Sierra Leone

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Sierra Leone is a small country situated in the western part of Africa, with a population of roughly seven million people. Briefly following their independence from the British in 1961, the country made remarkable progress from education and infrastructure, to basic public services. Rich with fertile lands and an abundance of natural resources, Sierra Leone was once called the “Athens of West Africa,” being the country with the only institution of higher learning in West Africa from 1827 to 1948.

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The country played a major and important role in the development of Anglophone West Africa. Recently, this small beautiful nation has been plagued with a civil war that lasted ten years with over 50,000 lives lost, along with most of its social, economic and physical infrastructure. Among others, schools and hospitals were destroyed, damaged, or abandoned.

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Notwithstanding the significant progress the country has made, the education and health sectors have faced huge challenges and setbacks. Many of them are long-term consequences of the war; others are challenges evolving from recent tragedies such as the Ebola Virus outbreak of 2014 and the mudslides of 2017.

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In an effort to rebuild, the country made advances in many areas; from the restoration of security, education and healthcare, to the delivery of basic public services. The relationship Sinava has cultivated with educators, healthcare professionals, and other organizations in and outside Sierra Leone, helps us as we strive to reverse the effects of the civil war.

 

In doing so, we hope to increase access to adequate and affordable healthcare, expand resources for educational opportunities and restore Sierra Leone's standing, once again, as the Athens of West Africa.