By Kef Dukulay
To cement the long bilateral relationship, well-meaning organisations from Turkey continue to partner with local national Muslim organisations to promote Islam and education in Sierra Leone.
One such Turkish organisation is the International Relief Organisation known as IHH Turkey.
IHH Turkey is implementing over 100 projects in more than 140 countries mostly in Africa. With their continental partner, the Africa Humanitarian Relief Foundation, IHH Turkey, continues to invest in the propagation of Islam, Islamic education and humanitarian works across Africa.
Currently IHH Turkey is implementing their third largest educational project in Africa with the establishment in 2017 of the Istanbul International Islamic Schools at the former Refugee Camp at Lumpa, outside Waterloo in the Western Rural District.
At the moment, the establishment runs both nursery and primary sectors catering uniquely for the girl child. The secondary sector is expected to commence next academic year taking in 480 girls, with boarding for half the number of orphans.
The Director of the schools, Engineer Figret Guller, recently revealed plans to formally open the complex. In an interview on the schools’ campus past weekend, he informed that the ceremony will take place soon. “We are passionate about Islamic education for especially girls in Sierra Leone,” he noted, saying the schools are for both those who can afford and orphans.
According to him, the boarding will cater exclusively for orphaned girls, where they will also have the opportunity to learn to keep poultry and do vegetable gardening to be able to provide sustenance for themselves without cost.
“Our premium will be on science and the secondary school will offer medicine as introductory course to make it easy for students to enter medical schools just after their West African Senior Schools Certificate Examinations (WASSCE),” he furthered. He added that the school will also encourage multi-lingual teaching- English, French and Arabic- with Turkish to be introduced later.
He said, in total, half of the students will be paying fees at affordable cost for high quality education in a conducive environment. “We run on solar-powered energy, have quality structures and teachers, recreational facilities and we will soon establish a practicing hospital, laboratories and examination units to help students,” he noted, saying a university is in the offing to promote science.
IHH Turkey works with three local partners in Sierra Leone, comprising the Wellington Muslims Association (WMA), Why Islam in Action Foundation and Free Africa Foundation to improve welfare of Muslims and offer scholarships to the needy.