Tamba Abdulai Foundation

Girls Supported with school itemsTamba Abdulai Foundation

In Kono District, Sierra Leone, the Tamba Abdulai Foundation is working to expand access to education for underprivileged children, with a focus on girls who face some of the greatest barriers to staying in school. The foundation was created by Tamba S. Abdulai, a Youth Exchange & Study (YES) alumnus who spent a formative year in the United States in 2013–14 funded by the U.S State Department. When he returned home, he launched the foundation in 2014 to give children in his community the kinds of opportunities he had been fortunate to experience—support, mentorship, and the chance to learn.

From its beginnings, the foundation has concentrated on removing practical and cultural barriers that keep children, particularly girls, out of the classroom. It provides scholarships that cover school fees, uniforms, and supplies, while also running mentorship programs that encourage students to stay in school and aim higher. Parents and community leaders are engaged through awareness campaigns that highlight the importance of education and explain Sierra Leone’s laws against child marriage. The foundation also tracks student attendance and performance to make sure its support leads to real progress.

The results have been encouraging. In one academic year, 85 children from fifteen communities were supported, seventy percent of them girls. In 2018–19, ninety percent of participating students advanced to the next grade with an average score of seventy-four percent. In supported cohorts, there have been no reported dropouts or early marriages, showing the effectiveness of combining financial assistance with mentorship and parental engagement.

Challenges remain, including persistent poverty that makes it difficult for families to cover even basic school costs, deeply rooted traditions that undervalue girls’ education, and schools with limited infrastructure such as furniture, clean water, and electricity.

In 2021, the Tamba Abdulai Foundation, with support from the YES Alumni Grant (U.S. Department of State), trained 75 young people in Kono District on basic computer literacy. Over five months, participants learned Microsoft Windows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and safe internet use.

The program equipped youths with practical digital skills to improve their job prospects and bridge the digital divide in Kono, creating new opportunities in education, business, and employment.

Tamba Abdulai FoundationTeam member of Tamba Abdulai Foundation

In the 2024–25 school year, the foundation expanded its reach by supporting forty-eight girls in both primary and secondary school. Each student received uniforms, shoes, and stationery, along with solar lamps to help them study at night in homes without electricity. More than two hundred parents across ten communities took part in training sessions that emphasized the benefits of education and the protections offered by the Anti-Early Marriage Act. The foundation also improved learning environments by providing benches and desks to a primary school in Gbukuma, repairing a broken hand pump to restore clean water, and delivering classroom materials.

This combination of student support, community education, and school infrastructure reflects a comprehensive approach to improving education in rural Sierra Leone. It aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on quality education and gender equality, while also addressing the specific needs of families and schools in Kono District.

Looking ahead, the foundation plans to expand mentorship opportunities to include career guidance and digital literacy, build stronger partnerships with government and NGOs to improve school facilities, and secure more reliable funding to sustain its work. 

Tamba Abdulai FoundationA beneficiary from Tamba Abdulai Foundaiton