The Bulletin: A lesson in courage, a vision of hope in war ravaged Sierra Leone

Naminatu Kamara has a dream, a dream of becoming a school teacher and helping heal the wounds of her scarred country.

She understands those wounds better than most. Her hope for a better future remains undimmned despite the 26-year-old being one of the 27,000 Sierra Leonians who lost limbs or were left disabled by her country’s 11-year civil war. In an appalling act of cruelty, she had her right arm cut off when she was only three by rebel forces in 1998.

She is one of only 2,000 still alive today, says the country’s Amputee And War Wounded Association.

Education is key to Sierra Leone’s recovery. The country lost 1,270 primary schools in the conflict, depriving a generation of vital schooling.

It is 20 years this month since the civil war came to an end, leaving up to 200,000 dead and hundreds of thousands more traumatised by rape and mutilation.

The country remains deeply divided and plagued by corruption and, despite vast resources of precious metals and minerals, it is one of the poorest in the world.

The conflict began when rebels of the Revolutionary United Front attacked the east of Sierra Leone in 1991 on the border with Liberia – an insurrection against the power base of President Joseph Saidu Momoh, who sent troops to crush the rebellion.

The clashes set off a chain of violence, leading to military coups and drawing in foreign forces. In 2012, the former president of neighbouring Liberia, Charles Taylor, was sentenced by a special international court to 50 years in prison for aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It was a war fuelled by cash from blood diamonds – precious stones mined in war zones and sold for weapons, as depicted in the Hollywood film Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

A UN peacekeeping mission was sent, but by 2000 rebel forces were advancing on the capital, Freetown.

At this point, the UK declared its intention to intervene, and with a UN mandate and air support from neighbouring Guinea, defeated the RUF and took control of Freetown.

Naminatu is alive thanks to the skills of surgeons at a local hospital and today lives in Amputee Village, a community which grew out of resettled victims, in Joetown less than 20 miles from the capital.

Now she is hoping to study to become a teacher, but has faced a struggle to prove herself.

She said: “Since the violence of having my arm amputated I have faced so many challenges. No one came to help my mother when the country was at war and follow-up social and medical help was not available.

“When I wanted to return to school many people told my mother it was pointless educating me. ‘She will not be successful. Look at her!’ they said.

“But my mother did not listen and thanks to her support I continued in schooling and was encouraged to dream my dream.”

Naminatu volunteers at Shieldra Primary, in Amputee Village, while she studies for her teaching college entrance exams.

“I have been helping as a teaching assistant and this has increased my knowledge and given me such happiness. Teaching the children, sharing knowledge with them and guiding their learning to help them learn, improves my self-esteem and the way my community see me as much more than an amputee. I dream of being involved in education as it gives me strength and courage to forget about the violence and pain I encountered.

“It is my ambition to study for a Teaching Certificate at Freetown Polytechnic. This will take three years but will help me realise my dream of being involved in education as it gives me strength and courage to forget about the violence and pain I encountered at a very early age.

“Education is going to allow me to be successful in life. Without it I will never be considered in my community, society or the world as a whole.”

And her ambition to teach and help secure a brighter tomorrow for Sierra Leone is being followed keenly in Scotland. The school was built by a Scottish charity, the Alec Russell Educational Trust, run by retired additional learning support teacher Morag Keenan, from Lochailort, near Mallaig. The Trust also supports Naminatu and three other students.

The pupils proudly wear school uniforms of Acharacle Primary school in the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Pupils’ families donated them to allow the African children to attend school because uniforms are outwith the reach of families in a struggling African economy still struggling to recover from an Ebola outbreak in 2014.

Head teacher at Acharacle Primary, Lyndsay Bradley, says her pupils and community gladly help.

“When we heard how difficult it is for some to attend primary school we were inspired to help.

“It was a joy to see pictures of them smiling in their Acharacle Primary uniforms, so happy and eager to be at school and learn.

“Our pupils gained just as much from helping the Shieldra School children.”

Shieldra has grown from classes under a mango tree to a substantial building, constructed by local people, much of which was paid for by supporters on Shetland.

Keenan said: “It all started when I went to Sierra Leone in 2016 and saw how children could benefit from a good school and then came home to make it happen.

“I wanted to teach there as a volunteer and saw the desperate need for schools, more teachers and creating opportunities for children to become educated and move out of poverty. Some did not have shoes or durable clothes for school.

“Theoretically, education is free for primary level but they have to wear uniform – and that is expensive for many families.

“They also have to supply their own books and writing materials and so we donate money to buy these.

“A lot of that is too much for families in poverty and many children are hungry and not able to concentrate

“None of it would be possible without the kind hearts of supporters. Seeing Naminatu thrive and go on to aim for teacher against huge odds is a joy.”