2006 Press Releases

720 Girls Benefit From The Amb’s Girls Scholarship Initiative

February 7,2006
Freetown                                                                                
Contact:PAO
Tel: 226481

At a ceremony in Makeni, Bombali District, on February 22, Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Sierra Leone, James Stewart, awarded scholarships to 720 girls from 24 schools in the district. This is in continuation with the US Ambassador’s Girls’ Scholarship Program initiative, which was launched in June 2005. The initiative seeks the enrolment of girls who frequently drop out of primary school due to family economic pressures, and aims at increasing the literary rate which has been a factor in Sierra Leone’s low ranking in the UN’s Human Development Index.
 
The Ambassador’s Girls’ Scholarship Fund is initially providing assistance to 3,000 girls in the Port Loko, Bombali, Kono, Kailahun, and Koinadugu Districts.  The scholarship package includes text and exercise books, school supplies, school bags, and uniforms.  It will also include a school-feeding programme at USAID/World Food Programme funded schools in all targeted districts.  The initiative also includes complementary mentoring programmes that will inspire and encourage girls in their educational pursuits.
 
The Ambassador’s Girls Scholarship program in Bombali district is funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and is implemented by the US NGO World Education Inc. through its local partner Community Empowerment for Rural Development (CEFORD) in Sierra Leone.