Community leadership
Parents, teachers and school committees set priorities and hold each project accountable.
Try: “WASH”, “women's empowerment”, “Sierra Leone”, “climate resilience”.
Education is the surest route out of poverty, yet crowded classrooms, undertrained teachers and the everyday cost of schooling still keep too many children from reaching their potential. Girls, children with disabilities and those in remote communities are most often left behind.
SDI treats education as a system rather than a single fix. We rehabilitate learning spaces, strengthen teaching, and remove the barriers that push children out of school, pairing infrastructure with trained teachers, learning materials and engaged families so that gains hold.
Communities lead this work. Parent and teacher committees help plan, oversee and sustain each project, and young people who graduate from our skills programmes return as mentors. What remains is not a one-off intervention but a stronger local education system that keeps improving after we step back.
Practical, community-led activities that turn commitment into measurable change.
Rebuilding and equipping safe, well-lit classrooms and learning spaces close to where children live.
Training and mentoring teachers in child-centred, inclusive methods that keep learners engaged.
Removing the cost barriers that push vulnerable children, especially girls, out of school.
Strengthening reading, numeracy and basic digital skills that underpin all later learning.
Giving young children a strong, playful start that shapes every year that follows.
Equipping youth with practical, market-relevant skills that lead to real livelihoods.
Supplying the books, tools and materials that make everyday teaching effective.
Building local structures that plan, monitor and sustain schools for the long term.
The same principles guide every SDI programme, shaping how we deliver this one.
Parents, teachers and school committees set priorities and hold each project accountable.
We work through education authorities and existing schools, never around them.
We design for the children most often excluded, prioritising girls and learners with disabilities.
We strengthen systems and skills so improvements continue long after our teams move on.
Mariama · Kono District, Sierra Leone
When her family could no longer cover the costs, Mariama left school at twelve to help at home. A community bursary and a teacher who refused to give up brought her back to the classroom. With catch-up support and a mentor from an earlier cohort, she rebuilt her confidence one term at a time. Two years on, Mariama is among the top students in her year and volunteers as a peer mentor, coaching younger girls through the same doubts she once faced. Her ambition now reaches beyond her own future: she wants to train as a teacher and return to the very school that welcomed her back. Her story is not one of rescue but of a community that removed the barriers in her way and a young woman who did the rest herself.
Children and young people in underserved communities, with particular attention to girls, children with disabilities and those furthest from schools, alongside the teachers and families who support them.
Across our countries of operation, starting from our base in Sierra Leone and extending through regional offices, always in partnership with local education authorities.
Together with communities and district education offices, using transparent criteria that prioritise need, exclusion and the potential for lasting impact.
We combine bursaries, safe and inclusive learning spaces, female mentors and work with families to address the specific barriers girls face.
Institutions, foundations and donors can fund specific schools or components, or co-design larger programmes with us. Reach out through our contact page to begin.
Safe spaces and systems that shield children from harm, neglect and exploitation.
View ProgrammeSavings groups, enterprise and training that put economic power in women's hands.
View ProgrammeTrained volunteers and stronger systems that carry care to the last mile.
View ProgrammeFund a specific activity, support the whole programme, or partner with SDI to reach more communities. Every contribution is invested in results we measure and share.