Food Security Sierra Leone Project #50854

Nutritious Foods for Sierra Leone Students

by Airline Ambassadors

Project Report | Sep 12, 2022
Back to School!

By Kate Jewell | Project Coordinator

Greetings to our much appreciated Supporters.

Our Diamonds have been on summer holiday since June. School officially opened on September 5 but classes were delayed because the facility was chosen to serve as one of the 2000 official registration centers in Sierra Leone. The Diamond School enabled the local community to be eligible to vote in the June 24, 2023 election. This was a huge honor for Diamond School to participate in effecting change democratically. So, now the school year can officially begin.

The children continue to need the services we provide and we continue to need your support to do so. Here's a message from one student:

"My name is Ibrahim Bangura and I am in prep 5. I am 12 years old. First of all I want thank the Airline Ambassador for their support and encouragement towards the feeding program. I remember my first day at school, I can say I was so lucky because I didn’t eat at home before coming. When I arrived at school I saw so many delicious food and I ask a friend’what is this all about?’ he goes on and said all this food is for us I was so happy that I cant even explain. And this food program has helped me a lot. It has really developed my body as you can see. I was very thin at first but now I am getting strong because I am now getting the right nutrients. I want to say thanks again and I wish this program continues."

And this message from the Director of the School, Gbankay Kamara:

“ I sincerely thank Airline Ambassadors and GlobalGiving for the tremendous support in providing the right nutrients for our kids. One can merely see the smiling faces of our beautiful Diamonds. Such support is a great joy for our students because most of them do not eat at home before coming to school. I just wish this will continue because it helps the children a lot.”

Food...education...the garden...are all needed now more than ever. Our Diamonds truly appreciated your on-going support!

Permalink

May 13, 2022
"Diamonds" are Happier, Healthier - thanks to YOU!

By Thomas Dalury | Project coordinator

Diamond Child School Director Mr. Gbankay Kamara gratefully acknowledges the real impact the Nutritious Foods for Sierra Leone Students program is having on his students this year. "The children come to school so excited in the morning, knowing that they will be served a nutritious meal freshly cooked at school. They are truly happy as this nourishes their bodies and minds, and they all pray that this program will continue."

On a "good day", many of our student’s families are lucky to put on their dinner table little more than a plate of "Garri", traditional cassava (yucca) powdery meal made of dry flour granules, mixed with water.

Thirteen-year-old Ibrahim Bendu echoes the sentiment: "I want to thank the program for providing the actual food nutrients our body needs for the day. I remember at first, I was so thin. Since this food started to be served at school this has made my life more healthy. It always gives me joy whenever I come to school in the morning."

Other interesting news and updates include collaborating with the prestigious American International School of Freetown (AISF), with whom Diamond Child has had an ongoing relationship since 2018. AISF has offered to conduct a general inventory of Diamond Child before the year is out. This in-house index will help us gauge more efficiently the daily operation of our center. Aware of this vital feeding program they applaud the donations made to keep the "Diamonds" healthy.

As we come to the closing of this academic year, we can honestly directly attribute the overall progress of Diamond Child to GlobalGiving’s generous contributions. Being that this is the first academic year that our institution has been granted the status of an official secondary education institution by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), we can proudly claim that 52 "Diamonds" sat for the official National Primary School Examination (NPSE) exams last weekend. We expect the majority will continue to the secondary level at Diamond Child in the fall of this year. All our pupils benefit from GlobalGiving’s endowment. “Good nutrition equals results”.

happy children eating well

So many benefitting!

Nutrition program

Permalink

Jan 18, 2022
New Year -- New Role -- New Responsibilities

By Thomas Dalury | Project Leader

From the onset of the academic year 2021-2011, Diamond Child School of Arts and Culture has taken on a new role and responsiblity of educating approximately 100 more students, aged 15-17. Thanks to the generous support of GlobalGiving, through our partners, Airline Ambassadors,this new group of students benefit daily from receiving a proper meal at school. Keeping underserved teens in in school in Sierra Leone is a true challenge. We are sincerely grateful for the ongoing support of our project, "Serving Up'.

"Serving Up'' provides a balanced meal and snack to students throughout the academic year. It also supports our small ecological garden which boosts nutrition and offers offers hands on experience to students who learn: what to plant, when to plant it and how to administer foodstuffs.

Over 400 students who attend Diamond Child School are at risk of dropping out if they aren't guaranteed a balanced daily meal. as often this is the child's only meal of the day. We make sure this meal includes fruits and vegetables to boost the immune system, particularly important during the current Covid pandemic. The meal also consiss of rice, beans, cassava sauce, chicken or fish and a cup of milk.

One of the student benefitting from "Serving Up" is Michael Kargbo. This 10 year old boy is enrolled in grade 3 at Diamond Child School. He has barely any food available to him before he walks 3 miles daily to reach school. The healthy meal awaiting him at school is truly the highllight of his day.

"I really love this food and it is a big help to my family knowing I have at least one good meal a day. The "Serving Up" program has really changed my life. Tenky, Tenky. (Thank you, Thank you). - Michael Kargbo, January 202O

One behalf of Michael and all of us involved with the Diamond Child School, please know your donations are needed, well-used and most appreciated.

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDpZRqnOJKY

Permalink

‹ 1 2 3 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.