Thank you for visiting our site. As a result of the current Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, schools are not in session and Government through the ministry of health has barred people from social or other congregations. Adhering to this order and for the safety of our students/personnel, Project 1808 has temporarily suspended all after school activities. As an alternate measure to keep engaging our students through the period of the outbreak, we are developing innovative ways to building students capacity through a three-tiered approach outlined below:
Tier 1 Ebola Outbreak Response
Project 1808, Inc tier 1 approach focuses on developing an at Home Learning Program (HLP) for our students during and post-Ebola. Students have been out of school since June and it is anticipated that this will continue till well into 2015. This is a major concern has it will significantly impact many of our students, many of which will just simply drop out of school. Others may not be able to pass the national exams due to lack of preparation, which can have major consequences on their well-being and success in life. Therefore, the at-home learning program will engage them during the outbreak and beyond. This will be especially useful in remote rural communities where access to books, libraries and more are limited. The HLP will be developed in conjunction with local teachers, volunteers and the national curriculum. We are currently looking at various modules and mechanisms to effectively execute the HLP with opportunities for monitoring and feedback from students and mentors.
Tier 2- Ebola Outbreak Response
Our tier 2 response to the Ebola outbreak is to increase the number of primary and secondary school students we provide educational support in Koinadugu District, Sierra Leone. The Ebola outbreak has orphaned many kids and brought severe economic hardships to families and communities in Sierra Leone. Much more, rural remote areas such as Koinadugu District are typically disadvantaged and rely on small scale subsistence agriculture, which has been halted by the outbreak. All of these factors, including collapse of the mining, tourism, and major economic activities in Sierra Leone, means more families will be unable to provide basic educational support for the children. Hence, we anticipate significant needs for educational support among the communities we operate. Our current goal is to provide educational support for the 400 students who participated in the 2014 global health and sustainability innovation camp in Kabala, Koinadugu District, Sierra Leone. To keep building their capacity, it is our goal to ensure that none drop out of school as a result of the Ebola outbreak.
Tier 3- Ebola Outbreak Response
Our third-tier approach is linked to developing one health capacity training for youths and community members to build a critical mass of community health workers to track, anticipate, and respond to future outbreaks. Our one health approach to sustaining health in Koinadugu District and Sierra Leone will focus on inter disciplinary training in the science, humanities and arts that links animal and human health to the environment. Project 1808, Inc plans to leverage the extensive expertise of our partner institutions University of Wisconsin Madison, Sierra Leone Universities and network of professionals, community members, and students to develop an integrated holistic training program that links local knowledge to modern technologies and ideas.
You can help us attain our goals through a donation to Project 1808, Inc or by Volunteering your talent with us.
Thank you for reading
Linda Vakunta
