By Esther Wright
Dr Julius Maada Bio has on the 7th March 2022 commissioned five mini buses meant for the Free Education Project. The commissioning of the buses which were donated by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) to four schools of the blind and one school for the deaf took place at York Village in the Western Area Rural District.
The beneficiaries comprised the Milton Margai, Koidu, Bombali and Kabala schools for the blind, and the National School for the Deaf in Freetown.
It was understood that the donation is geared towards cushioning the acute transportation challenges facing pupils with special needs, as part of the inclusive education policy of MBSSE, dubbed ‘Radical Inclusion Policy’.
Furthermore, the buses were procured through a World bank-led multi-donor support to MBSSE, under the Sierra Leone Free Education Project being implemented by the Free Education Project Secretariat.
The event formed part of the ceremony marking the launch of the Chinese-Government supported ‘Health-on-Wheels Initiative’ of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in York and Tombo, aimed at delivering mobile clinical services to the doorsteps of vulnerable populations in deprived communities as fast as possible, and strengthen the healthcare delivery system.
Government officers, development partners, health service providers, traditional authorities, civil society organizations, and people from all walks of life attended the programme, including the Minister, MBSSE, Dr David M. Sengeh and the Free Education Project Coordinator, Ambrose T Sesay.
The Free Education Project is a 5-Year multi-donor support to the Sierra Leone Free Quality School Education Programme with the development objective to improve Management of the Educational System, Teaching Practices and Learning Conditions.
The World Bank (IDA), European Union (EU), Irish Aid, Foreign Commonwealth Development Office – FCDO, Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and the Government of Sierra Leone, fund the project.
