Do you have a contact in Sierra Leone?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I am a high school world literature teacher, and I recently was awarded a private grant to create and oversee a year-long project that would have American students work with students in Sierra Leone on an online social network, sharing stories and art, with the eventual product being the publication of a book of student work, with copies given to all students involved. </p>

<p>When I wrote the grant proposal last spring, I had the support of a newspaper publisher/college teacher in Freetown, however, it seems he is no longer interested in connecting me with educators there because he does not respond to emails now. Another organization that I contacted last week said they would love to be involved, but now the same thing is happening, no response. This may be a cultural thing (to say yes, but then back away), I’m not sure. </p>

<p>I have not signed the grant contract yet because I want to make sure I’m not promising more than I can deliver. If you have an educational contact in Freetown (where there is a better chance of internet access), and you would like to help connect American and African teenagers in sharing their stories, hopes and dreams, could you PM me? </p>

<p>I figure this is worth a shot, because after six years of being on CC, I know there are some amazing people on this board, with some amazing international experience and friends all over the world.</p>

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<p>good luck, Momof2inca…sounds like you are an amazing person…hope something golden works out for your proposal.</p>

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<p>momof2inca, have you contacted the State dept or Peace Corps? My mom was a Peace Corps education volunteer in Sierra Leone (and more recently Botswana) and I know she would have been up for that! She’s back in the states now, though and her Sierra Leone stint was back in the 80’s.</p>

<p>I will email her a copy of your post, because she is still hooked in to the Peace Corps network.</p>

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<p>I have a friend who was in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. He is involved with this organization, and perhaps someone associated could help you out. </p>

<p>[FoSL</a> - About Friends of Sierra Leone](<a href=“http://www.fosalone.org/about.php]FoSL”>http://www.fosalone.org/about.php)</p>

<p>If that doesn’t work, PM me, as I have a co worker from Sierra Leone. Though she is a resident here now, her family is in Freetown.</p>

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<p>momof2inca, my husband (also a high school teacher) was involved with a program through Catholic Relief Services called Cyberbridges, which sounds similar in many ways to your project. Perhaps you could make a few contacts via CRS:</p>

<p>[Cyber</a> Bridges connects classrooms in the U.S. to classrooms overseas](<a href=“http://cyberbridges.crs.org/]Cyber”>http://cyberbridges.crs.org/)</p>

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<p>Thank you for all of the suggestions so far. I had not considered the Peace Corps connection, and I think the FoSL looks promising, so I will inquire with them as a next step. If anyone else has ideas, I would be grateful to hear them.</p>

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<p>Have you read this book?</p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (9780374531263): Ishmael Beah: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Gone-Memoirs-Soldier/dp/0374531269/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253649799&sr=1-6]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Gone-Memoirs-Soldier/dp/0374531269/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253649799&sr=1-6)</p>

<p>Might be worth trying to contact the author, Ishmael Beah. He’s on Facebook fourteen times. I see also he has started a foundation for helping former child soldiers, maybe you could find an incountry contact through that:</p>

<p>[The</a> Ishmael Beah Foundation | The Ishmael Beah Foundation](<a href=“http://www.beahfound.org/]The”>http://www.beahfound.org/)</p>

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<p>Fendrock, Beah’s book was the book that caused me to write the grant in the first place. We studied it at the end of year last spring and the kids loved it. What I can never understand, no matter how many times I read the book, is how he can be the guy smiling with joy on the back of the cover. How do you survive something like being a child soldier and ever learn to express joy again? He’s remarkable. The people of Sierra Leone are remarkable. Thanks to some links above, I am now emailing with a woman who travels with Beah raising funds for school building in SL. She is emailing her contacts in Freetown to see if anything is possible. Apparently it is very difficult for students to get internet/computers even in the capital.</p>

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<p>Also, if anyone is interested, I learned this today: A documentary film maker has just completed a film, opening Nov 7th in NYC about a pen pal, using Peace Pals exchange program between some students in Brooklyn and the Children of Crisis Orphanage, located in one of the poorest areas of Freetown. Here is the link to the documentary about the project [Brownstones</a> to Red Dirt](<a href=“http://www.brownstonestoreddirt.com%5DBrownstones”>http://www.brownstonestoreddirt.com) PRoceeds from this film will come to Schools for Salone so that we can build a real school for the students in Sierra Leone.</p>

<p>The excerpt on the website will bring tears to your eyes. I can’t wait to see the full-length version.</p>

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<p>Sierra Leone is one of the countries taking part in the One Laptop Per Child Program (Nicholas Negroponte’s project). But that program seems to be having a hard time getting off the ground.</p>

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<p>I think Sierra Leone may have difficulty providing food and electrical power to its citizens, much less Internet access.</p>