Community Links
Rogbonko Village School
Rogbonko is a village of 500 people in Sierra Leone which translates in the Temne language to "the place in the forest". During the civil war it was caught behind rebel lines and cut off from the outside world for a decade. Aminatta Forna is a former award winning journalist from the BBC (1989-99) and travelled to her family's village, Rogbonko, in 2002. The village was originally founded by her grandfather in the 1920s and after the civil war was in decline and had no school. In exchange for paying for a teacher, the villagers agreed to clear the land and build a bamboo and thatch school.
Aminatta formed the Rogbonko Village Trust and with help from a cheque for £7243.08 from Brandeston Hall, the school opened its doors on 15th January 2003. Many more donations have been received over the years form Brandeston and other sources and the school now boast five teachers and 235 children. The school has developed to include five classrooms, a library, staffroom and storeroom and solar lighting was installed in 2006. Brandeston will continue to support the schools development and plans are afoot to run adult classes in tailoring and carpentry.
Link the website at www.aminattaforna.com