Most people would agree that education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Education allows people to break through barriers and into better jobs and higher standards of living. It is one of the biggest propellants to success and improvement of any advantage the developing world could have.
However, the education situation in Sierra Leone is desperate. The Blood Diamond War devastated the region in all ways, including this one. During the colonial period, Sierra Leone was actually a leader in education – some of the first universities in the region were founded there. However, the country was so shattered by the war, infrastructure that put children through school were things that either suffered the destruction or fell by the wayside. Sierra Leone currently does not have enough school buildings, supplies or qualified teachers to educate its (approximately) 2.5 million children.
According to the CIA World Factbook, Sierra Leone has a very young population – the average age of a citizen of Sierra Leone is 19. The future of this country lies solely in its young people. There is no way around that fact. Without a well educated generation to take the place of the one before it, there is little hope for progress. Yet, Sierra Leone’s children are not getting the education they deserve. Also according to the CIA, about 35% of the population is literate – and for women, prospects are bleaker, with female literacy rates sitting at about 24%. These dismal statistics are put in a new light when one realizes that the average school life expectancy (age until which children stay in school) is 12 – 13 for boys, 11 for girls.
Sierra Leone’s children are being put at a huge disadvantage when they are deprived of a quality education. The country’s future is entirely dependent on a capable and educated generation, ready to lead a nation forward and compete on a global scale. While education may seem to be a superfluous afterthought, it is actually a very necessary investment in the future and stability of the country as a whole.
By Marisa NataleKhadarlis Volunteer Blogger
