The Junior Secondary School in Yarawadu is complete. The construction process shows why community projects sometimes take longer – and why we still choose this approach.
By Tobias Lange, Project Manager Sierra Leone
Bonn, July 31st, 2025 – In the far southeast of Sierra Leone, within sight of the border with Guinea, lies the village of Yarawadu. Here we built a Junior Secondary School (JSS) over a construction period of nine months.
When Other Priorities Beckon
As is often the case in our work, the project started very well, with great community engagement and motivated workers. After several months of construction, interest then steadily declined, which this time presented us with a major challenge.
When the rainy season was over, our workers and helpers gradually disappeared. The temptation is too great to dig for gold on the other side of the border and possibly return home with a new motorcycle and enough money. Many stay for several years, and we were left with a small team, which significantly delayed construction time.
Why We Still Don’t Pay Higher Wages
One might ask why the Green Helmets don’t simply pay higher wages so that workers stay and we finish faster. Our answer is that we implement many of our projects as community projects. Higher external wages would distort the local labor market and create dependencies. Instead, we accommodate the speed and mentality of the village community.
Empowerment also means giving up responsibility and taking the village community into self-responsibility so that they find their own solutions. This approach leads to sustainable results, even if the path sometimes takes longer.
Successful Completion
In the end, the school in Yarawadu was also completed.
The new school complex consists of three buildings: The school building with three classrooms for grades 7-9, a building with a teachers’ room, and another with four teacher accommodations — an essential building block for consistent and reliable education in the region.
In the coming school year, graduates from the primary school in Yarawadu and surrounding villages can attend secondary school here. This creates shorter school commutes and better educational opportunities for young people in the region.
SSB Stones in Sierra Leone for the First Time
In Sierra Leone too, we began building with SSB stones last year, which has become a great success, as can be seen in the pictures (more about the technique here). The construction technique was so well received by the population that the Paramount Chief bought a stone press so that the community can press their own stones in the future.
Thank You
Our thanks go to the community of Yarawadu, all local workers, the Paramount Chief, as well as all volunteers and donors who made this important educational project possible.
The Green Helmets have been active in Sierra Leone since 2018 and consciously focus on rural areas. So far, six schools and four health stations have been built.
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Healthcare – next level
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Why Our Projects Sometimes Need More Time
The Junior Secondary School in Yarawadu is complete. The construction process shows why community projects sometimes take longer - and why we still choose this approach.