Description of project 

The purpose of this Knowledge Aid initiative is:

Ø       To develop capacity in Sierra Leone to access and download information from the Internet;

Ø       To use it to meet priority educational needs (to begin with, mainly in secondary education) and

Ø       To feed back to other countries information on Sierra Leone experience. 

Benefits 

Ø       It will bring important benefits to our young boys and girls in several ways.

Ø       It will supplement teaching resources by making available downloadable teaching materials and will thus improve the quality of teaching in schools.

Ø       It will enhance the performance of participating staff, by giving them access to developments abroad in their field.

Ø       It will also provide a forum for the exchange of information among teachers on a wide range of activities through other media, an Internet service using software that is being used by the Open University in the UK.

Education has a key role in Sierra Leone’s recovery from its civil war and the pilot project will provide valuable information on what is potentially a very cost-effective way of securing improvement.  Our experiences of war and post conflict resolution, rehabilitation and resettlement as well as the process of disarmament and integration provide immense research interest for countries in similar situations as well as international organisations concerned with such issues.

Stage 1: 2002

The project has been launched with the following activities some of which are in the pipeline: 

Ø       A host server at Sierratel http://www.kasl_ukka.edu.sl the main local telecom organisation.

Ø       A web site updating facility and server at Fourah Bay College forming part of a resource and training centre.

Ø       Internet access for staff at two colleges and three schools (initially one Internet-linked computer and support facilities per site).

Ø       Provision of materials to schools and centres outside the present range of Internet access e.g. through CDs produced at Fourah Bay College.

Stage 2: 2003 onwards

As and when resources become available, the scope will be widened to include more areas, more schools and more staff.  Analysis of costs and benefits will be deepened and will, we hope, encourage major funders to take over the role out of the pilot projects and to invest in the supporting infrastructure.  It this proves too optimistic, the project can continue at a lower level, still delivering substantial benefits.

History and people involved

The UK project was initiated by some alumni who were at Corpus Christi College, Oxford in the early 1950s.  One of them was a Sierra Leonean, Eldred Jones, who has since dedicated himself to his country as Professor of English and Principal of Fourah Bay College.  His contemporaries were impressed by the way in which, having survived the dangers and miseries of civil war, he came out of retirement to take on the onerous (and unpaid) role of Chairman of the National Policy Advisory Committee.  They looked for ways of helping him and his country and, after consultations in the UK and Sierra Leone, they decided to focus on raising funds for Knowledge Aid.

They launched the appeal through a Golden Jubilee revival of their College’s successful 1951 production of Murder in the Cathedral, with the same cast, same producer and same College locations as the original (see The Times of September 2001).

One of the group was a trustee of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth (CEC) and it was agreed with the Council that, rather than establish a separate charity, Knowledge Aid would operate under the aegis and supervision of the Council, which has a great deal of experience of and expertise in promoting education in the Commonwealth.  The Council has in the past been primarily concerned with information and lobbying but it has recently begun to take responsibility for innovative projects with future potential.

Partners in Sierra Leone

Even more important, Prof. Jones has identified a strong local team.  Representatives of the UK support group had extensive consultations in Freetown in a visit facilitated by the British Council, and in discussions with the Ministry of Education and others, a framework was agreed upon.  In particular, the budget provided from the UK will be ring-fenced and accounted for in a transparent way to the local Board of Management and the UK charity.  Information in standard form will be collected about the material downloaded and its use.

Present use of voluntary funds

The project is run and staffed by Sierra Leone public servants.  Participating colleges and schools provide buildings and support facilities.  The UK support group are providing: 

Ø       Advice, for example, on what is available on the Internet;

Ø       Capital items, mainly computers, and ancillary facilities;

A budget for running costs, notably telecommunication charges and modest staff incentive payments.