Street Child of Sierra Leone (commonly referred to as Street Child or SCoSL) is a United Kingdom-based charity employing local people in Sierra Leone which was founded in 2008 by Tom Dannatt, a businessman in London.[1][2][3][4] Its stated mission is to reduce the number of children living on the streets by reuniting them with their families and putting them in long-term education.[5]
Street children edit
ScoSL and their team of local staff have established day care centres providing food, counselling, clothing and medical care in order to encourage children to get off the street.[3][6][7] These children are then reunited with their families who receive financial as well as managerial support from the charity so that they can set up small businesses and receive a steady income in order to be able to enrol, and keep, their child in school.[6][7] In cooperation with a NGO in Sierra Leone called Help a Needy Child (HANCi-SL), Street Child has reunited over 1,000 street children with families and placed them into school.[1][4][6] Reports by the charity have shown that 95% of the children in the program continue their education and stay off the street.[4]
Every Child in School (ECiS) edit
This programme was set up by ScoSL in response to the 2nd Millennium Development goal, achieving universal primary education by 2015.[8]
Every Child in School (ECiS)[9] provides teacher-training, services and material provisions to impoverished, outlying rural areas where children have had no previous access to education.[10]
Through the ECiS programme, twelve school structures have been constructed in remote, rural communities around Sierra Leone providing education for around 2,000 children.[11][12]
Head count investigation edit
In 2011, SCoSL paired with StreetInvest,[13] a British organisation, in cooperation with Sierra Leone's Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs,[14] to conduct the first ever investigation into the actual number of children living in the streets of Sierra Leone.[1]
The investigation was carried out by local volunteers with expert knowledge in the field who were able to identify and have access to key sites where street children could be found.[1]
Patrons edit
- General Lord Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt, former head of the British Army
- Sia Koroma, First Lady of Sierra Leone
- Frank Timis, Romanian-Australian businessman
References edit
- ^ a b c d Jozwiak, G. "The hunt for the lost children of Sierra Leone". The Independent, 2011
- ^ The Big Give SCoSL charity page. Access date: 23 January 2012.
- ^ a b Searle, T. "Running for charity: why Tom Searle is doing the Cambridge Boundary Run". Varsity Blues, 2011.
- ^ a b c North, P. "How one small charity survives by cutting costs to the bone". The Guardian, 2011
- ^ Dawnus website. Access date: 23 January 2012
- ^ a b c First News, 2012.
- ^ a b The Big Give SCoSL charity page. Access date: 23 January 2012.
- ^ Forsyth, M. "HANCi Empowers Education in Tambakha". The Torchlight, 2011.
- ^ Every Child in School (ECiS)
- ^ "Street Child Ebola Crisis Appeal a project by Street Child". TheBigGive.org.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ North, P. "How one small charity survives by cutting costs to the bone". The Guardian, 2011
- ^ Forsyth, M. "HANCi Empowers Education in Tambakha". The Torchlight, 2010
- ^ Norwich, Connected Worlds Web Design. "StreetInvest - Home". StreetInvest.org. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ "Sierra Leone's Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs". MSWGCA.org. Retrieved 8 March 2017.