A bit about Sidikie
I was born in Bradford, where I spent my childhood happily growing up in a friendly community. I was the fourth out of six children, due to this school was a huge financial challenge for my parents. I had big dreams of becoming a Doctor and although we didn’t have a hospital nearby, once a week a dispenser from another town would visit and I would follow him around all day to learn.
One scholarship was awarded for the top student in the region, taking into consideration my family’s economic situation, I worked hard to be the best. I won the scholarship and had the opportunity to go to any secondary school of my choice. I chose a top school in the South but my dreams of going to medical school ended before they started as too much money was demanded. Devastated, I eventually settled for another secondary school near to my village where education fees were cheaper and could be spread.
I achieved my GCSE’s but once again due to financial reasons, I was unable to complete my A Level’s and go on to university. After that it was time for me to look for something else, to help my family and not go back to school. This brief overview is to highlight the extreme challenges so many children especially girls face. In my country - a little help is needed which is why I am trying to do my best and make that difference to help children realize their dreams.
“One in ten schoolgirls will miss school due to their period”
Sidikie Kargbo | Co-Founder
Project Dream
Independently founded by Sidikie Kargbo and Andrea Reis in 2012, Project Dream’s purpose is to provide a foundation for education and to support the realisation of childrens hopes and dreams in Sidikie's hometown of Bradford.
In the United Kingdom it is a widespread fact that we take pre-school education for granted. In Sid’s community, the everyday challenges faced through poverty means children miss out and due to the present class room space and inadequate education service, the school is unable to accommodate large number of pupils, especially girls where 60% will miss out.
It is a widespread but unacknowledged problem that girls will miss school because of menstruation.
For the last six months, our small team have been collecting clothes, children’s books, feminine hygiene products and toys to send to a team of volunteers in Freetown. Our mission in 2017 was to build a new pre-school and to recruit properly trained staff to improve early learning opportunities and end financial challenges and gender-specific barriers for girls.
There are major challenges in the Education and Health Sector which have only been made worst since the Ebola outbreak. There is no government support and towns like Bradford rely on intervention from individual charities or organisations.
Sidikie Kargbo – Co-Founder
Ongoing Projects
We will soon be able to ensure that each school girl is equipped with safe, reusable and eco-friendly menstrual cups.
From 2019 to present, we are working on building even more water wells for villages across Sierra Leone to provide safe drinking water to communities.
We are currently working towards completing the Library.
Boys are given the priority over girls to have access to education. With our programmes we are aiming to provide resources and funding to allow girls the education they deserve.