Aminata’s path: How partnerships are making schools safer for girls in Sierra Leone

Imagine a young girl in Sierra Leone—we’ll call her Aminata. Each morning, she slips into her school uniform with quiet determination. Her dreams are as vast as the sky: she wants to learn, lead, and live in a world where school feels like a haven. But for girls like Aminata, school hasn’t always been secure.

That’s beginning to change—and Aminata’s story is why this transformation matters so deeply. The Sierra Leone Free Education Project (SLFEP), a $65.97 million program, is helping turn that hope into reality, ensuring every child, especially girls, can go to school free from harm.

In 2019, Sierra Leone boldly committed to investing in human capital. It recognized that getting children into classrooms was only a starting point. To truly unlock the potential of girls like Aminata, the country needed to address the barriers, particularly school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV), that threatened their well-being and educational journey.

This led to the launch of the project in 2020, a government-led initiative supported by development partners, including the World Bank. The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, working closely with the Ministries of Gender and Justice, the Teaching Service Commission, and the Family Support Unit of the Sierra Leone Police, has led efforts to translate this vision into concrete action.

The Bank’s role extended well beyond financing. It helped design practical solutions, strengthened coordination across ministries, and embedded a systems-based approach that put girls’ safety and dignity at the heart of education reform.

The revision of the National Referral Protocol for sexual and gender-based violence was key. It is now more survivor-centered, child- and gender-sensitive, and disability-inclusive. A multi-agency Technical Working Group was formed and includes development partners such as UNFPA, FCDO, UNICEF, Irish Aid, and the World Bank to promote collaboration.

Another breakthrough was finalizing the Comprehensive School Safety Policy in March 2023. Grounded in three pillars—safe learning environments, disaster risk preparedness, and protection from violence—the policy now serves as the backbone of school safety reforms, with SLFEP driving implementation across districts.

But systems alone aren’t enough. Real change happens when communities stand behind girls like Aminata. Through SLFEP, civil society organizations are connecting schools and families, training School Management Committees and grievance redress mechanisms to report and respond to SRGBV.

The Rainbo Initiative, a campaign dedicated to responding to and preventing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), for example, offers direct support to survivors, helps verify cases, and trains healthcare and education personnel to respond with compassion and clarity.

Today, thanks to SLFEP and the collective commitment behind it, more girls feel safe. More schools have clear, enforced policies. More educators are held accountable. Most importantly, girls like Aminata are staying in school and daring to dream even bigger.