Hear from 17-year-old Adama, a program participant who’s passionate about creating a better future and campaigning for cleaner air.
Adama Kargbo, who lives in Bombali district in the north of Sierra Leone, is now confident that she can make a difference in her community. Together with her friends, she aims to reduce air pollution in her surroundings and improve air quality by organizing awareness campaigns and training on the harmful effect of burning waste on air quality.
The reason behind the change is the participation of Adama and her friends in the UNICEF program, which supports young people’s digital and work life skills and empowers young people to influence things in their environment.
In 2021, UNICEF established a digital learning center at Adama’s school and started a brand-new program in which Adama and her friends participated. It is a digitally implemented youth innovation and entrepreneurship program, E-UPSHIFT. Especially the youth in the most vulnerable positions can participate in the program. Studying is possible in the digital learning centers built in different parts of the country. This year’s plan is to build them to cover all the provinces of Sierra Leone. About 10,000 young people in Sierra Leone have already participated in the program. Rovio has supported E-UPSHIFT since 2022.
“E-UPSHIFT allows me to think beyond the box! I am happy to come to the lab and learn how to solve problems in my community. It is a privilege to be a young person, to know a problem in a community and know how to solve them!” comments Adama.
UNICEF program participants find solutions to problems.
Now, Adama and her friends are working with community leaders to improve air quality and reduce asthma and other respiratory diseases in children. They often spend long periods of time thinking about new solutions to environmental problems. “Nowadays, I can think of solutions creatively. I’m happy to see that my actions matter,” says Adama.
“I really like teaching girls. It’s rewarding to look for solutions to problems together and see how the girls gradually gain the courage to promote things that are important to them”, says E-UPSHIFT program mentor Anita Bangulle Banguro.
Albert Bundu Kamara, principal of the Maguburaka school, also praises the positive effects of the UNICEF program. UNICEF has delivered 22 solar-powered computers to the school, which are actively used by the school’s 350 students and even by the entire community after school days.
“Young people’s problem-solving skills have developed considerably. Children are more attentive, more involved and find solutions to problems. Those who attend the UNICEF training program do also better in school subjects,” he says.
With the support of UNICEF, the digital divide is being bridged.
More than 75% of Sierra Leone’s eight million people are under 35 years old. The majority of Sierra Leone’s youth are either unemployed or underemployed, which is why the country loses a huge potential for development. Young people lack life skills and other skills used in work life. An important part of UNICEF’s work is developing these skills and abilities of 14-24-year-olds, so that they become productive and active members of their own community influencing not only their own future but also the entire country’s future.
Currently, the limited communication infrastructure is an obstacle to the development of Sierra Leone and the country’s children. Only 32 percent of the population has access to the internet and only 16 percent of young people have a mobile phone with an internet connection. Young people from poor households in remote areas have particularly little access to digital connections. At the same time, working life requires more and more digital skills.
The UNICEF E-UPSHIFT program meets this need. The program contains interactive animated videos, photos and feedback panels that make learning versatile and interesting for children and young people. Already 60 young people across Sierra Leone have been trained as digi mentors who support the learning path of their peer youth.
