Today was our last full day in Sierra Leone and the highlight of our trip thus far. The morning was spent touring our “Jordan Community Library” in BO and our Librarian discussed with us the impact the library was making in the community. We then toured a vacant lot just behind our library to determine the potential of building a new 4-classroom block to house our high school students who are currently located in our large BO School for grades 1-12. By relocating grades 9-12 to a new facility, we will be able to add another 50 children in grades 1-8 where we have a sizable waiting list. Lots to discuss given the need to raise approximately $35,000 to build a new secondary school.
Later in the early afternoon we traveled by Jeep into the bush region of the most remote area of the catchment of villages we serve. Last year at this time we committed our energy and efforts to build a rural extension school for 6 villages that are miles away from our Bandawa clinic and school campus. As such, many of the children in these villages do not attend school because of the dangerous jungle trails. By building this new school—made possible through donations from our SHGO friends in Texas—we can now serve another 200 children who have never been to school. Our visit to the new Kaongibu School was to help dedicate it in front of hundreds of villagers, chiefs, and officials, from the Sierra Leonian government, all of whom were overjoyed that Seven Hills Global Outreach made this new school possible within 12 months of our first discussions. It was a celebratory event for everyone but particularly for the children who eagerly await the opening of classes within the next several weeks.
Late in the afternoon, a village chief from Gaiamo asked our team to visit his village and meet with the many local children. It was a great visit, and it was amazing to see so many children run and play with members of our team. The photos attached can best explain our events of the day.
We ended our day as we generally do, by sitting as a group and sharing our one pearl—or highlight / moment of significance—that resonated during the day. This is always a special moment, when our SHGO team members share an often deeply inspirational interaction—one with a child, or other impactful moment from the day. It was clear our stay, and continued work in uplifting the people of the BO region of Sierra Leone, has had a profound impact on us all.
Tomorrow morning will be spent with 350 of our BO School students and interacting with them in their classrooms. In the afternoon, we head to Freetown to catch our flight to Nairobi / Kibera, Kenya. We will be spending 4 days in Kenya, engaged with Children’s Garden Orphanage, Focus Dream Center, and Bethel Kibera School. More on that tomorrow evening as I share my reflections on SHGO’s return to Kenya.
As has been the case for over 10 years, our work in Sierra Leone has been memorable, impacting more than 15,000 people in this desperately poor nation. We all leave exhausted yet with joy in our hearts from the impact we are making through SHGO in building schools, medical clinics, birthing centers, clean water wells, and sanitation facilities. Good night for now from BO, Sierra Leone.
— Dr. David Jordan
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