The fact that children are not enrolling in school at the right age in Sierra Leone is a challenge that must be faced if education is to be improved. In each class the age of the children can vary greatly. The findings of a previous UNICEF project, sponsored by Aurora, highlighted the importance of the so-called Mothers’ Clubs in dealing with this problem. Supporting mothers is essential towards ensuring that children attend school.

For this project, facilities in various districts in Sierra Leone were redeveloped as community-based early childhood development centres with the goal of providing a stimulating environment for the young children living in poor communities. Members of the Mothers’ Clubs are expected to play an instrumental role in early childhood development activities themselves. They received training on how to facilitate early learning activities at the centres, how to support the children’s enrolment and retention in primary schools and how to promote participation in school community partnerships. Furthermore, members were mobilised and trained to create toys for young children using local or recycled materials in order to make early learning activities cost efficient and sustainable at the community level.

Further information regarding this project can be found in a progress report in the sidebar.

This project is one of four projects that Aurora has supported in the educational sector in Sierra Leone through UNICEF in the period 2008–2016.