Created By:	Tamara
Creation Date:	August 19th 2007

The Me Na Borbor Pain Campaign is raising funds for school fees for students in Sierra Leone who are struggling to afford the costs of education. Our focus is on secondary school and vocational training although a small percentage of our students are in primary school.

Sierra Leone is an extremely poor country in West Africa that recently emerged from a decade of civil war, marked by horrific brutality and the use of child soldiers. In 2006, Sierra Leone was ranked the second worst country in the world to live in by the United Nations Human Development Index, which highlights extreme levels of poverty, an unstable economy hinged on the informal market, high levels of illiteracy and poor health outcomes. At this point in time, even the capital, Freetown, has no electricity grid or piped water, meaning that citizens have to use candles (or diesel generated electricity if they are wealthy) and wells.

While I was in Sierra Leone, I met a lot of inspiring young people who are determined to put the past behind them and work towards a better future. However, these people have to find a way to obtain a decent education and professional skills before coming face to face with the countrys intimidating youth unemployment rates. The sort of kids we are helping are orphans and former child combatants who found themselves on the streets in Freetown after the war.

Thankfully, I met a lot of enthusiastic and committed people while I was in Sierra Leone who have all agreed to work together to make this campaign work. A huge thank you is owed to Marian and Sahr who are volunteering their time to ensure that funds are distributed fairly and that all the students on our books are going to school.

All the volunteers involved in this campaign met in Freetown, but come from many countries, including Sierra Leone (2), United States (3), England (2), Australia (1) and Nepal (1). Despite the distances between us, we are constantly keeping in touch with each other to evaluate progress and plan next steps for the campaign.

Through this campaign and individual volunteer efforts, we have raised the equivalent of £597 ($1,220), which is fantastic. Nevertheless, we need your continued support so that we can pay for end of year school exams (£50 or $102 per student), school fees for next year and vocational training for those who complete school.

So far, Marian and Sahr have distributed £110, which covers the school fees for 8 students: Moses, DMark, Lamzo T, Tallah, Taza, Emmanuel, Fatu and Margaret.

Marian and Sahr are in the process of paying larger enrolment fees for students who dropped out of the school system, which will cost £270 ($550). This will ensure that Sahid, Mamadu, Ola, Tamba, and Mahawa also get to school this year.

In addition, £133 ($270) is being distributed among students as a contribution to costs of going to school, such as school uniforms, books and stationery. A further £84 ($168) has been allocated to Marian and Sahr for driving lessons, to assist them in securing employment opportunities.

PROFILE OF THE MONTH

Name: Ibrahim aka DMark.
Age: 17
Born: Makonkonday Village
Currently resides in Freetown although has no fixed abode.
Education level: currently a student in junior secondary school level 3 (JSS 3)
Goal: to become a famous musician!

DMARKS STORY:

I am Ibrahim and I am 17 years old. I am dark in complexion. I was born in Makonkonday Village, which is a small village that has 12 households. It is in the Koya rural district.

The war brought me to Freetown. The rebels took me from my father's hand and forced to become a child soldier. I wish that never happened, but I had no choice at the time.

When I escaped from the rebels, I lived on the streets of Freetown with other street kids. I did this for a long time. I managed to afford to go to school by selling things and begging the school to let me go to classes.

Then, by a stroke of luck, I found my mother in Freetown. Unfortunately, she was so poor; she could not afford to pay for me to go to school. Every now and then some generous people helped me with school fees, but it was not consistent, so I have missed a lot of school when I could not afford it.

At a youth centre in Freetown, me and my best friend, Lamzo T, started writing and singing music together. We wrote a song called OSalone, and we are really proud of it. It is about having pride in our nation and I think it gives a positive message and inspiration to all Sierra Leoneans, as we are all struggling together.

I hope I become a famous musician when I finish school. I am lucky God has granted me talent to sing. I am also inspired by many other famous musicians from around the world. I like listening to hip hop, reggae and sentimental soul music. My life revolves around music now and music is a part of me.

Most of all, I hope that all Sierra Leoneans will unite to make sure our country develops progressively and we never have another war. This is what my music is all about.

You can check out my song on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/positivemusicproject

Mags donated £13.00 August 7th 2008	John Doe donated £100.00 May 21st 2008
John Doe donated £80.00 May 13th 2008	John Doe donated £10.00 May 2nd 2008
Mags donated £10.00 February 25th 2008	Jyoti donated £20.00 February 7th 2008