Teen Girls Hostel
Banta Mokelleh, Sierra Leone
In an effort to prepare the older girls in our Banta Children’s Village for life beyond COTN, they are being given greater responsibility for their own lives at our Teen Girls Hostel.
Girls ages 13 - 17 are overseen by a resident caregiver, COTN–Sierra Leone staff member Mary Ndolengie, who ensures that life in the hostel runs smoothly. Mary provides support of all kinds to the girls, but does not need to be as “hands-on” as the aunties in our Children’s Homes.
“We get to do lots of things on our own so we will be better prepared for when we have to leave COTN,” said 16-year-old Aminata Conteh when she moved into the home. Patricia Komeh agreed, saying, “I love the way Mummy Mary looks after us. She is kind to us. Even when she raises her voice at us we like it because she is doing it for us, so that we will be better in the future.”
The daily routine for the girls is typical of a family home. In the morning the girls get up by 6:15 and tidy their bedroom. They all participate in a morning devotion followed by their domestic work. The girls clean the house from top to bottom, tidy up outside, wash themselves and, during the week, get ready for school. Every morning, as determined by a rotating schedule, two of the girls make the breakfast and after school they are also responsible for making the dinner and supper. “I didn’t know how to cook, but now I do!” says Isata Kamara of living in the hostel.
Every day after school there is laundry to do and water to fetch. After some rest and dinner the girls spend some time with their caregiver discussing what they learned in school, how they spent the day, and how things in the home are going. In the evening the girls study and enjoy one another’s company.
As the big sisters of the children in our neighboring Banta Children’s Homes, the girls in our hostel provide an example to their younger brothers and sisters. They visit the girls in the homes where they used to live, spending time with them, braiding their hair and playing with them. These little sisters can regularly be found at the Teen Girls Hostel, sitting with the older girls in the parlour or helping in the kitchen. “We are learning responsibility like how to live on our own and to look after ourselves, but also how to be a good example to our younger ones,” says resident Massah Bunduka.
“These young women are leaders in this little COTN community in Banta, often leading the midweek Bible studies held at our Children’s Homes and the regular prayer meetings,” says COTN–International Sierra Leone Liaison Mark Drennan. “In the larger community, they also play leadership roles, running Sunday School and the choir at the COTN churches in Ngolala and Mogborie. They have also gone out to pray for the sick in nearby villages.”
The long-term plan is that through the Teen Girls Hostel, COTN–Sierra Leone will be able to care for its daughters until they are in a position to care for themselves. “Currently, the hostel allows us to develop the girls’ self-discipline and their sense of responsibility and provide them with a more mature environment in which to live and study,” says COTN–Sierra Leone Country Director, Angie Myles. “It is difficult to get a quiet place to study for national examinations when you live in a house with only three rooms and ten young girls who could all be under 11!” Teenager N’gardy Bangalee agreed, “I like living here because we the older girls are all together and we learn from one another. And we can do things on our own!”
As the girls prepare for adulthood and university for some (with the most popular careers considered being teaching, nursing, accounting, and medicine) it is COTN's goal that the hostel will provide a safe place for the girls to come during the holidays and breaks. For those who are unable to go to university, the hostel will provide a home for the girls while they receive vocational training through the Skills Center. In either case, the Teen Girls Hostel will serve as a haven for the girls until they are each in a position to support themselves wherever they choose to live.
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