Education the only way out of poverty-( construction of community school and renovation of schools demolished during civil war)

OVERVIEW OF COUNTRY
Sierra Leone, country of western Africa. The country owes its name to the 15th-century Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, the first European to sight and map Freetown harbour. The original Portuguese name, Serra Lyoa (“Lion Mountains”), referred to the range of hills that surrounds the harbour.
ETHNIC GROUPS
There are about 18 ethnic groups that exhibit similar cultural features, such as secret societies, chieftaincy, patrilineal descent, and farming methods. The Mende, found in the east and south, and the Temne, found in the centre and northwest, form the two largest groups. Other major groups include the Limba, Kuranko, Susu, Yalunka, and Loko in the north; the Kono and Kisi in the east; and the Sherbro in the southwest. Minor groups include the coastal Bullom, Vai, and Krim and the Fulani and Malinke, who are immigrants from Guinea concentrated in the north and east. The Creoles—descendants of liberated blacks who colonized the coast from the late 18th to the mid-19th century—are found mainly in and around Freetown. Throughout the 19th century, blacks from the United States and West Indies also settled in Sierra Leone. Ethnic complexity is further enhanced by the presence of Lebanese and Indian traders in urban centres.
ECONOMY
There were growing economic difficulties in the 1980s, including a heavy external debt burden, escalating costs of food and fuel imports, and erratic mineral-export production. Substantial devaluations of the national currency, the leone, also occurred, and a series of economic stabilization programs supported by the International Monetary Fund were initiated to address these problems. Foreign investment, which centred on the mineral sector, declined drastically after the start of the civil war in 1991. Bauxite and rutile mines, the producers of most of the export earnings, closed in 1995. By the time the war ended in 2002, much of the formal economy had been destroyed, and the government was faced with the arduous task of rebuilding the country’s economic infrastructure.
AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, AND FISHING
Shifting agriculture, a system of cultivation that employs plot rotation in an effort to preserve soil fertility, is the technique largely practiced in Sierra Leone. More than three-fifths of the population engage in agricultural production, primarily for the domestic market but some also for export. Rice, the main food crop, is widely cultivated on swampland and upland farms. Swamp rice cultivation is concentrated in the lower reaches of river basins, of which the Scarcies is the most important. Efforts are being made to reduce upland rice farming, with its attendant soil erosion, in favour of swampland farming, with its superior yields. Other food crops include millet, peanuts (groundnuts), cassava (manioc), sweet potatoes, and oil palms. Vegetable gardening is important around the major urban centres, where markets are available to farmers. The major cash crops are palm kernels, cocoa, coffee, piassava, and ginger, and production is carried out entirely by small-scale farmers. Agricultural production declined drastically during the civil war.
Forest covers more than one-third of the country, the most important area of which is the Gola Forest Reserves, a tract of primary tropical rainforest near the Liberian border. Timber is produced for the domestic and export markets and includes Guarea cedrata, a cedar-scented, pink, mahogany-type wood, and the Lophira alata variety procera.
Sierra Leone’s many waterways are the home of many varieties of fish, such as bonga (a type of shad), butterfish, snapper, and sole. The coastal waters contain such shellfish as shrimp, lobster, and oysters. The country should be an ideal place for commercial fishing, but illegal activity by foreign fisheries and the years of civil war severely affected this sector. After the end of the civil war, the sector began to show gradual improvement.
INDEPENDENCE
After World War II the British government gave in to nationalist demands in Sierra Leone, as elsewhere in West Africa. Democratic institutions were hurriedly constituted. The small Creole minority hoped to entrench their rights politically, but the 1951 constitution gave control to the majority. The government elected under it was led by Milton (later Sir Milton) Margai of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), a predominantly protectorate party.
During the 1950s, parliamentary institutions on the British pattern were introduced in stages. The last stage was reached on April 27, 1961, when Sierra Leone became an independent state within the Commonwealth.
CIVIL WAR
The difficulties in the country were compounded in March 1991 when conflict in neighbouring Liberia spilled over the border into Sierra Leone. Momoh responded by deploying troops to the border region to repel the incursion of Liberian rebels known as the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), led by Charles Taylor. Sierra Leone’s army came under attack not only from the NPFL but also from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), led by former Sierra Leone army corporal Foday Sankoh, who was collaborating with the Liberian rebels; this was the beginning of what would be a long and brutal civil war. An official end to the civil war was declared in January 2002. By that time, it was estimated that at least 50,000 people had died, with hundreds of thousands more affected by the violence and some 2,000,000 people displaced by the conflict.
POST-CIVIL WAR
The first post-civil war, elections were held in May 2002, with Kabbah winning reelection with a majority of the vote. Kabbah’s administration focused on fostering reconciliation, maintaining internal security, and promoting economic recovery and reform. To that end, both a Truth and Reconciliation Committee and a UN-sponsored war-crimes tribunal (the Special Court for Sierra Leone) were established that summer, and UN peacekeeping troops remained in the country until December 2005. Economic recovery in the postwar years was somewhat aided by significant debt relief and the reopening of bauxite and rutile mines.
Meanwhile, Sierra Leone held presidential and parliamentary elections in 2007. Ernest Bai Koroma of the opposition party APC was elected president, and his party was successful in winning a majority of parliamentary seats. Koroma’s administration tackled the ongoing issues of rebuilding the economy, eliminating corruption, and improving the quality of life in the country. He also presided over celebrations in 2011 to mark Sierra Leone’s 50th anniversary of independence from Great Britain. Koroma was reelected in 2012 with almost three-fifths of the vote.
FORMAL AND NON FORMAL EDUCATION SCENARIO OF COUNTRY
Sierra Leone’s literacy rate is lower than the average in western Africa and is among the lowest in the world. The country has, according to UNESCO, an adult literacy rate of 32.43%. While the male literacy rate is 41.33%, for females is 24.86%, showing a big gap between the sexes.

