International Day of the African Child Events

In early July, 2017, Hope for Lives in Sierra Leone helped to celebrate International Day of the African Child. With the help of our good friends and partners, the staff of the Hill Valley Hotel in Freetown, we prepared meals for over 3,000 school kids, teachers and administrators. We also made use of our new ice cream machine for a cold treat on a hot day. There was also a soccer tournament, for which we prepared a trophy for the winners. You can see more great photos of the festivities on the Flickr page. 

Dedication of Hope for Lives Computer Lab at St. Anthony's School

We've been working on the Hope for Lives Computer Lab at St. Anthony's School for over a year now. We built the structure right next to the Hope for Lives Library and have been working on installation and configuration of the computers with the help of our IT guy and trainer Kemoh Tarawally.

Father Bassey of St. Anthony's Parish officially dedicated the computer lab in late September to coincide with the beginning of classes. We have to thank Jimmy Bruzon and Action4Schools for making improvements to the roof over the last two months as our lab building took a beating during the rainy season.

The Hope for Lives Computer Lab building (and the library) is on the boys side of the school, which is why most of the pics here are of the boys. Be assured however, that the girls and all of the school kids have regularly scheduled access to the computers. Our plan to make the computer lab sustainable is to allow the general public paid access as an internet cafe and to offer printing and other services. Public access will be scheduled around the school kids, who get first priority.

Father Bassey leading dedication ceremony for St. Anthony's Computer Lab

Father Bassey saying blessing for Hope for Lives at St. Anthony's Computer Lab

Father Bassey cutting ribbon at dedication for Hope for Lives at St. Anthony's Computer Lab

Father Bassey opening the for Hope for Lives at St. Anthony's Computer Lab

Students eagerly waiting for opening of Hope for Lives at St. Anthony Computer Lab

Happy school kids at opening of St. Anthony's Computer Lab

Workstations at St. Anthony's Computer Lab

Father Bassey and Assistant with our IT guy, Kemoh Tarawally

Librarian Mary Tucker and IT manager Kemoh Tarawally w/ 2 teachers

School kids working on computers for the first time

Our IT manager/computer trainer Kemoh Tarawally with teaching school kids

School kids giving their thumbs-up for the new computer lab

Boys class with their hand painted banner

Boys class with hand painted banner of the Hope for Lives logo

Parting shot with boys class and hand painted banner

New Water Station at St. Anthony's School is Complete

The new water station and well at St. Anthony's School was completed just in time for the new school year. We're so grateful to Bishop Fitzgerald School, Action4Schools and Water4Foundation for donating the funds and coordinating construction of the new well.

In addition to the new water station, Action4Schools replaced several of the dilapidated roofs that resulted in water damage to the classrooms during the rainy season. The roof that feeds rainwater into the cistern was also replaced so the school now has two sources of water to serve the 3,000 boys and girls who attend the school. Here's a link to the Action4schools website with additional galleries http://www.action4schools.gi/st-anthonys-school-brookfields-freetown/

Bishop Fitzgerald Middle School and Action4Schools Donate Well at St. Anthonys

St. Anthony's School is the recipient of a very generous donation by the Bishop Fitzgerald Middle School (in Gibraltar) and Action4Schools. They donated the funds and coordinated to install a new well at the school, providing water for the nearly 3,000 schoolkids. Currently, the only source of water at the school is a cistern that collects rainwater from the roof, dependent on rainfall to keep up with a heavy demand for water.

Action4Schools is a small volunteer charity based in Gibraltar that has been supporting schools in Sierra Leone since 2007.  Action4schools mainly concentrate on refurbishing schools and providing water wells to needy schools.

We would like to thank the people of Gibraltar for supporting Action4schools' work and especially thank the children and staff at Bishop Fitzgerald Middle School for their kind support, they are making a huge difference to the lives of the children at St Anthony's School and the community at large.