Just some background: the village of Yele is located in the outback of Sierra Leone, has approximately 25,000 inhabitants and is only accessible via dirt roads. The quality of education is low. In collaboration with the school boards, students, teachers and the village community (the Paramount Chief), we have developed an education program, with the ambitious title the ‘Yele Education Hub of Excellent’ (YEHE). Wilde Ganzen has advised on this and contributes financially, as do a large number of donors. The program was ready in the summer of 2023, but we only really started at the end of the year, after a number of strict conditions had been met. This involved decisive leadership and local participation, both through personal efforts and through financial contributions.
In November, Piet and Lydia from SEHH and Gert and Ruurd from SHF went to Yele to record these agreements with the schools and the Ministry of Education. This has resulted in a “Letter of Intent” that includes the following projects:
- YEHE Teachers Training (200 teachers from 15 schools in the Yele region)
- Computer lessons SDA Secondary School (expansion of computer lab)
- Family Life Education Program (more about this on our website)
- Practical agricultural education
- Expansion of Internet connectivity
- Construction of three additional classrooms at SDA Secondary school
- Renovation, expansion of school rooms and new school supplies SLMB Primary School
- Renovation, expansion of school rooms and new school supplies Benevolent Primary School
The Letter of Intent is signed by;
The District Education Office – Tonkolili District (Ministry of Education)- 5 Primary schools
- 2 Secondary schools
- Program Manager YEHE
- Shared with the Paramount Chief Yele
- And of course both Foundations
Various projects have now been started. We will keep you regularly informed of progress via the newsletter and the website.