The grant made to this project is intended to support UNICEF, and the government of Sierra Leone in West Africa, in achieving the goal of ensuring all school-age children a primary school education by 2015.

The Aurora Foundation and UNICEF in Iceland will work together to ensure that 85% of children in Sierra Leone will be receiving a primary education by 2010.

Aurora has earmarked USD two million for the years 2008-2010 (ISK 123 million based on the exchange rate in January 2008) to build schools in Sierra Leone. Each school building will have three to six classrooms where children aged 6-12 will be enrolled.

Furthermore, the Foundation will provide furniture and necessary supplies, as well as water, bathroom facilities and playground equipment. It will also finance educating and training of teachers, as well as focus in particular on educating and ensuring the security of girls, and support women’s- and mothers’ groups.

Educational system in ruins

About one-third of primary school-age children in Sierra Leone do not have the opportunity to attend school. The problem is most serious in rural areas where the percentage of children going to primary school can drop to as low as 42%.

The status of girls is even worse than that of boys, in part because of how young they marry and begin having children. Almost one-third of girls will be mothers before reaching the age of 18. There is also a shortage of female teachers, and cultural and religious discrimination is particularly aimed at girls. Various other inequities exist within the school system, for example toilet facilities are often not separated according to gender.

During the civil war that lasted from 1991-2002, a large part of the country’s educational system was devastated, which resulted in a great many children losing the opportunity to attend school for many years. About 40% of primary school children are therefore older than the school year they attend indicates.

Many steps have been taken to rebuild Sierra Leone’s educational system in recent years. The government earmarks 20% of its budget to education, and is determined to reach the UN’s Millennium Development Goals of achieving universal primary school education by 2015. This goal, however, cannot be attained without external help, which is the reason why UNICEF has published an action plan aimed at creating the prerequisites for more children in Sierra Leone to gain an education and a better standard of living in the years 2008-2010.

Focus particularly on human rights for girls

UNICEF’s education strategy aims at 85% of children in Sierra Leone being ensured access to primary school education by 2010. A massive campaign will be needed to achieve this goal. Less than 70% of children of primary school age have an opportunity to receive this basic education. The percentage is higher in urban areas than in rural areas, and is higher among boys than girls. There is also a shortage of educated and experienced teachers.

UNICEF has formulated a strategy regarding how to support the government of Sierra Leone to raise the percentage of primary school students attending school to 85% by the end of 2010.

UNICEF contributes to the development of a child-friendly educational and school environment, in particular by building schools, educating and training teachers, and purchasing school supplies.

Particular emphasis is focused on human rights for girls by ensuring them an education, thereby helping to protect them against sexual violence, as well as marrying and having children during adolescence.

Continuing projects that began in 2006

Aurora’s education project is a continuation of the work relating to the building of communal schools in Sierra Leone that Ingibjörg Kristjánsdóttir and Ólafur Ólafsson sponsored at the request of UNICEF in Iceland during the summer of 2006.

• 50 schools/school quarters have been built in five districts of Sierra Leone (Koinadugu, Kailahun, Pujehun, Kono and Bombali) accommodating 6,600 children that would otherwise not have been available to them. Approximately 50,000 children benefit from the project in one way or another.
• About 260 teachers have received training to work in the communal schools; the financial grant has also been used to buy furniture and school supplies.
• The project has helped to stimulate an awareness of the importance of education, particularly for girls, and other human rights for children in Sierra Leone.
• The project has contributed to the increased cooperation of UNICEF with the government of Sierra Leone. The ministries of education, science and technology thereby shoulder more responsibility in matters regarding children in remote areas of the country.