COMMUNITY CONVERTS SHRINE TO SCHOOL.
By Ferdinand Olise
The Matiba village in PortLoko District, Northern Sierra Leone, has replaced its Bondo shrine with a school.
The school named, SAT Koroma Memorial Primary School at Matiba Village in Koya Chiefdom, Port Loko District, covers over 10 villages and will be benefiting over hundreds of pupils in the community.
Diplomats, district education stakeholders, Deputy Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, school pupils, officials of the Teaching Service Commission, former members of Parliament, and councilors, traditional and local authorities among others, graced the unveiling ceremony of the school.
They noted that the gesture was in line with President Bio’s move towards quality education in the country.
Director of the Amazonian Initiative Movement (AIM-SL), Mrs Rugiatu Neneh Turay, during the commissioning of the school, said that if women are given a keen opportunity, they will do better in the society, stressing that women are the backbone of any society, and can effectively contribute to society.
Mrs Turay said the school was part of her organisation’s strides to replace the ‘Bondo or ‘Yanka’ shrine to modern educational institutions in the district, noting that, girls’ empowerment will not be realised if harmful traditions are not reformed. She added that education is the sustainable key against female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone.
The school project was sponsored out of the 10,000 Euro Theodora Hacker award which Mrs Turay won in 2021, as well as contributions from students in the United Kingdom ,UK, and Natallie Jones.
Mrs Turay’s husband, Hon. SAT Koroma, explained how his late father started the school over 50 years ago, adding that the modernisation of the School by his wife, Rugiatu Neneh Turay is a blessing for the Matimba village, and it surrounding communities.
Hon Koroma called on the Matiba community to use the modern school for its intended purposes, as it will mostly help educate women and girls, and empower them.
Meanwhile, the Section Chief of Mawoma, Pa Alimamy Bomboli Kanu, expressed gratitude to have the 10th primary school out of 32 villages in his section.
Also, the Paramount Chief of Koya Chiefdom, Chief Kompa Bomboli III, also expressed his appreciation to Mrs Turay for her resilience in helping vulnerable women and girls in his Chiefdom, and encouraged parents to send their children to school, and not farms.
He called on the government to approve teachers to the school, starting that, international partners had done so much for the country, but it still needs help from the partners to sponsor teachers.
“We cannot use this school as museum; this school is not a mirror. Everyone failed to send their children to the school will face stiff resistance from the seat of the Paramount Chief,” he said.
A representative from the Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP), Aminata Koroma, said the coalition was formed to fight against harmful traditional practices, and geared towards zero tolerance on female genital mutilation.
Representatives from tze United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, UNAIDs, and BMZ also commended Mrs Turay for the strides she achieved, adding that education is key for any development in the society.
They said AIM-SL had worked tremendous for the empowerment of women and girls in the country, and vowed to support the organisation for protecting the rights of women and girls in the country.
The Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Madam Emily Kadiatu Gogra, expressed appreciation for the construction of the school, and assured students from the village, of government support for school feeding l.
She appealed to parents to take proper care of the school, in order to achieve quality education of their children.
