Children looked spic and span in their new uniforms, complete with exuberant smiles as they start this year’s academic session, while others roamed the street trading to fend for their parents or guardians.
Alusine Kanu, 13 (real name withheld) one of those unfortunate kids who roam the streets of Freetown, sells locally made biscuits – ‘kill driver’.
The poor little boy sadly narrated, “I’m staying at Mount Aureol my elder sister promised me that she would send me to school but, instead she gave me ‘kill driver’ to sell.”
He continued, “I was staying at Akram and attending the SLMA primary school at ‘Ashoebi Corner’ when my sister asked our parents to let me stay with her.”
My sister, the boy said with a solemn voice “failed to pay my school fees when I was in class two, so I left school.” “Now I’m selling for her,” he said.
“I don’t want to sell I want to go to school I want to be educated,” he cried.
Even though primary education is said to be free there are several other kids out there who really want to go to school but cannot, due to one reason or the other.
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