By Aminata Abu Bakarr Kamara

The Government of the People’s Republic of China has donated school materials valued at $100,000 equivalent to over 2.3 billion old Leones to support Sierra Leone’s education sector, reinforcing the longstanding partnership between the two countries.

The donation, which includes school furniture, blackboards, globes, footballs, solar-powered devices, and firefighting equipment, will be distributed to 21 educational institutions across eight districts: Freetown, Bonthe, Kabala, Kono, Falaba, Port Loko, Tonkolili, and Kambia.

At an official handover ceremony held at the office of the vice president in Freetown, Chinese ambassador wang qing reaffirmed Beijing’s commitment to advancing cooperation with Sierra Leone, guided by the consensus between president Xi Jinping and president Julius Maada Bio, China is ready to further expand and deepen practical collaboration across key sectors, said ambassador wang, receiving the donation on behalf of president Bio and the people of Sierra Leone, vice president Dr. Mohamed Jalloh praised the gesture as a timely boost to the country’s human capital development agenda, we appreciate China’s continued support, particularly in the education sector, the vice president said, we are also optimistic about expanding collaboration with Jiangxi Province in areas such as education, culture, and urban development.

This latest donation follows the May 2024 visit of Sun Hongshan, vice governor of China’s Jiangxi province, which focused on strengthening bilateral relations and exploring investment opportunities in Sierra Leone’s priority development areas.

China remains one of Sierra Leone’s most reliable development partners, with collaborations spanning infrastructure, health, agriculture, and education, the school materials donation underscores Beijing’s ongoing support for the free quality education initiative and highlights the broader benefits of the two nations’ diplomatic ties.

According to education officials, the donated items will help ease resource constraints in several underserved communities, improving the learning environment for thousands of students, as the materials are dispatched to schools across the country, both governments see the initiative as another step toward deepening cooperation rooted in mutual respect, shared development goals, and people-to-people connections.

Copy right –Printed in the Expo Times News on Friday, May 19th, 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)