From the above data, it is clear that government is not given priority to education in the country. A country can develop, only if its citizens are educated and if education is made accessible and affordable to all the section of the community. This what is lacking in the country.
The issue related to non-formation education is even worse in the country. Both the formal and non-formal education sector needs major policy change to benefit its citizens.
Access to quality education, retention and completion of school remain challenges for children in Sierra Leone. These factors are compounded by poverty, gender discrimination, long distances to schools, perceived low value placed on education, negative social norms practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM – 86.1 %), early marriage (30 % of women are married before age 18), teenage pregnancy, an unsafe learning environment. The percentage of school age out-of-school children in primary, junior and senior secondary schools is as follows: primary school (18 %), Junior secondary school (19 %), Senior secondary school (36 %).
Due to the many of the factors listed above, many children in Sierra Leone fail to complete primary school or to make the transition from primary to Junior Secondary School (JSS). Completion rates stand at: primary: 64 %, JSS (lower secondary): 44 %, SSS (upper secondary): 22 %.
Furthermore, few opportunities exist for alternative education for out-of-school boys and girls, which could help them to acquire functional literacy for sustainable livelihoods and economic empowerment, in order to realise their full potential and contribute meaningfully to nation building.

PROJECT OVERVIEW
3.1 PROJECT AREA: - Sierra Leone.
3.2 TARGET BENEFICIARIES:- The children of Mende, Temne, Limba, Kuranko, Susu, Yalunka, Kono ,Kisi Sherbro, Bullom, Vai, Krim , Fulani and Malinke ethnic groups of SIERRA LEONE.
3.3 PROJECT GOAL:-
Provide quality education as per sustainable Development Goal-4 to the backward ethnic groups of Sierra Leone.
3.4 PROJECT OBJECTIVES
Open 100 Community managed formal schools and renovate 50 government schools destroyed during civil war in three years in Sierra Leone

3.5 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:
1. Renovate 50 schools demolished by civil war.
2. Construct 100 community managed schools.
3. Strengthen 150 school managing committees.
4. Capacity building of ethnic groups towards importance of education.
5. Appointment of teachers through school managing committee.
6. 3 months Training of teachers by the expert on different pedagogy.
7. By monthly meeting of school managing committee.
8. By monthly parents meeting with the teachers.
9. Promotion of sports in the school.
10. Provision of lunch for all the children.
11. Health checkup and medication of all the children.
12. Provision of education materials for all the children on low cost.
13. Yearly one weak sports day celebration.
14. Education elocution contest each weak.
3.6 PROBLEMS ANALYSIS
3.6 (A) SITUATION OF SCHOOL POST CIVIL WAR: -
Frequent civil war has make life of the citizen so miserable and pathetic. In particular, youth have become main victims of each civil war and post-civil war. Post-civil war, they are forced to crime to maintain their livelihood. They are struggling to find jobs for they are not skilled; it is very difficult to find jobs. Development is not at par to support growing needs of the citizens. Even now, no one is sure about the next day. Due to political instability, education system, institutes offering skill training and hospital are greatly affected. Formal schools are out of reach of the poor ethnic community so also the skill training and health care facilities.

