CURRENT PROJECTS/CAMPAIGNS

COVID-19 RESPONSE

WITAcare successfully completed another mission!

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, The Wilberforce Primary school has not been in session. In spite of this, WITA has continued our feeding program. Between May 7th and May 11th, WITA has enacted and funded the Home Food Delivery Service, utilizing our local food vendors to deliver hot meals and packages of uncooked rice to the children. This effort was well received because of the number of families without any source of income. We want to continue this service as long as we can afford to do it. Thanks to our donors for their generosity, enabling us to continue to feed the children attending Wilberforce Primary School.

In addition, WITAcare partnered with a local group (Born Wilberforce Pekin) in a fundraising effort to produce 10,000 face masks made by the local tailors in the village in an effort to ensure that the community follows the recommended Covid-19 preventive measures, while simultaneously supplementing the income of local tailors

Wilberforce Primary School (WPS)

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School Lunch Program

According to Business Insider (2018), Sierra Leone ranks at number 10 amongst the 28 poorest countries in the world where people live on less than $1,000 per year. Poverty, the negative impact of civil war, political unrest, and other environmental factors have left many of the children of Sierra Leone hungry and malnourished. Children who are hungry cannot concentrate on learning. WITAcare is dedicated and committed to improving the lives of children at the Wilberforce Primary school. This endeavor starts with ensuring that the children can take full advantage of the education provided to them by removing the focus from hunger and redirecting the focus to learning. The Wilberforce Primary School consists of approximately 800 students ranging in ages from 4-12 (Kindergarten through 6th Grade).

Our goal is to provide school lunches to approximately 800 children on a daily basis. With your help, WITAcare is looking forward to receiving donations to cover school lunch expenses so that each child will receive daily lunch without the burden of wondering as to when and where they will get their next meal; therefore, we are certain that by providing school lunches, these children would be more focused, attentive, receptive, and motivated to learning.

Please consider making a pledge or a donation today to help finance school lunches.

Click here to donate.

Reading Book Drive (Printed Books and Materials, eBOOKs and Audio Books)

Imagine you are a child living in a small village you have never left. You are unfamiliar with people from other countries, their customs or cultures outside your own.

The vast majority of children at Wilberforce have had no exposure to life beyond their local environment. The immediate access to free books at their grade levels will increase readership and open a whole new world of possibilities and experiences to which they would never have imagined.

The WITAcare Reading Book Drive was established to encourage recreational reading by making reading fun for kids. We want children to discover the uplifting power of a good book. Children will be encouraged to form Book Clubs where they will discuss books they have read.

The importance of reading and its magical effects on young minds cannot be overstated. Reading itself is infectious and opens the door to knowledge. We are certain that children will be motivated by the rewarding challenge to read as many books as possible thereby increasing the standard of literacy within the community..

Please consider donating new or used reading books (printed materials, eBOOKs, and Audio Books) and give a child the world in the palm of their hands. Click here to donate.

Used Backpacks for Books

WITAcare is all about helping! Help us to help you get rid of your children’s used back packs. We want to recycle lightly used backpacks for kids and provide employment opportunities for local tailors at Wilberforce who may be able to provide repair services if needed. This will also create jobs for the community while taking the stress off children who need to carry their books to school each day. A used backpack that we would normally trash here in the United States is better than an old plastic bag any day. This is truly a testament of “One man’s (lightly used backpack) is another man’s treasure”. Click here to donate.

Care Packages

Civil war, poverty, and diseases have left many of the children in Sierra Leone orphaned. As a result of the war, many children have been left homeless and without parents and some of them have been challenged with the responsibilities of caring for their younger siblings. Nonetheless, these children remain resilient and hopeful. WITAcare plans to provide care packages during holidays and special events so that children can experience the joy of giving and receiving charitable items that can be shared and cherished. We believe that happy children thrive in the classroom. Please consider gifts to keep their spirits warm despite their circumstances. Items should fit in a shoe box (e.g. personal hygiene kits, school supplies, toys, non-perishable snacks, etc.)

Please join us to ensure that every child is given an opportunity to receive necessities that are often taken for granted. This effort will extend the spirit of giving and receiving to all children. Click here to donate.

New Primary School Building Construction (Proposed)

Presently, Wilberforce Primary School operates out of an old building with significant structural damage. WITAcare travelled to Sierra Leone in December 2017 with a group of elementary school children from the United States. The children were excited and anticipated spending some time at the school with the local pupils. Due to the degree of damage and concern for their safety, the visiting students did not get a chance to enter the building. Instead, the students got the opportunity to meet with their colleagues outside the building. The roofing was subject to leaking. The flooring was dilapidated and during the rainy season, it is covered with mud. Additionally, the children have limited access to toilets. Although they have access to well water, there is no electricity.

WITAcare is greatly concerned about the safety of all of the students who have to sit inside this severely derelict structure for several hours. WITAcare’s future intention is to have this presently unsafe building demolished and replaced with a modern facility.