Delivering on Africa’s Dreams

By David Lipton

Across sub-Saharan Africa, a visit to a school offers both a vision of hope for the future, and a reminder of the difficulties in attaining that vision. My recent visit to Sierra Leone and Niger brought this duality into sharp focus.

In Sierra Leone, classrooms at the Regent Square Municipal School showcase the government’s ambitious Free Quality Education program that aims to build on the country’s most precious resource—its children. There, eager students are attentive and diligent, but their education is constrained by large classes, overburdened and undertrained teachers, and a shortage of educational materials.