September brings turning leaves, cooler temps, and fall wardrobes...WAIT! In Sierra Leone, September is the end of the rainy season and the temperature is warming up, daily! The sky turns beautiful colors over the ocean but the leaves remain the same. BUT new wardrobes come out in the form of school uniforms.
Ours are blue and white as you can see below; when driving through town I see uniforms of every color! I love the bright pink and brown of the school down the road and the reds and greens of others. One thing that becomes apparent now though is how many children are on the street when they should be in school. One of our children told us that her last school had 500 students in one class! Can you imagine teaching that?!?! Her teacher didn't show up most days.
Parents can't afford school fees or the uniform or the shoes or the book OR their children bring income into the family by selling or working on the street and they can't afford the loss of that. And even those that are priveledged to go to school can't expect a good education in overcrowded classrooms with underqualified teachers.
What is the future for a child that doesn't go to school? If they can't read or write they might still get a job but chances are their employer will rip them off in some ways. Without an education will they know enough not to take out a loan or make an agreement with someone who is trying to force them into slavery? And when they have children of their own, the cycle will simply repeat itself.
One thing that I have become aware of in new and fresh ways is how grateful I am for my education. I was priveledged to attend elementary-high school in a school where I had the right amount of attention from teachers. I had parents who never considered sending me out to get a job to support the family...they didn't need to consider it.
Our children at The Covering have this same opportunity; they recieve an education that is far better than most of the children of this country. You can see it in their smiles below. They love the chance to learn; I've never seen children so excited about booksd or so grateful for the chance to sit in a classroom.
I thought I'd share with you some pictures of the first days of school this school year at The Covering. Enjoy!
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