By Mathew Kanu
The Mayor of Makeni has donated special exercise books to all class five pupils in all primary schools in the town. Sunkarie Kabbah-Kamara told Politico that the donation aimed to help parents pursue the education of their children in the municipality. On the back cover of the book is the national anthem, the national pledge, names of councillors and a picture of the mayor herself which the mayor said was a way to inspire children become nationalistic and to know their local leaders. She said she had had the idea even before she became mayor. Each pupil received three exercise books. Sierra Leone’s first directly elected female mayor assured that the pilot phase would be sustained to motivate children to continue learning, adding that the provision of teaching and learning materials would also be upped. She said the Mayor’s Exercise Book initiative was a Le 15 million project that targeted 3,000 children in 25 schools within Makeni. “The challenges are always there” the mayor said, adding unperturbedly that “challenges are a part and parcel of life which is why I am encouraging parents to overcome the challenge of poverty”. She encouraged parents to invest in the education of their children regardless of the hard times they might be facing. “My parents were poor but they strove hard and invested in my education which they are reaping from today” Mrs Kabbah-Kamara said. Information Officer at the Makeni City Council, Maurice George Ellie said that class five pupils were being targeted because of their “crucial nature”. He said keeping kids in school at the level was crucial because they would be taking their primary school exams in the following year. Addressing her pupils during the handing-over of the notebooks to the Madam Alice Primary School, the head teacher Emilia Bangura encouraged the girls to reject teenage pregnancy and early marriage. She said the children should emulate the example of the mayor who had gone through a long way to be a where she was today. “She was like you before her academic achievement, so you must follow her footsteps as a woman of exemplary leadership today she said”. Mrs Bangura said that the mayor had done well for herself, her community and womanhood all because of education. “We feel big and we feel happy” she said, adding that it was the first ever such donation since the establishment of the school in 2007 by the now Minister of Youth, Alimamy Kamara when he was the local Member of Parliament. A teacher at the Roman Catholic Petbana Marank primary school, Samson G Kamara said that they needed quality education “in this part of the country”. He said that some children would go to school without enough books, adding that the new exercise book project was “a kind gesture that can improve the ability of the children to learn”. Kamara said the school had a large number of class five pupils who would benefit from the donation, adding: “This will help motivate the children to put more effort into their studies”. He encouraged parents to work hard and support the education of their children. Head teacher of the Church of God primary school, Lamin H Dumbuya said that the mayor had shown concern for the education of children and described the book initiative as unprecedented in the council. He said “most parents find it very difficult to buy all the books needed by their children” and that this initiative would help bothe parents and the pupils. A parent at Petbana Marank, Pa Hassan Conteh lauded the efforts of the mayor. He told Politico that the donations were a direct intervention both in helping the parents and in motivating the kids to stay in school. (C) Politico 10/10/13
