Our Approach

Sierra Leonean-led. Community-rooted. Built to last.

Schools for Salone doesn’t run programs in Sierra Leone — our local partners do. Everything we fund, every school we build, every teacher we train is designed, selected, and implemented by five Sierra Leonean organizations who know their communities best.

Five Organizations. One Shared Mission

For twenty years, we’ve worked exclusively through five trusted Sierra Leonean organizations. They hold the relationship with the teachers, families and communities that make lasting change possible.

Programme for Children

Partners since 2005. Builds and maintains schools across Moyamba, Bo, Tonkolili, and Western Area.

Uman Tok

Founded with SfS support in 2020. Leads sexual reproductive health and menstrual health education and distributes reusable hygiene kits to keep girls in school.

The Learning Foundation

Partners since 2014. Trains teachers in early literacy and runs reading clubs across Northern and Southern Provinces and Western Area.

Last Mile Learning – SL

Partners since 2019. Constructs and supports schools in Falaba and Koinadugu Districts in the North.

Sierra Leone Book Trust

Partners since 2012. Supplies books, builds library spaces, and trains teacher librarians to build a love of reading in young people.

Three Pillars, working together

Our partners work across three interconnected areas. A child needs a school to attend, a well-trained teacher to learn from and the health support to show up every day.

Access to Education

Our first step toward keeping kids in school is making sure they have a school to attend. We work with local partners to build schools and maintain existing infrastructure — including solar panels for evening study, libraries, and sanitation facilities. We also provide bikes to students in remote areas who face long daily commutes, and scholarships to at-risk children who need extra support to stay enrolled.
Led by Programme for Children and Last Mile Learning – SL

Quality Education

Once students have a school to attend, we focus on what happens inside it. We work with partners to implement a comprehensive teacher development strategy — Ministry of Education certification training, literacy workshops, library training, and math and science instruction. We also supply locally written and illustrated books, curriculum materials, and teaching tools so that every classroom has what it needs.

Led by The Learning Foundation and Sierra Leone Book Trust

Girls’ Education

In our schools, girls who have started their periods miss 20% of school when menstruating — and 93% had never been told what menstruation was before their first period. Uman Tok provides reproductive health education to girls, boys, and their families, and distributes reusable menstrual hygiene kits to every girl who needs one. Since this program began, girls missing school due to their periods has significantly decreased.
Led by Uman Tok

Local leadership creates lasting change

For twenty years, we’ve seen that programs designed and run by people with roots in their communities outlast those imposed from the outside. Our partners don’t just deliver services — they hold relationships with the teachers, families and communities who make education possible. That’s not something a foreign organization can replicate.

Schools for Salone’s role is to provide the financial resources, strategic guidance, and accountability infrastructure that lets our partners do more of what they already do well.

Education Access

Our first step toward keeping kids in school is making sure they have a school to attend. We work with local partners to build schools and maintain and improve existing school infrastructure to make it easier for students to attend regularly. This includes solar panels to provide light for evening study, libraries, and other amenities. We also build septic latrines and rainwater collection handwashing stations at all our schools to keep our students healthy.

Our first step toward keeping kids in school is making sure they have a school to attend.
We work with local partners to build schools and maintain and improve existing school
infrastructure to make it easier for students to attend regularly. This includes solar panels
to provide light for evening study, libraries, and other amenities. We also build septic
latrines and rainwater collection handwashing stations at all our schools to keep our
students healthy.


We provide scholarships and other forms of basic support to at-risk children who need
extra support to stay in school and learn.


Between 2005 – 2025 we built 47 school buildings and three libraries across Sierra Leone.

Education Quality

Once students have a school to attend, we focus on the quality of education children receive in that school. We work with communities to develop a basic system for tracking student attendance and performance as well as teacher qualifications. We work with local partners to implement a comprehensive teacher development strategy that includes Ministry of Education certification training, literacy instruction workshops, library training, and math and science instruction. We train and support teachers in our schools to become the best teachers they can be!

Once students have a school to attend, we focus on the quality of education children receive in that school. We work with communities to develop a basic system for tracking student attendance and performance as well as teacher qualifications. We work with local partners to implement a comprehensive teacher development strategy that includes Ministry of Education certification training, literacy instruction workshops, library training, and math and science instruction. We train and support teachers in our schools to become the best teachers they can be!

In response to the lack of teaching and learning materials readily available to our teachers, we deliver a variety of resources for teachers and students to use in the classroom. These include locally written, illustrated, and produced stories at varying reading levels, curriculum books, teaching tools, and more. We are in regular communication with our partners to develop effective resources for teaching and learning.

