While Sierra Leone schools remain partially closed due to the COVID pandemic, the Child Reintegration Centre education department has been holding test preparation classes for students facing promotional exams.  In most of West Africa, students who hope to promote from the Primary, Junior Secondary, and Senior Secondary levels are required to pass difficult examinations on a broad range of subjects.  CRC students  have been invited to attend classes in small groups, where they are tutored with a focus on mathematics and English.  Education Manager Mabel Mustapha organized a system to help the students continue to study and prepare at home.

In early July, the government reopened school for students sitting public exams  so they can attend remedial classes.  The children will have at least two weeks of test preparation classes before the examinations are held.  Children who are not taking public examinations will be assessed by their teachers on the two terms that were conducted before schools closed.

The NPSE exam for promotion from primary school is scheduled for July 31, BECE exam for promotion from Junior Secondary is scheduled for July 15, and the WASSCE exam for graduates of Senior Secondary is scheduled for August 4th. 

Mohamed Nabieu, HCW's Assistant Director for Mission Advancement and Partner Church Lead, contributed to a webinar hosted by Significant Matters to discuss how the American church can care for orphans and vulnerable children as they are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Tom Bassford, President of Significant Matters and creator of SATtalks, facilitated the conversation between global practitioners on how American Christians can do better in living out their biblical call to care for orphans and vulnerable children in the wake of COVID-19.

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, the economic impact, coupled with lack of access to essential social and medical services, will test the capacity of vulnerable families to care for their children. There is a great risk of many more children being placed in a care system that is not able to meet their needs and rights. Ultimately the number of children at risk of separation for their family is likely to increase and the American Church is well suited to respond.
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Participating organizations:
Significant Matters: https://significantmatters.com/
Faith to Action: https://www.faithtoaction.org/
The Better Care Network: https://bettercarenetwork.org/
Helping Children Worldwide: https://helpingchildrenworldwide.org
Overlake Christian Church: https://occ.org/

Bethel UMC in Charleston, SC, an HCW partner church, donated personal protective equipment and critical supplies to Mercy Hospital to protect against COVID and help in the event of a suspected patient.  The church also generously provided funds to ship the equipment. 

​The donation that was shipped included replacement parts for three oxygenator units, face shields, face shield holders, N95 masks, and surgical gloves, as well as a large box of various medical supplies that will be shipped to the hospital at a later date.  

The oxygenator replacement parts are important because suspected COVID patients often present with low oxygen levels.  Mercy Hospital does not have respirators (there are only a dozen or so in the entire country), nor is it a COVID treatment centre, but an oxygenator can be used to increase oxygen levels for a suspected COVID patient until they can be transported to the treatment centre.

The face shields are considered to be better protection for the frontline health workers than just a N95 mask, as  COVID enters through mucous membranes, specifically nose, mouth and eyes.  If you would like to support HCW's COVID relief efforts, please donate here.