Koinadugu College: transforming a region through higher education

Status: Fundraising
Fundraising Goal: $85,000

Transforming a region through higher education

Feeding Mouths Filling Minds is contributing to bringing the first higher education institute to the Koinadugu District of Sierra Leone - giving these young people the opportunity of a lifetime.

Education provides the key to job security, community growth and individual wellness. However, options are limited for high-performing young people after high school in Kabala, Sierra Leone. The nearest university is hours away - making living at home while attending school impossible. Most families make less than $90/month, and college tuition costs run upwards of $500/semester. In order to pay for room, board and school fees, some young people turn to prostitution just to obtain an education. Others opt to take a low-skill job in Kabala instead of continuing their education.

Establishing the University of Koinadugu in one of the most isolated districts of Sierra Leone, will empower youth and improve community livelihood in the district and country.

Our role

Feeding Mouths, Filling Minds is helping to guide the strategic planning to be sure the project is secure and sustainable for the long term. This means assessing the land in-person with members of our team, carefully selecting trustworthy partners to oversee the development and providing funding.

Project funding covers the cost of:

• Main Academic Building

  • This three-room building is where the majority of classes at Koinadugu College will occur. Construction for the main building began in January 2018. 

• Endowment Fund

  • In the spirit of sustainability, we have developed an endowment fund from the onset of creating the college. We have built the college because there are clear immediate needs, yet we are not only thinking about the here and now.

  • Feeding Mouths, Filling Minds is contributing the initial $10,000 for endowment. The broader Koinadugu College team is establishing the governing guidelines of the endowment and the Board team to make decisions about the underlying investments.

For more information: https://www.uofkoinadugu.com

Partners

School Lunch in Liberia

Gardens Combatting Hunger

STATUS: FUNDRAISING
2020 FUNDRAISING GOAL: $15,000

FMFM's team visited Liberia and met with our partners, Humanity Care Liberia, in January 2017 to learn about the challenges facing schoolchildren in the region. Together, we found that the schools in the region are unable to provide meals to the children during the school day - resulting in hungry children, truancy and shorter school days. Humanity Care Liberia is led by a local couple, with degrees in agriculture and experience working with local communities to teach them about sustainable agriculture. They oversee the development of our garden projects working directly with school leadership and ensure sustainability by educating caretakers, students and teachers about farming and crop-growing techniques. 

our role

Feeding Mouths, Filling Minds is raising funds to expand our garden programs to even more schools. This includes covering the cost of getting the plot of land ready for farming, such as:

• Fencing to keep the land secure from scavengers

• Farming tools such as shovels, buckets, rakes, etc.

• Seeds and cassava root yuccas for planting the crop

• Farm upkeep and maintenance costs

Our team will continue to work with Humanity Care Liberia to assess the farming options, and will assure that the school children have a chance to learn about the growing process so that they not only benefit nutritionally, but learn something in the process.