3.6 (B) SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE:-
During civil war, majority of the schools were destroyed. Only schools located in densely populated are area are reconstructed. Even today, large number of schools are not renovated nor are any school building constructed to replace. The children are left out of school. No school –no education is the situation. Until date, education is basically for the rich and affluent only.
3.6 (C) GROWTH IN ILLITERACY AND CRIME:-
Lack of education facility, children from backward and poor ethnic groups are not able to avail education facility. Thus, the majority of the population is illiterate. It is due to illiteracy, the youth are not able to get work and get skill training to make life better. Thus, they are forced by the situation to take up crime.

3.6 (D) UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS:-
When majority are illiterate, innovation is not expected. So is the case in case of the country. Unavailability of livelihood option to buy a meal for a day is forcing the youth to take up any activity to get a meal a day. Many youth have lost their lives and many are missing.
3.6 (E) GOVERNMENT PLAN TO ESCALATE TO IMPROVE EDUCATION SYSTEM:-
Till date, since the bigger industries have not started, income from of the government is less and thus, the government is not able to allocate funds as much as required to meet sustainable development goal-4. Tax is not regulated thus the revenue of the country is not so high.
3.6 (F) POLITICAL INSTABILITY:-
Political stability is possible as the number of educated citizen increase. They will be able to choose appropriate leader and be able to form a stable government. As till date, the political leaders have misused the illiterate and mobilized them to social unaccepted activity, due to which country is divided. Politician gained their benefit out of civil war but not the citizens. The impact of civil war and political instability is poverty and illiteracy.
3.6 (G) SOCIAL MAINSTREAMING:-
Sierra Leone, describes its relationship with the ex‐combatants of the rebel RUF as a state of being “sensitized” to their presence. However, we argue that “sensitization” connotes civilians’ acceptance of ex‐combatants living among them, while they refuse to incorporate ex‐combatants into the social order. Civilians, although treating the war as a “state of exception,” refuse to grant ex‐combatants the grace of belonging to this exceptional time. They question whether youth socialized to violence against elders ever belonged to the social world is the point of argument; thus the possibility of their reintegration is suspended. Ex‐combatants’ assertive demands for social acceptance, through “useful” work to “mainstream” them, rendering them socially and economically integration.
3.8 EXPECTED OUTCOME:-
1. Annually in 150 schools, 5250 children enrolled in the school. 35 children per school.
2. Within 3 years, we will be able to enroll 15750 students.
3. Strengthen 150 ethnic community in from school management committee to run schools.
4. Provide lunch to 5250 children each day. In three years, 1916250 plate of lunch served to students.
5. 100 community managed schools constructed.
6. 50 schools renovated demolished during civil war.
7. In each school, 5 teachers will be appointed within three years. Total 750 teachers will be trained and appointed in the schools.
8. 18 School management committee meeting conducted in three years.
9. 18 parents meeting with teachers conducted in three years.
10. Sports promoted among 15750 students.
11. Medical checkup and treatment of 15750.
12. 15750 students provided education materials.
13. Education ratio increase by 10% in the targeted area.

3.9 MODE OF OPERATION
All the schools will be managed by the school managing committee of the village. The school will be run by the committee and the parents of the children of the school. After three years, the parents of the children will pay small sum to pay to the teachers appointed ;thereafter, advocacy will be carried out to get government support to pay to the teachers.
3.10 IMPACT
Our program is tested in the community. The concept is accepted by the community;therefore, we have opened twelve communities school in Karene district, northwest of Sierra Leone include:

1. Maron community
2. Rogbalan community
3. Bamoi community
4. Yainkassa community
5. Madina Limba community
6. Amina community.
7. Makoba loko community.
8. Pinthkeli community
9. Rochain salcost community.
10. Petifu community.
11. Laiya loko community.
12. Kawullay Limba community

3.11 SCALE
It is time for us to scale the concept in the country and reach out to 150 schools. This will be a model approach to reduce illiteracy in the country. If we keep waiting for the government to take action, it is going to take decades. We want to assist the government to meet the education need of the poor ethnic communities.
3.12 MONITORING AND EVALUATION
The project will be managed with Earned Value Management. It will help us analysis with the raw data and enable us to draw conclusion about the following-ACWP: Actual Cost of Work Performed, BCWP: Budgeted cost of Work Performed, BAC: Budget At Completion, Cost Variance, Cost Performance Index, Schedule Variance and Schedule Performance Index.