About Free the Children

Children helping children through education.
www.freethechildren.com

History:
Founded in Canada by Craig Kielburger in 1995 when he was 12 years old!

*Images from Free The Children website

Acheivements:

• Built more than 500 schools-providing education to more than 50,000 children every day.
  
  
• Distributed more then 207,500 school and health kits sent to children in need.
  
  
• Shipped more than $15 million US worth of medical supplies and built health care centers, impacting the lives of more than 512,500 people around the world.
  
  
• Equipped 23,500 women to be economically self-sufficient.
  
  
• Improved access to clean water and sanitation for 138,500 people.

Acheivements in Sierra Leone:

• Rebuilding the infrastructure of Sierra Leone, especially in the area of education, in response to the civil war.
  
  
• Providing education to thousands of war-affected children.
  
  
• Has sent major shipments—wheelchairs, school kits, backpacks, desks, textbooks and $1.17 million US in medical supplies—to war-affected regions.
  
  
• Working in the Kono District (eastern Sierra Leone). This region was completely destroyed during the war because of the large quantity of diamonds in the area. No other district was as devastated.

About Sierra Leone

Map of Sierra Leone:	Map of Africa:
Flag:	Coat Of Arms:

Population: 5.5 million
(Canada: 32.6 million)

National Language: English

Average life expectancy: 41 years
(Canada: 80 years)

Average yearly income: $220 US
(Canada: $32,590 US)

Human Development Index (HDI)*:176/177
(Canada: 6/177)
*measures how well a nation is doing, taking into account three aspects of human development: life expectancy, education and standard of living.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)**: $1.4 billion
(Canada: $1.3 trillion)
**total market value of all goods and services produced within the borders of a nation during a specified period (annual).

Quick Facts:

• One of the poorest countries in the world.
  
• Struggling to recover from a brutal 11-year civil war, fought mostly to gain control of the diamond mines, left the nation in shambles and devastated communities. During the conflict, 10,000 children fought as soldiers.
  
• Has some of the lowest attendance rates for primary schools in the world. Less than half of children are in primary school.
  
• 61% of the population does not have access to proper sanitation.