Nutritious Foods for Sierra Leone Students

The Diamond School of Arts & Culture school’s 2021-2022 academic year began on September 8^th. The entire staff, in Freetown, the team in Madrid; Spain, along with our spokesperson in Virginia, USA, wish to extend a warm and special thanks to all our donors for backing our project, “Nutritious Foods for Sierra Leone Students”. 

A child who attends school poorly nourished cannot fully function or concentrate on his or her lessons; this impedes learning and socializing. Aware that “good nutrition helps students show up at school prepared to learn”, the Diamond Child staff can give testimony to how a nourishing meal increases class attendance.   

Because of your generous contribution, the “Diamonds” (the fun-loving nickname of the students) have acquired a new meaning of the importance of punctuality, even if at first it was because they feared not being guaranteed what often proves to be their only complete meal per day. Today, thanks to this project there is a genuinely cheerful atmosphere at the Diamond Child School. 

Diamond School founder and President, Seydu, also reports how providing a balanced diet with clean, filtered water, has had a dramatic impact on the children’s health since the funds were implemented last spring.  Many students no longer suffer from ailments such as skin diseases caused by poor nutrition and contaminated drinking water. These noticeable health improvements are directly tied to the GlobalGiving donation program.  

The school lunch, which consists of rice and vegetables served with fish or vegetable sauce and fresh fruit is served daily at noon. Some 375 youth are currently benefitting from this assistance, 75 of which are first time enrolled secondary students. Diamond Child was just granted by the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Education, the authority to carry out secondary education instruction.  These teens also benefit from a healthy lunch served by two very dedicated and delighted and delightful cooks, Ms. Aminata and Ms. Salematu. Both mothers themselves, state that “there is no greater joy than seeing a child smile while in school”, thanks in great part to the meal that they continue to receive every day at mid-day.  Thank you sincerely, friends of Diamond Child for sharing, for putting a smile on these “Diamonds” faces.