So often the development world seems to be very disempowering because the money and therefore the agendas and goals are driven and dictated by foreigners. True sustainable development must surely step away from this dependence. This is why we so strongly believe in education as a tool for real development. With a thinking education, nobody can tell what the seeds that are sown will grow into. We can hope and wonder but there can be no exact foretelling.
It is therefore very exciting to be able to talk about just that….. a group of the young staff, almost all of whom are past EducAid students, have come together to form a club they are calling IPoD: Independence Powers Development.
The members get together to train and play football on Saturday and have a good time but have not stopped there. They came to me this week with a list of all the things they have seen around the Lumley school that need doing before the new term and they want to take the responsibility for doing them: repainting the gates and railings, re-screeding the middle floor, repainting the blackboards and so on. Their plan is to unite to solve problems first within the school and then extend out into the community. Fantastic! Very encouraging attitudes and a real hope for independent development that will last beyond foreign interventions.
If you are interested in knowing more about EducAid’s work with vulnerable young Sierra Leoneans, please go to www.educaid.org.uk and www.sierraleonegirls.blogspot.com