Local school kids raise $2,300 for fellow students in Sierra Leone

When it comes to raising funds, the local school kids of the Bulkley Valley seem to have the golden touch. In support of One Sky’s Sowing a Seed in Sierra Leone, Bulkley Valley school kids from Telkwa and Smithers have raised over $2,300. The project aims to provide eager students in Sierra Leone with the opportunity to attend school and who better to identify and support that cause than our own school-aged children. Smithers volunteers were also active at craft fairs during the holiday season to promote the project, raising funds and spreading awareness about the project, bringing in close to $3000! The grand total fundraised as of December 18th is over $8000 - surpassing the total raised from last year and still a week left until Christmas.

Our volunteers in Freetown have been making contact with elementary and secondary schools in Freetown to identify students to support, and following up on last year’s students. The school fees will be paid in the new year, when school resumes after the Christmas holiday. Benji and the team in Freetown have been putting a special emphasis on supporting girls again this year, particularly in junior and senior secondary schools where the level of attendance by girls tends to drop significantly. The Freetown team have also decided to support some post-secondary students in technical vocational training - nursing and trades primarily. This will also include paying fees for the volunteers there for their own schooling, so that the ripples will spread out in them being able to support their own families.

We will send out an update on how many children are supported likely at the end of January, beginning of February...as the donations get bigger, so does the task of spreading it out throughout Freetown! Our main emphasis is to make sure the money gets spent effectively where it’s needed most, which takes time.

A big, big thank-you to all of the volunteers who contributed their time and enthusiasm to the Sowing a Seed project. What a great Christmas present you have all given to school children in Sierra Leone!