – children whose parents do not have the opportunity to send them to the normal school system. Majority of these kids do not live with their biological parents and engaged in some form of child labour. No government aid is directed towards the education of the acclaimed children.

As an integral part of Joshua International Ministries, Sandra School is based on Christian principals, providing both educational and spiritual reliefs. An hours Bible teachings followed by basic building blocks of learning to read and write including numerical skills form the basis of the programme. These skills are interwoven that children can do to build a formidable foundation upon which future learning will be well meaning. Although still grappling with the problem of accommodation, therefore shifting from one place to another, Sandra School is fast gaining popularity.

Over the years, the school has incurred remarkable improvement. The population of children and teachers have increased – over two hundred children and six teaching staff. The school functions on a daily basis like any school in the country between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. with the normal school syllabus considered.

It is shared concern that education in a slum like Kroo Bay is often a strange phenomenon and therefore cannot succeed because the people are poor and not enlightened. However, the school is confirming this beyond all reasonable doubt that the school will stand firm to help the children acquire their God-given rights (education) to better their lives and to know God. It is therefore interesting to note that the school is progressing and therefore make lee-way in the slum. The school has become to be viewed as a golden opportunity by those in the slum as a golden opportunity they can seize to make progress, a situation others still view as negative and pulled back.
Sandra School is free for all in the slum and the burden of the expenditure rests squarely on management, ranging from the acquisition of space, furniture, stationary to the payment of the staff year round. The children now realize this gesture and in appreciation always recite their thank you with opened hearts and joy for all God has done. For His divine direction and protection. “We embrace and say, Thank You, Jesus, thank you Miss Sandra and thank you Auntie Joan.”  Since its inception, the school has made notable impact in the lives of the children – a situation the parents admire by their visit to the school to appreciate by simply thank you to me and the teachers. The impacts of Sandra School in Kroo Bay are:
1.    Free Education. A lot of children who did not attend school before now find themselves in school. The burden of schooling which prevented most of these parents from sending their children to school has been removed.
2.    Joy & Hope. The school has given the parents joy, hope and confidence to see their children go to school like other children do in the normal school system. They are confident that their children will be well educated.
3.    Awareness & Change of Bad Attitudes. Before the establishment of the school, the children had it that the best life to live was fighting, gambling and abusing each other everyday. The school witnessed this behavior when initially opened. The school has molded their characters by prayers and constant watch.
4.    Material Benefit (Shoes). The children and the parents are grateful to the president for their receipt of shoes before the school closed for the vacation. A lot of these kids who had no foot wears now have them.
5.    Good Health Habits. Washing hands before and after food can be observed during school hours. The soap supplied to the school is used for this purpose.
6.    Motivation to Be in School. With constant work done both class and homework and making sure the teachers see and mark (attendance) always motivate the kids to come to school. The only obstacle to this is heavy rains.
7.    The Longing to Worship God. Singing, prayers and recitation of scriptures are becoming habits. Singing praise and worship songs have replaced the children’s own community songs that do not praise God. The recitation of scriptures help them t know God’s word and improve their English Skills (poetry).
8.    The Cultures of Obedience, Love for Each Other and Honesty. The children now developed the cultures of honesty, obedience and love for each other. This is seen through the joy of learning together in class, reporting missing pencils and books to teachers and complaining offenders and ready to wait for an authority’s decision.
9.    Respect for Each Other and Authority. The children show respect for each other and authority. This was not possible because the children could do or behave to people rudely. The school has taught them the benefit of respecting others – you can be respected in turn and this can allow your stay with others.
10.    Exposure. The children are exposed to out door programmes like match pass and conference. By meeting with different people, they make new friends and realize that they are not the only children in Sierra Leone. Also, the children realize that there are other good things to see and do rather tan ‘bondo dance’ and ‘bubu dance’
In future, Sandra School is seen as a great school with structures put in place, such as better housing and improved salary structures, a lot of graduates will be attracted to the school and the children will be well motivated. In the space of two years to come, the first batch of pupils will be exposed to the National Primary School Examination (N.P.S.E) to get to Junior Secondary School.
The parents are clinged on this hope. The school should be registered with the Ministry of Education in the country to ensure confidence in the parents and the community as a whole.
Children’s Stories:
Focoh Banqura
I am Focoh Banqura in Class 4. I am 14 years old. Before coming to Sandra School, I attended the FAWE School where, due to school fees was driven from school. We used to pay a fee of twenty-five thousand Leones ($0.83 U.S.), which my mother could not afford. I used to sell cold water and mosquito coil for my mother to make a living. My father no longer lives with my mother and life is difficult for us.
Hajaratu Kamara
My name is Hajaratu Kamara in Class 4. I am 12 years old. I attended at a certain school at Kissi, the East-end of Freetown. Our house at Kissi was burnt down and later we transferred to Kroo Bay to live with my Grandmother. I longed to attend FAWE but no money to pay school fees. I used to sell cold water and foofoo to make a living. With Sandra School, the worry of fees is banished. I now love God and attend Bible School every Saturday.

Fatmata Banqura:
I am Fatmata Banqura aged 12. I am in Class 4. I used to attend at an Islamic Primary School in Kono, Eastern Sierra Leone. After the death of my father, my mother and I transferred or moved to Freetown where I attended FAWE. However, because of school fee of twenty-five thousand Leones ($0.83 U.S.), I was asked out from school and then later I registered with Sandra School. I now have the joy of not paying school fees and my mother too is happy about the school. I find the school interesting everyday.

Faithfully Submitted,
F.M. Lamin
Head Teacher

As we approached the school building, many of the words from Mr. Lamin’s letter rang in my head, most especially the words of the children themselves.

Transformed by the journey,

Pam Parish

Read my journey from the beginning:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4 - Part 1

Day 4 - Part 2

Day 5 - Part 1