Following the Trustee visit to Sierra Leone in February 2024, Trustee Hannah Turner organised a sale of jewellery, carved animals and other items at St Mary's CE Primary School in Pulborough, rising £305. Trustees have then sold bags, more jewellery and animals when they have given talks to a variety of organisations. Some of our talented supporters have made cushions and scarves  to sell from fabric the Trustees brought back, and these have proved very popular.

A group of pupils at Arundel CE Primary School held three events to raise money for EWA: a bake off, a fun run and a sale of carvings and jewellery from Sierra Leone which had been brought over by our ambassador Ansu Kamara. They raised £854.54, which was used for furniture and repairs at Mano Dassa School in Bo Province. Harry Williams, the Diocesan Education Officer in Freetown, wrote to the girls, saying: ‘Special thanks goes to special friends like Annie, Fleur, Mara, Poppy and Lucy for the fund raising activities done by them. On behalf of the Diocese and the Education Department we pray for God's blessing on their lives and as they go through their education they will excel with flying colors they will be the head for others to see them and copy their examples.”

In 2014 our Chair, Penelope Sharman, celebrated her 70th birthday by completing a sponsored swim of 70 lengths. Penelope raised over £2,500 for EWA’s Ebola appeal, which provided buckets, soap, sanitiser, chlorine and rubber gloves as well as sacks of rice to be shared out.

We will talk for between 20 and 45 minutes, depending on your preference, showing photographs of life in Sierra Leone and our work there. Your group will then have the opportunity to ask questions, and try on some traditional clothes from Sierra Leone belonging to our Trustees. We sometimes have jewellery, carvings and fabric from Sierra Leone to sell, which Trustees bring back from their visits.

Please email us at educationwestafrica1@gmail.com if you would be interested in hosting a talk.

If a Trustee is visiting Sierra Leone, they may be able to take letters, educational resources or gifts to your link school. These are always appreciated, and letters and gifts may be sent in return. Village schools do not have electricity or an internet service, but there is widespread mobile phone coverage.

If you would prefer to contact us directly using the details below, you can make a one-off donation or set up a regular standing order. For example, you might consider donating £26 per year to provide a desk set for a classroom, or £5 a year or a month for a school uniform for a child. You can ask for your donation to be used for a specific purpose, such as for the uniform project or the furniture project, or ask EWA to use it for the greatest need at the time. If there is an emergency in Sierra Leone, like the mudslides in 2017, we will put information on the News page and invite donations.

If you are a UK taxpayer and would like to Gift Aid your donation, please complete our form EWAGiftAidmultipledonation.docx and return it to us by email at educationwestafrica@gmail.com or post it to our treasurer at the address on the form. This boosts your donation by 25p for every £1 you donate.

MEMORY DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

We have also received donations in memory of individuals. For example, Mrs Jo Woods made a donation on behalf of her late mother Mrs Sheila Cooper, which funded urgent repairs to the roof and ceilings at Kalu Pre-School in Pujehun District. Mrs Betty Smith funded a classroom at Nyandeyama School in Kenema, and trustees presented the school with a commemorative plaque during their visit in 2024. Some years ago, a donation in memory of Mike Bassford was used to extend the school at Lein, and a plaque recording this was attached to the school during a visit by Trustees. 

In 2025, following the death of Mr Arthur Wegg, who had supported EWA for many years, his family asked for donations in his memory to be made to EWA through Memory Giving:

MEMORY GIVING
At Memory Giving, we offer a simple, secure and respectful way to create an in-memory fundraising page for your loved one in support of Education West Africa. We understand that friends and family would like to pay tribute with a donation accompanied by a personal message online. We deliver donations direct to the charity and enhance the gifts by recovering the Gift Aid (if applicable). You can find out more information by searching on our website at: https://www.memorygiving.com/

COMPANY SUPPORT

We are also grateful to companies who support us. De Beers funded a motorbike for the Education Secretary in Bo, Alex Puhindei, so he could reach remote rural schools. In 2025 De Beers made a significant contribution towards the completion of a new school in the remote village of Bopani, which will make a huge difference to this impoverished community.

VENT for Change provided 4 large bags of pencils made from recycled CD cases to give to schools on the Trustees' visit in February 2024.

Contact us for our bank details, or send a cheque made payable to Education West Africa to:

Education West Africa
2 Aston Rise
Pulborough
West Sussex
RH20 2JA