Among the work that the Augustinian Recollects carry out in Sierra Leone is the administration and management of St. Joseph’s Boarding School in Sierra Leone. Paul, a project they inaugurated in 2019. This center, with the capacity to accommodate 12 young people without resources, is located on the campus of the St. Joseph’s School. The project is located in St. Paul in Kamalo and is financially supported by the International Solidarity Network ARCORES.
Elizabeth Umu Bangura has been the headmistress of the boarding school, the‘auntie‘, as the girls affectionately call her, for 3 years. She feels a great responsibility in her work but has acknowledged that there is nothing that makes her happier: around me I feel joy, I feel happiness every day. Most of the young women in their care are completing their high school studies, and some of them are finishing the last years of elementary school: one of the main objectives is for all of them to be able to read and write. It’s something they do every day. Likewise, Elizabeth explained that one of the biggest difficulties they face every day is the language barrier, because each young person comes from a different village and tribe, with different languages.
Gloria Yeabu Sesay from Timbu Village, Alice from Kamakwie Village and Adama R. Mallon from Nbedebu Village are three of the twelve young people who are part of this project. The students have explained in this interview their experience at the boarding school, where they receive comprehensive education and training. They have also shared their life stories, their testimonies of faith and their dreams for the future.
Gloria recalled how Fr. JessThe Prior of the Augustinian Recollect community of Kamalo invited him to join the project after the death of his father: I come from a very poor family. My mother abandoned me when I was little and when my father died, Fr. Jess brought me here. I feel very grateful because it not only helps me, but also the rest of my sisters.. Her six sisters still live in Timbu Village and are a great support to her: they are Muslim, I am the only Catholic, but we get along very well, they are very important to me. Gloria dreams of becoming a nurse.
Alice, who used to attend school in Kamakwie town, has explained that when her parents passed away, life became difficult for her sister and her. Parents invited me to boarding school to receive a better education. I entered 2019. And she has expressed that when she grows up she wants to be a nun.
Lastly, Adama, who has been living in St. Louis for the past two years, has been a member of the St. Louis community for the past two years. Paul said that in addition to studying and going to school, they have time to practice other activities together: “I get along very well with everyone. I like it when auntie makes me laugh and when we sing and dance.” Although she has just begun her high school studies, she has admitted that she dreams of becoming a lawyer.
The objective of the St. Paul boarding school is to Paul is to open a door to equal opportunities in a social context that has traditionally denied women access to education. In addition to attending school, the girls receive a comprehensive education that prepares them for the future.