During and after the Ebola crisis, pregnant girls were not allowed to return to school. As they were not going to school, the girls were falling behind and at risk of dropping out of school entirely. Many of them were ostracized by their lovers and families. Discouraged, they were in dire need of psychosocial counseling and moral support. They needed remedial training to help them stay engaged and educational motivated.
In response to their needs, Develop Africa Sierra Leone (DASL) launched the Creating Pathways Center in 2015. Funding for the launch and the first year of operations came from a generous GlobalGiving grant.
The goal of the center was to create educational opportunities and pathways for pregnant girls that had given up on their dreams - hence the name Creating Pathways Center. The aim of this program was to engage 100 young pregnant ladies in educational classes and counseling that would ultimately build their self-esteem and confidence. The classes provide learning, engaging their minds during this time when they were not able to attend school. It helped to create a new pathway to success for them
Develop Africa Sierra Leone provided free classes/instruction on core subjects such as Mathematics, English Language, History, Economics, Biology, Social Studies, etc. The girls received transportation assistance to ensure they would be able to attend classes. They also received basic computer training. Some of the girls continued to attend classes with their babies after giving birth.
Scholarship assistance was additionally provided to help some of the girls re-enroll in school and take their WASSCE exams. Some girls opted for vocational training such as cosmetology/hairdressing or received microfinance funds to help launch small businesses. This support instilled fresh hope and helped them to dream again.
In March 2016, Umaru Fofana, the BBC correspondent in Sierra Leone, visited the Creating Pathways Center. He was delighted to see how DASL was supporting the girls during this transition season in their lives. He interviewed some of the girls and Abu S. Conteh, who oversees the program.
http://developafricasierraleone.org/bbc-focus-africa-highlights-supporting-role-centre
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Watch clip added to YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsbFTWJ3Bb4
Below are success stories of some of the ladies that benefited from the Creating Pathways Center
Theresa H.:
Theresa was one of the most committed ladies at the center. She was pregnant with her son and was abandoned by her parents. The psycho social counseling sessions were of immense benefit to her self-confidence and recovery. She also completed training in Microsoft office packages and received a certificate of completion from DASL.
After the project phased out, she was supported by DASL to write the WASSCE examination. While waiting for her results to be published, she volunteered with Youth for Christ Sierra Leone in the Administrative and Finance Department. Because of the computer knowledge gained at the Develop Africa’s computer lab, she performed very well. When her results were published, she came out with flying colors. With the support of Develop Africa Sierra Leone, she gained admission into the University of Makeni (UNIMAK) and now she is a third-year student in the Department of Public Health Sciences.
Videos of Theresa
Baindu N:
Baindu is like a sister to Theresa; they came to the center at the same time and under similar circumstances. Like Theresa, Baindu is a very intelligent young lady with the ambition of becoming a very prominent Lawyer. Due to the circumstances that befell her, she had a rethink on her career path. Upon completion of her computer training program, she was asked to serve as a volunteer secretary with Haggai, a nonprofit organization working with deprived girls. She later gaining employment at the Toll Gate Company in Hastings.
After another attempt at writing her WASSCE exams, she secured the grades needed to continue her education. She is presently pursuing a degree in Community Development Studies (CDS) at the TECT College of Theology Jui. Baindu works 3-4 days a week and also attends college.
Mbalu B.:
Mbalu was one of the most committed and persistent girls that came through the Creating Pathways Center. After she gave birth to her baby girl, she decided to pursue a three-year national diploma in Business Studies. With the help of DASL she got admitted and has taken the National Council for Technical Vocational Academic Award Sierra Leone (NCTVA-SL) exams this year. She eagerly awaits the publication of her result.
Sarah C.:
Like Mbalu, Sarah’s case was no different except that she lost her baby girl. She picked herself up after that traumatic loss and decided to pursue a national diploma in Business Studies at the National Center for Vocational Studies. With the help of DASL, she got admitted. Presently, she has sat to the National Council for Technical Vocational Academic Award Sierra Leone (NCTVA-SL) exams and she is now awaiting her result anytime soon.
Mary K.:
Mary is one of the few girls in her community that was part of the Creating Pathways Center. After she gave birth to her son and completed her classes, she gained employment as a Sales Girl in a local boutique in downtown Freetown. Notwithstanding her job, she was supported by DASL to write her WASSCE exams. However, her result was not good enough to secure her admission to her dream college. She had to write the exams again and is presently awaiting the publication of her results.
Harriett K.:
Harriett completed her sessions at the center and received financial support that helped enroll her at the College of Travel and Tourist Studies (CTTS) where she is pursuing her dream career of becoming an Air Hostess. Harriett is now a final year student of the college, a step closer to realizing her dreams.
Susan M.:
Susan came to Develop Africa with no hope. She was abandoned by her parents and boyfriend that got her pregnant. All hope was lost as life got tougher. She was warmly welcomed into Develop Africa’s center where she was encouraged to dream and believe in herself again. The psychosocial counseling helped her immensely and boosted her battered self-esteem. She received additional support that got her enrolled at the Youth for Christ Sierra Leone’s Generation 21 Vocational Training Center where she completed an 18 months training course in Cosmetology and other related life skills.
During her time there, her performance strikingly outstanding and emerged as the best theory student in her class during her graduation in 2018. Presently, Susan is planning on setting up her own salon business and to settle down in a marriage union with her daughter’s father. She is steadily building her customer base in her community and can now use proceeds from her trade to take care of herself and her daughter.
Impact Summary:
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Young Ladies that came in contact with Creating Pathways Center became Self-Reliant
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They were able to dream again and make better choices.
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They did not become societal misfits because they were pregnant. Instead, their lives received a upturn for the better
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Because of DASL’s interventions during the CPC Project, dreams were realized and purposes fulfilled through vocational institutions and college enrollment.
