STREET CHILD’S ‘CHILDREN ON THE MARGINS’ PROJECT REACHES 31,000 CHILDREN IN SOUTHERN SIERRA LEONE

Thanks to the generosity of the public and the UK Government, Street Child has transformed the lives of 31,000 children in Southern Sierra Leone with our recently completed Children on the Margins program.

In Southern Sierra Leone, transition rates from elementary to high school are significantly lower than in the rest of the country. Children on the Margins sought to reach children who were least likely to make this transition and to address all the reasons holding them back, such as poverty, a lack of safe schools, and sexual and gender-based violence.

One of the biggest barriers to education in Sierra Leone is poverty. Street Child addresses this through our award-winning Family Business for Education program (FBE), which offers caregivers of out-of-school children a grant and training in business skills and financila literacy. They are supported to conceptualize and launch or expand a profitable small business over a 20-week period, on the condition that they use some of their profits to send at least one child to school. Children on the Margins reached 4,505 caregivers, enabling more than 8,000 children to access and remain in education as a direct result of the program. Providing caregivers with the skills and money to set up their own businesses is crucial to establishing a sustainable pathway to education for their children.

Many children in rural Sierra Leone liv4e too far away from the nearest school to attend. To address this Street Child established 80 elementary schools, working with the local community to build and renovate classrooms, train teachers and provide learning resources. As a result, 18,000 children were enrolled in school over three years. We also worked with principals to establish income generation activities for the schools themselves - for example growing and selling crops - to generate a profit with which the schools can afford to pay teachers an appropriate salary and maintain the school in good physical condition. 

Our approach also recognizes that some children are at higher risk of dropping out of school than others. Children from single carer households, who are living with disabilities or are pregnant teens are often the most likely to be forgotten. To ensure we reached the most marginalized, Street Child provided tailored psychosocial support and therapy for 6,000 children, ensuring that every child received support specific to their needs. Furthermore, we establiashed ‘life clubs’ within the community to serve as a safe space where children could learn about social issues such as sexual and gender-based violence and teen pregnancy.

Street Child would like to express our enormous gratitude to everyone who donated to the program; thanks to your support we have been able to deliver life-changing education to 31,000 children.