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I am travelling to Sierra Leone for three months to work for the charity Street Child of Sierra Leone. Street Child of Sierra Leone is a UK charity that aims to create educational opportunity for some of the most vulnerable children in West Africa. Working with children in both urban and rural locations, the charity works to provide them with education opportunities and the chance to be reunited with their families.  According to Street Child's research there are around 50,000 children currently relying upon the streets of Sierra Leone for their survival; shockingly, an estimated 4000 of those are under the age of 6. In addition, Street Child has projects which strive to offer commercial sex workers and amputees a better way of life.  

Why Sierra Leone? For me Sierra Leone was an obvious choice - formerly part of the British Empire, Sierra Leone was embroiled in over a decade of brutal civil war which ended in 2002. This war was infamous for its child soldiers, amputations and countless stories of rape and torture. Sierra Leone is still feeling the effects of this conflict and in 2008 was regarded as the poorest nation in the world. The children of Sierra Leone have suffered more than is imaginable; they deserve the opportunity of a better future.    Sierra Leone is currently the world’s second fastest growing economy, this statistic indicates that the money I raise and the work I will be doing will be sustainable.  

What am I doing? While in Sierra Leone I will be working with the charity to develop small business schemes which will enable families to support their children and offer them a chance of education. My aim is to raise £1000 for the charity before I leave - this money will go directly to the projects supported by Street Child and will make a huge difference to the lives of the street children of Sierra Leone: 

£40 sends a child to school for a year

£100 starts a business that supports not just the child but the whole family 

£500 trains and supports a rural teacher for a year

£1000 pays a social worker to counsel and support 100 children living on the street 

Thank you for your support