By Alfred Peter Conteh

Doctors Corner, a humanitarian organization comprising medical students, has donated school materials and first aid kits to two schools in Freetown Ansarul Primary School, Ambrose Street, and Amariah Junior Secondary School, Mountain Cut.

The gesture, according to the organization, is part of their effort to complement the government’s Free Quality Education initiative and to give back to society.

Distributing the items, Sheknatu Bangura, a fourth year student at the College of Medicine and co-founder of Doctors Corner explained that her passion for education was shaped by her own childhood experiences.

 “As a smart girl with big dreams, I developed a strong passion for education because I knew how impactful it is to be educated, but coming from a poor background, my family found it very difficult to afford most of the school materials I needed at the time since my father was a civil servant,” she shared.

Sheknatu stated that her personal struggles inspired her to help children facing similar challenges.

“Whenever I see children struggling to access education, especially lacking basic learning materials, I feel compelled to help. That’s why my colleagues and I formed this organization to support children in any way we can,” she said.

She recalled that some time ago, the group conducted free medical screenings at Ansarul Islamic Primary School and discovered the school’s dire lack of learning materials.

“Since then, I made a commitment to donate learning materials to them, and today that promise has been fulfilled we have successfully donated textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, and first aid kits, among other items,” she added.

She further explained that the two schools were selected because they are among the most vulnerable in the city.

“We believe every child deserves access to quality education and we plan to extend similar donations to two more schools in the provinces, making a total of four schools. How I wish we had enough resources to reach all vulnerable schools across the country, as we know the government itself is facing challenges,” she said.

Receiving the donation, Isatu Jennifer Pessima, Head Teacher of Ansarul Islamic Primary School, expressed gratitude to Doctors Corner for their timely support.

“Our school has been struggling with a lack of learning materials. This donation will ease the burden not only on parents but also on us as teachers.

She lamented that quality education requires professional teachers and adequate learning materials. With this support, we’ll be able to do our jobs more effectively,” she said.

Similarly, Thomas Kpaiwa, Principal of Amariah Junior Secondary School, commended the organization for their generosity.

“We are facing several challenges, including shortages of learning materials and classroom accommodation. This donation means a lot to us and will go a long way in improving the learning environment for our pupils,” he said.

He also appealed to the government and other organizations to support schools like theirs with additional learning resources and infrastructure.