BY: KLDC COMMUNICATIONS UNIT
KLDC CHAIRMAN CUTTING THE RIBBONS TO THE AHMADIYYA SCHOOL IN BAIIMA
Residents in Sandiyalu – Luawa Chiefdom, Baiima – Mandu Chiefdom, and Daru – Jarwei Chiefdom, were in jubilant mode on Monday 13th October, 2025 as the Chairman of the Kailahun District Council, Sahr Ahmed Kaikonjor Lamin commissioned and handed over completed buildings rehabilitated by the Council.
The completed buildings are sub-projects under Phase two of the Accountable Governance for Basic Service Delivery (AGBSD) Project, funded by the World Bank and implemented by the Kailahun District Council. In Sandiyalu and Baiima, the Council rehabilitated two buildings with six classrooms (each), an office space and staff room for each school, waste disposal pits, constructed two toilet cubicles with ten rooms each, constructed a hand pump, water tank measuring 5,000 liters each, fabricated furniture, and provided solar powered electricity at the Community Junior Secondary school and the Ahmadiyya Primary school respectively. In Daru town, the Council gave the Council guesthouse an overhaul.
Giving his keynote to resident beneficiaries in the different locations, Chairman Lamin underscored that the Council, via its Civil Works Engineer, Ing. Mohamed Joe Bockarie, had done assessments across the district to ascertain beneficiaries of phase one of the AGBSD Project. According to him, all three locations were in dire need of the support, thus why they benefitted. The KLDC Chairman charged residents to take proper care of the facilities, adding that every community in the district’s fifteen chiefdoms needs developments of this nature but since all cannot get such at the same time, they have been opportune to. “These schools are generational structures: these children will use them, and children after them will also use them, provided you protect the facilities and ensure maintenance is carried out as and when necessary,” he told community members who benefitted from school rehabilitation. Chairman Lamin told residents of Daru that the Council guesthouse is owned by the Council and the people, as it shall serve as an income generation stream for the Council, which will in turn serve as revenue for more development in the district.
In her statement, the Acting Chief Administrator of the Kailahun District Council, Hawa Toma Coomber told the people of Sandiyalu and Baiima that like the central government, the Council is poised to developing the human capital of the district, and thus the new facilities should help improve learning outcomes in those schools. “Before our intervention especially in Baiima, the school had only two classrooms for six classes, with a makeshift toilet which were all not conducive for proper learning. All such can derail the quality in education but with these new and improved structures, kindly ensure the best is given to these children,” she charged teachers.
On behalf of the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, the Deputy Director of Education in Kailahun District, Alusine Michael Kpulun applauded the Council and the World Bank for the project implemented in the schools. He cited that the structures do not only enhance quality learning but upholds the “Radical Inclusion” policy as there are ramps providing access for disabled persons. Given that some schools are broken into and facilities damaged, the Chairman of the Civil Society Organizations in Kailahun, Kabba admonished community stakeholders to take ownership of the facilities handed over to them, by ensuring the provision of security for the facilities. Paramount Chief of Jarwei Chiefdom, Musa Ngombuklah Kallon thanked the Council and the World Bank for the facelift given to the Council guesthouse, stating that the newly refurbished facility has added to his chiefdom’s flair. Sow Alieu Mohamed, a JSS 3 pupil at the Community Junior Secondary School, Sandiyalu, thanked the World Bank and the Council for the support to their school, expressing that the new facilities will enhance their learning experience, and ensure a conducive space for them to grow academically. “Your investment in education will have a lasting impact in our community,” he wrapped up. The Amir of the Ahmadiyya Mission in Sierra Leone, Musa Mewa, Esq., gratified the World Bank and the Council, committing that the structures will be well taken care of. “We have over 300 schools nationwide and every now and then they need support so for the Council, with funds from the World Bank, to come and give us this boost, we are grateful. This is a great partnership,” he said.
Keys to each facility were handed over to community stakeholders, as the KLDC Chairman symbolically cut tapes to mark the official opening of those facilities.
