Today was an incredible day spent with hundreds of children at the two schools which Seven Hills funded through private donations. The first school was at the Zion Ministries Academy in BO, where 450 children are supported in grades 1-12. We were greeted with a beautiful welcoming ceremony by the children, teachers, and school children followed by visits to the classrooms. We discussed the need to bring solar-powered electricity to the schools so that each class might have access to a computer. Two children recited the school values and what they meant to them: character, skill, academic achievement, and patriotism. We then drove back out to the clinic and school campus at Bandawa to meet with 150 children attending that rural school. A presentation of pencils and backpacks, made possible by a little girl in Texas—Madeline Watkins-—was made to the primary school children. We then met with 15 rural village chiefs to discuss the benefits they’ve seen over the past seven years as a result of Seven Hills intervention. It was a moving discussion for everyone in attendance. Tomorrow we travel to the southern region of the country to understand the difference in economic and social development among the various regions.
We just ended our long day as we do each night; with a discussion of a book we are reading about poverty and social justice concerns in the developing world. We were surrounded by hundreds of children today, which was quite incredible. The children of Sierra Leone are not so unlike children in America in that they want to be cared for and to learn new things. Like most children, they want to feel safe and loved. In all of my travels in the developing world I’ve seen such desires time and again and SHGO is trying to do what we can to uplift the poorest children just a little.
My apologies for the brief posting tonight. I’m exhausted and morning will come very soon as we head out early. More tomorrow. Until then, check out photos from today’s travels here.
Dr J -
Dr. David A. Jordan