About forty children from all districts of the country converged in Freetown from the 13th to 16th October 2016 to witness the Bilateral Budget discussions of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS) on the 15th and 17th October, respectively organized by the government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

The children’s visit was organized by the National Commission for Children with support from UNICEF and Save the Children.
Prior to the visit, the children had been trained on Child friendly budgeting to advocate for the prioritization of specific children’s issues and they had also presented these issues to their various local councils in all the districts.

On Saturday 15th October, 2016 the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) presented its budget to the MOFED and the children were given the opportunity to participate in the process where they raised a lot of issues they deemed needed more attention. These included: the building of more schools in the districts with spacious classrooms and the rehabilitation of existing schools with enough learning and teaching materials.
They also requested the MEST to send trained and qualified teachers to the schools especially in rural communities, they requested an increase in the salaries of teachers and also for the allocation of funds for remote allowances for teachers. “Majority of our peers do not have access to trained and qualified teachers which is largely responsible for the poor quality of education they receive” said Jeneba J J Sillah from Moyamba district.

Haja Mariama Bangura from Bombali District also asked for the construction and equipping of school libraries and laboratories with up-to-date text books as some of the books supplied are not good. “Having no libraries or laboratories or ones with outdated equipment and chemicals is really a very serious problem for us offering the sciences and this seriously affects our grades especially in external examinations. That is why I am pleading to the MEST that you please help us in that area” concluded Ms. Bangura.

A pupil of Koidu Secondary school in Kono district, Yajah Abraham said he was quite impressed with the budget presentation made by the MEST but requested that the schools be made more friendly for children with disabilities by building ramps and disable friendly toilets.
Advocating for improved water and sanitation conditions in schools Abigail Sidikie from Tombo representing children in the Western Area Rural District (WARD) asked that enough toilets and wells be constructed in the schools as well as the communities. The absence of these essential needs in secondary schools she said discourages girls who are in their menstrual periods to attend school. This she said is not good for the children and they want it to be addressed with all the seriousness it deserves. “We want more toilets and water facilities in secondary schools as that will help girls stay in school during their menstrual period” said Ms. Sidikie.

Also on the water and sanitation issue, Abibatu Kanu from Port Loko district also advocated for more wells to be constructed in communities within the district to stop girls from fetching water till late at night and exposed to all forms of abuse. She also added that where wells exist they should be accessible to the public.

Senior members and staff of the MEST assured the children that their concerns will be taken into consideration and will be addressed according to available resources.

Similarly on Monday 17th October, 2016, the children witnessed the budget presentation made by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.
The children also had the opportunity to participate in the discussions and they asked for the following issues to be prioritized and for the allocation of more resources: that First aid kits be provided in schools, more health centers constructed in chiefdoms with trained medical personnel and enough medicines including the extension of the Free Health care initiative to all children above 6 years.
In the same vein, Irene Leigh of the Annie Walsh Memorial School representing children in the Western Area – Urban asked for the resuscitation of school health clinics as children waste too much time in the hospital when sick.
The children also asked for the provision of birth registration for all children born in Sierra Leone free of cost, for improved sanitation in the hospitals and the provision of more beds for admission in the main referral hospitals and PHU’s within the districts.

Members present at the budget discussions were quite pleased with the children’s participation in the process.

Members of Civil Society organizations said all the concerns raised by the children were in place and that they had nothing new to add but to support what the children have presented and try to see that such important concerns are adequately addressed.
This was followed by media engagements where some of the children granted interviews to various media institutions of both print and electronic media.