Tools for School is an initiative launched in December 2013 to equip primary and junior secondary school children in Sierra Leone, West Africa with the basic school supplies needed for a year of school.
WHY SCHOOL SUPPLIES? Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, with more than 70 percent of the population living on less than $1 per day. Many families struggle to provide basic essentials for their families such as food and shelter yet alone provide shoes, uniforms and basic school supplies for their children. For those who manage to gather money to send their children to school, equipping them with supplies they need is most times impossible.
HOW IT WORKS Beginning in January, individuals and groups assist Visão to collect various school supplies. All donated collected supplies are then sorted, and packed into corrugated boxes and shipped to Freetown to be delivered to each of our partner schools for distribution. Please notethat shipments take 6-8 weeks to arrive.
ABOUT THE KITS School supplies are distributed to both primary school students (grade/class 2) and secondary school students (JSS3/8th grade) annually, to help them thrive throughout the school year. Each kit contains the following: a) Primary School Kits: backpack, exercise books, pens, pencils, ruler, eraser, sharpener, and art supplies b) Secondary School Kits: exercise books, pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers, calculator, a geometry set and a dictionary.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED Option 1: Donate Supplies 1. Collect crayons, markers, or any item on the list below. Please make sure all supplies are unused. 2. Send the supplies to this address: The Visão Foundation, P.O Box 263, Larchmont, NY 10538 3. Take a photo of the supplies you sent and post it on our facebook page. Don't forget to include a message of encouragement for the child who will receive the package. Option 2: Sponsor a kit for $25