Jamaican Philanthropist Donna Moore-Stewart Builds Learning Centre for Children in Sierra Leone

Kingston, Jamaica – Nearly 300 school children in the village of Kakendema. Sierra Leone, West Africa, now have access to a learning centre, built by Jamaican native Donna Moore-Stewart, through her Pollyanna Project.
Recently, Moore-Stewart who resides in the United States (US), and a team of volunteers visited the country, where they distributed educational supplies to over 250 children, in tree villages, as well as formally established the centre, this was after, supporting education in the areas, since 2018.

The founder and Chief Executive Officer of the group, said they wanted to visit the village, to see how we have impacted the local lives, and she was moved to further the ties as a means of the “realisation of my purpose to our Ancestors, and the responsibility to our descendants,” she said.

Adding that the Project is about serving others, she said after seeing the many needs in Sierra, she and her team members commenced an immediate task, where they shipped books, for the learning center, backpacks for the children, school supplies, learning manipulators, pens, pencils, notebooks, folders, crayons, and clothing, athletics gear donated by “our major sponsors, The Brooklyn Nets and our partners and donors in New York,” she stated.

The village, she reported, has no running water, electricity, and Internet, “which means no television or connection to the outside world as we are used to,” Moor- Stewart said she witnessed community bonding together, eating together, and children playing with each other,” she shared.

It is a community where women and children eating from the same plate/(pudding pan). Children doing the assigned chores with grace. “Carrying of water from the well that was built recently by a generous donor in the United States. Children mopping and wiping floors, just as if I am in the 60s. We used the outdoor common bathroom and restrooms, we took our showers in buckets and at night for light, we used a solar power flashlight to see,” she shared.

Describing the efforts in Sierra Leone as a mission, Moore-Stewart said it will continue, as there is more work to be done in the villages, and “we owe it to our Ancestors, to do our part for our descendants. Each member’s lives have forever been changed, to do more, recognising that Jamaica is a privileged country, but we have greater work to accomplish in Africa too,” she reasoned.

Elder in the village of Kakendema, Francis Conteh, who coordinates the Project, said the children who received the “much needed” items, have been reminded that there are people who care “about their wellbeing and future.

“This gesture is a powerful reminder of the positive change that can be brought about when individuals and organisations come together with a common purpose, and, for many families in our community, these mean more than just gifts, they symbolise hope, opportunities, and a bright future,” he said.

After supporting the education of children in St. Catherine, for 30 years, in October, the St. Catherine Municipal Corporation honoured Moore-Stwart. The Project has established two learning centres in Jamaica, on in Castleton, St. Andrew, and the other in Birnamwood, Portland.

By Garfield L. Angus