Qatar Charity HQ, Lusail
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Professor David Francis, yesterday 24th February 2022 engaged the Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Charity, Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Kuwari, where he appealed for support for the ongoing Free Quality Education programme.
The Hon Minister thanked the leadership of Qatar Charity for its numerous support to Sierra Leone. Making a case for the support of the Free Quality Education programme, he informed the CEO of the strides made in its successful implementation, adding that the government allocates 22% of the country’s GDP to the program, giving rise to the exponential growth in school enrollment.
“The government has rolled out the school feeding program in areas with low enrollment to encourage children to go to school, thereby increasing school enrollment. That is a huge burden for a small country that depends on extractive mineral resources and subsistence farming. We are engaging our reliable friends like the State of Qatar to support us in strengthening the delivery of Free Quality Education.
“Another key area for intervention is access to safe drinking water. Water has been a major challenge in some areas in Sierra Leone, particularly for school children. We kindly request the assistance of your esteemed institution to provide solar-powered boreholes to ease the burden of pupils who walk long distances to fetch water,” Professor Francis stated.
Responding to the requests, the CEO of Qatar Charity noted that the organization is willing to assist Sierra Leone in driving its Human Capital Development agenda. While explaining Charity’s support to other countries in Africa, he observed that they have not rolled out many development activities in Sierra Leone because they have not identified implementing partners in the country.
“We urge you to engage Qatar Fund with the view to providing funds for the implementation of the school feeding program as well as the construction of boreholes in various communities. To support the nation’s quest for the sustainability of the Free Quality Education program, we kindly request the transmission of the country’s development plan to guide on areas of intervention for a successful implementation,” he stated.
Cyril Barnes,
Information Attaché,
Sierra Leone Embassy, the State of Kuwait
Email: information.attache@kw.slembassy.gov.sl