Education Equity

We keep girls in school. In Sierra Leone, menstruation is a significant barrier to education. In our schools, girls who have started their periods miss 20% of school when they are menstruating. Menstruation and menstrual hygiene is not talked about to girls in Sierra Leone, so many are surprised and afraid when they start their periods, and have no supplies to manage it. In our schools, 93% of girls who have started their periods did not know what menstruation was before they had their first period. Providing menstrual hygiene tools and reproductive health education is a direct way to keep girls in school and support their healthy growth and development.

We keep girls in school. In Sierra Leone, menstruation is a significant barrier to education. In our schools, girls who have started their periods miss 20% of school when they are menstruating. Menstruation and menstrual hygiene is not talked about to girls in Sierra Leone, so many are surprised and afraid when they start their periods, and have no
supplies to manage it. In our schools, 93% of girls who have started their periods did not know what menstruation was before they had their first period. Providing menstrual hygiene tools and reproductive health education is a direct way to keep girls in school and support their healthy growth and development.


Schools for Salone conducts reproductive health education with girls and boys in our schools, and distributes Days for Girls menstruation kits to girls who have started their periods. Uman Tok is a partnership between Schools for Salone USA, Uman TOK Sierra Leone, and Days for Girls. The purpose of Uman Tok is to make menstrual hygiene management and education available to women and girls across Sierra Leone so they can overcome the barriers of menstruation and achieve their dreams.


Since reproductive health education and kit distribution began, there have been zero cases of teenage pregnancy in any SfS partner schools, and the incidence of girls missing school because of their periods has dropped to near zero and remained there. When girls have the menstrual care they need, it empowers them to go to school and pursue a promising future.

See What's Inside A Kit

Education Access

The first step to expanding education is making sure there is a school to attend.

Education Quality

Only well-prepared teachers can provide quality instruction. We train teachers.

Education Equity

Girls must have the healthcare resources they need to stay in school. We empower girls

Expand Education One School at a Time

We build schools. Our first step toward keeping kids in school is making sure they have a school to attend. We work with local partners to build schools and maintain and improve existing school infrastructure to make it easier for students to attend regularly. This includes solar panels to provide light for evening study, libraries, and other amenities. We also build septic latrines and rainwater collection handwashing stations at all our schools to keep our students healthy.

We provide scholarships and other forms of basic support to at-risk children who need extra support to stay in school and learn. 

Between 2005 – 2025 we built 47 school buildings and three libraries across Sierra Leone. 

Expand Education One Teacher at a Time

We train teachers. Once students have a school to attend, we focus on the quality of education children receive in that school. We work with communities to develop a basic system for tracking student attendance and performance as well as teacher qualifications. We work with local partners to implement a comprehensive teacher development strategy that includes Ministry of Education certification training, literacy instruction workshops, library training, and math and science instruction. We train and support teachers in our schools to become the best teachers they can be!

Teaching & Learning resources. In response to the lack of teaching and learning materials readily available to our teachers, we deliver a variety of resources for teachers and students to use in the classroom. These include locally written, illustrated, and produced stories at varying reading levels, curriculum books, teaching tools, and more. We are in regular communication with our partners to develop effective resources for teaching and learning.

 

Expand Education One Student at a Time

We keep girls in school. In Sierra Leone, menstruation is a significant barrier to education. In our schools, girls who have started their periods miss 20% of school when they are menstruating. Menstruation and menstrual hygiene is not talked about to girls in Sierra Leone, so many are surprised and afraid when they start their periods, and have no supplies to manage it. In our schools, 93% of girls who have started their periods did not know what menstruation was before they had their first period. Providing menstrual hygiene tools and reproductive health education is a direct way to keep girls in school and support their healthy growth and development.

Schools for Salone conducts reproductive health education with girls and boys in our schools, and distributes Days for Girls menstruation kits to girls who have started their periods. Uman Tok is a partnership between Schools for Salone USA, Uman TOK Sierra Leone, and Days for Girls. The purpose of Uman Tok is to make menstrual hygiene management and education available to women and girls across Sierra Leone so they can overcome the barriers of menstruation and achieve their dreams.

Since reproductive health education and kit distribution began, there have been zero cases of teenage pregnancy in any SfS partner schools, and the incidence of girls missing school because of their periods has dropped to near zero and remained there. When girls have the menstrual care they need, it empowers them to go to school and pursue a promising future.

Learn more about the kits, what’s included, and how you can contribute to their production.