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KRIO DESCENDANTS GEORGIA TRINITY SCHOOL PROJECT

A glimpse into the future of Sierra Leone… as seen in the eyes of these pupils of the Holy Trinity school.

Established by the Anglican Church of Sierra Leone, this elementary school is dedicated to the education of boys and girls living in the vicinity and environs of the Church of the Holy Trinity, located in the east end of the capital, Freetown. It’s Anglican roots notwithstanding, it’s worthy to note that the Trinity school has traditionally welcomed through its doors children of all faiths and backgrounds, helping, within its walls, to shape their minds and put their intellectual perspective and moral compass on a sound and solid foundation.

It is not surprising therefore that the Trinity school has regularly turned out alumni who have gone on to become men and women of substance in Sierra Leonean society.

It’s alum have made and continue to make very significant contributions to life in the country. They can be found in all walks of life - the priesthood, medicine, law, public administration, journalism, politics, banking, trade, industry and commerce.

Thousands more are widely dispersed in the diaspora, making valuable contributions to economic and social life in the countries where they find themselves.

And yet despite its illustrious past and notable contributions to enhancing education in the capital – it’s classrooms were also regularly used for syndicated after-school and evening lessons that prepared secondary school children for external and public examinations – the Trinity school, like so many across the country, fell on hard times.

A decrease in the emphasis on quality education by successive governments over the years has translated into overcrowded classrooms, insufficient desks and chairs, rundown facilities including leaking roofs and rotted ceilings, and lack of sanitary toilet facilities.

These and other factors have conspired to create an environment that’s absolutely not conducive to serious teaching and learning, thus making the attainment of quality education something of a pipe dream for today’s school children.

The Holy Trinity school has not been immune to this phenomenon, as the pictures show. We are also changing the rotted ceilings and redoing the electrical wirings, replacing old doors, shelves dividing screens and wall strips.

Our KDU Georgia project will also work on the masonry, plumbing, tiling and painting at the Trinity elementary school.

We plan to complete our intervention at the school by December 31st, 2018.

Our motivation for this project stems from the fact that our members are all beneficiaries of a strong educational base that has served us well here in the USA. We therefore believe that the education sector is the key area to address back home.