Robombeh is a remote village in Sierra Leone which has a ramshackle school at present. SHF has agreed to fund a four-classroom school with facilities for teachers and a water well. It will be completed by May 2018.
ROBOMBEH SCHOOL PROJECT MOBILISATION MEETING
The Current School Going Facility
Robombeh village has a school with three classroom facility and an outdoor extension where the community kids access learning and education. Three teachers run the school.
The Mobilisation Meeting
Having confirmed the approval of the proposed School project by Schools and Health Foundation for Robombeh village key stakeholders attended a general mobilisation meeting.
The meeting was held on the 28th November 2017 and the following categories of people were attracted and participated in the meeting: kids within the school going age and their parents, teachers from other village schools, headmen and youth representatives from the various villages the intended school would serve, authorities from the ministry of education, the project contractor and the project officer. A total of 9 villages in all participated; Mabambu, Mathalneh, Mamassa, Malanka, Mathaki, Rotharon, Rolal, Rokuray and Robombeh.
The meeting was held at the current school grounds at Robombeh. The villagers welcomed the authorities with traditional music and dancing as a way of appreciating them and the good news for the school project.
The Village Imam led the Moslem prayers while the school head teacher led the Christian prayers.
The Project officer made it clear that the meeting here was to let the community know that Schools and Health Foundation had approved a four classroom facility, teachers’ quarter, toilet, kitchen and water well facility for the people of Robombeh and its surrounding. This statement was cheered up with jubilation and dancing from amongst the inhabitants but more so especially from the kids of school going age.
Statements
1. The Headmen of the 9 villages where kids come from to attend school at Robombeh appointed one of them to address the meeting on their behalf. He started by identifying the real infrastructural challenges the area currently faces - no good roads, lack of good schools and no health facility in the entire area. He then thanked the donors and implementers of this project for coming on board to help handle one of their community needs. The school project according to him is a very good boost as their children are really suffering in the area of school need as the only good school in the section is about 6 to 7 miles away. He emphasised the fact that the rest of his colleagues were so overwhelmed with happiness on the good news as this intervention is about to alleviate the challenge of their children not going to school and so suffering various abuses from within the community. With this joy, he said, he could not comment further but would desperately wait to lend their support as the project implementation unfolds.
2. The Contractor spoke on the need for the community to own the project and support full time the construction works as the school would be theirs. He spoke of their role in the provision of supervision over the work and materials, engaging them on the area of labour and the provision of local materials and a safe house for the storage of all project materials.
3. The Representative from the ministry of education promised continued support in the area of provision of school teaching and learning materials to the school. He re-echoed the fact that the Robombeh school is already Government approved as the presence of the Government listed teachers in the school is as a result of the Ministry’s assignment of those teachers to the school as a Government approved school. He urged the community to be very vigilant and supportive of this project as this opportunity is lifetime in the area of supporting children’s education in the country.
