A collection of news, updates, information and personal stories from trips to Sierra Leone.
What a amazing sight seeing the K and Pre schoolers of Home of Hope Primary school in Waterloo Freetown, during their track and field sporting event.
Hope for Lives has been doing the best we can to give our support to Home of Hope Primary school. Thanks to Rev. Samuel Mansaray for all his wonderful work at the school.
Hope for Lives is committed to serve the younger generation in Sierra Leone!
In commemoration of the World Book Day, Hope for Lives celebrated with students of St Anthony School for boys at the Hope for Lives library.
Also, during the 2018-2019 school year, our computer theory classes have been wonderful as the pupils are willing and excited to learn all about computers and get hands on training and experience in our computer lab.
Even with packed classes and tight schedules on the syllabus our hope for Lives teachers continue to teach the pupils about computer literacy and its importance for the future leaders of Sierra Leone.
In late January, the President of the Republic Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio did a tour at the Saint Anthony School in Freetown together with the Minister of basic education.
It was a profound privilege during their visit to have the minister of basic education visit Hope for Lives computer lab and library, who suggested a collaborative idea between Hope For Lives and the government of Sierra Leone to help teach teachers from other schools learn computer skills. See full size photos in our Flickr gallery here.
As you all already know, Hope For Lives has been providing free efforts to the educational and health system for the past years in Sierra Leone and at Saint Anthony school we were able to build a computer lab and library for the school children.
With the free education program launched by the president, it has been a win-win situation for organizations like us and we look forward to giving our unflinching support to the government of Sierra Leone through the ministry of basic education in the free education agenda for all children in Sierra Leone, as they are our priority.
Our beloved country comes first when it comes to Hope for Lives in Sierra Leone. We're a non-governmental organization. We will always work with the government to help support children in Sierra Leone.
We had a couple opportunities to visit the amazing children at Sierra Leone’s National School for the Deaf & Mute in Freetown, distributing books and providing food for the school children. Precious Amabel Lebby of Hope for Lives, together with Humaniq (Norway) provided a wonderful Christmas celebration and talked about Hope for Lives efforts in Sierra Leone. Over 100 students and kids from the area attended our Christmas party . Please give us your support help families of these children pay for their tuition and help this unique school to continue to serve the deaf and mute school kids in Freetown. View full size images in the Flickr photo gallery.
Here are some photos of a visit to talk to school kids about Hope for Lives in Sierra Leone. Waterloo is in the Western Area Rural District and is the 2nd largest city in Sierra Leone, after Freetown.
NIHR Research Unit IN UK !
Look whose photo was on the front page of a research study all the way from Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. The Institute for Global Health and Development at Queen Margaret University.
Ten years ago, my first visit back to Sierra Leone in over 20 years was to attend the funeral of my father, whose death was a result of untreated high blood pressure. A few years later, on one of my visits to Sierra Leone, I did a series of impromptu screenings in Freetown. Of the 200 hundred+ men and women I checked around the country, 3 out of every 10 were hypertensive. I distributed flyers with information on the risks of high blood pressure, which left untreated, can cause blockages in the arteries leading to your heart and brain, potentially causing a heart attack or stroke. It also emphasized the importance of screening and treatment.
Throughout Sierra Leone, the lack of public health education and limited access to screening for common conditions were major contributors to the high premature death rates in Sierra Leone.
Research Summary from the NCD Study
‘Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, as well as disability burden worldwide, disproportionately affecting people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Without commensurate measures to mitigate the increasing burden, morbidities and mortalities attributable to NCDs are projected to continue, particularly in LMICs where NCD- related mortalities could increase to 41.8 million by 2030 compared to 30.8 million in 2015. A cross-sectional population-based survey found high prevalence of NCD risk factors (e.g. tobacco use, alcohol consumption, raised blood pressure, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity) among adult (aged 25-64 years) Sierra Leoneans. Nonetheless, there is dearth of research evidence on burden, as well as interventions and policies to mitigate the observed NCD trend in Sierra Leone, as in other LMICs.’
Download the study here. https://www.qmu.ac.uk/.../ncd-scoping-review-14092018.pdf
Impressive Week!
Another impressive week by Hope for Lives Dream Team. We were able to deliver a large number of donated books to two schools, Zoda Preparatory School in Waterloo and Nabaweya Islamic primary school in Kaningo, all with the support of our interns, (even crossing over a wooden bridge) to deliver the books and donated items. Seeing the smiling faces of these school children is the greatest reward for the hard work of our Hope for Lives team.
As we promised, God willing, we will continue to render our support for the free quality education program in Sierra Leone. Every child has the right to an education.
