Upcoming projects
We’re funding additional teaching hours for pupils.
These hours are vital – in Sierra Leone, teachers are paid for a short day, and for pupils disadvantaged by hearing loss, many of whom have joined the school as older children, or from a mainstream school where they have struggled to keep up, extra hours of teaching and activities make a huge difference.
But it’s not just the pupils who benefit – teachers’ salaries are notoriously low, and the extra hours tuition enables staff to take on extra work, supplementing their income and encouraging higher staff retention levels. A conventional school day ends around 2.30 in Sierra Leone, but thanks to funding from generous donors, we’re able to fund an additional hour and a half teaching and supervision each day, giving pupils the chance to take part not only in supplementary learning, but art activities, organised sports and games, supporting their social and emotional wellbeing.
Transport for pupils
St Joseph’s School is one of only two schools providing education for hearing impaired children in Sierra Leone, and is the only one that provides boarding facilities. The students often have to travel long distances and the school has learned that for some families, the cost of transport after the holidays becomes a reason for children not to return for the new term. Sending vulnerable children home, unsupervised and in unreliable public vehicles, often simply isn’t safe. Sometimes, families simply don’t have the resources to pay for transport to collect their children from school.
With this in mind, we’re looking to fund the hire of dedicated buses to and from the school at the end of term, allowing a staff member to accompany students as they are dropped off at their own homes for the school vacations, and to pick them up at the beginning of term. This would also allow school staff to engage with parents and families in their own homes, fostering positive relationships and communication between families and staff.
Funding Audiology Equipment
Day to day costs of providing hearing aids and audiology equipment are challenging, but on top of this, the logistics of importing them to Sierra Leone can pose real difficulties. We use our networks of friends, donors, supporters and others to facilitate sending much needed equipment directly to the school to support the audiology department. We also fund equipment that other donors are unable to - from ear moulds, to actual hearing aids, to soundproofing for the audiology lab.