In a meeting held today between Sierra Leone’s Non-Resident Ambassador to the State of Qatar, Her Excellency Haja Ishata Thomas and the Chief Executive Officer of Education Above All Foundation, Fahad Alsulaitti, the Foundation revealed plans to provide assistance for 45,000 Out of School Children (OOSC) to acquire quality education in Sierra Leone.
The 4-year project is designed to target Out of School Children in 13 districts in Sierra Leone with an estimated cost of $4.5 million, which will be partially funded by the Education Above All Foundation ($2.1 million) and the Qatar Fund for Development ($2.4 million), respectively.
Stating the purpose of the virtual meeting, Fahad Alsulaitti noted that the engagement was to inform the Embassy about his institution’s intervention to improve the educational sector of Sierra Leone. While stressing the need for the project to be aligned with the country’s development plan in the context of education, Fahad added that the project strategies would support the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education in addressing Infrastructure Development, enrollment of Out of School Children, Accelerated Education Program, Capacity Building and Gender Sensitization.
He suggested a high-level visit to Sierra Leone to hold further discussions in the field of education and at the same time sign the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and Qatar Fund for Development on Education Above All Foundation for the expeditious implementation of the said project.
Responding to Mr Fahad, Her Excellency Haja Ishata Thomas expressed appreciation for Qatar’s immense support to Sierra Leone’s educational sector, which, she added, was vital for the sustainable implementation of His Excellency Dr Julius Maada Bio’s Free Quality Education program. She welcomed the idea of having a high-level visit to Sierra Leone with the view to signing the MoU and assured them to inform the concerned authorities for prompt approval.
In another development, Education Above All Foundation has extended an invitation to the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Dr David Moinina Sengeh, to participate in the Foundation’s “Audacious goals: Making them work on the ground” panel discussion during the Doha Forum slated for the 27th March 2022. The session will highlight the crucial elements that contribute to meeting bold and publicly announced goals directed toward access to education to reach Out of School Children across the world.
Cyril Barnes,
Information Attaché,
Sierra Leone Embassy, the State of Kuwait
Email: information.attache@kw.slembassy.gov.sl
