Today was another day celebrating the determination of the Sierra Leone people; and in particular the children. We began the day visiting with the primary and secondary school children at our Bo School. This is a new school we dedication one year ago and already we have nearly 400 students! One of the very pressing needs that the school has is internet connection and computer technology as a means of allowing children to pursue science, mathematics, and language composition studies. The teaching staff are praying for it so that they can better prepare students for a technological world. It’s been determined that no public school in Bo has access to the internet for classroom purposes. If we - as a private nonprofit school could access the internet we could attract so many more children to attend school. We then traveled to our rural Bandawa campus primary school where we were greeted by signs and over 120 very happy children. Our team passed put pencils and schools supplies we brought over. We then toured our medical clinic and birthing clinic to see where women can safely give birth for no fees rather than risk the uncertain level of care and expense at the government hospital in downtown Bo. The government public hospital in Bo - like most all government hospitals across the country, are grossly understaffed and ill equipped to handle the number of emergency patients they see. Many of our Bandawa campus patients walk to our clinic for care rather than risk treatment in Bo. Needless to say our team members were each in despair after seeing the lack of basic cleanliness and care offered at the government facilities. After lunch we then walked through the crowded downtown Bo market where everything imaginable is sold on the street. All in all another fascinating day seeing Sierra Leone and its many challenges. Our needs at Seven Hills Global Outreach to continue our efforts in Sierra Leone are many. Funds for ‘one meal a day’ to serve to the 150 children in our primary school is greatly needed (33 cents per meal per child for 9 months per year would be a blessing; we need internet connection and the monthly cost of wireless service ($3000 for modems, wiring, etc - $120 per month for internet service - and 10 laptop computers would be a lasting gift). There are so many needs here in Sierra Leone but the return on that investment is life long offering hundreds of children and their families the promise of some future. The photos which follow are from our school visits today and our visit to the Bo government hospital. Stay tuned in for another update tomorrow.
Dr. D. Jordan - (“Dr. J”)