Hassan M. Conteh's Group

This is a cross section of the teachers of the Magburaka Boys School. Magburaka Boys School is the oldest secondary school in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Several of the country's dignitaries passed through this school. When the Revolutionary United Front Rebels seized the town in 1997, they made the school as one of their camps. Before they left, the previous boarding school was totally mutilated and vandalized. Teachers, pupils, matrons and all fled the campus, leaving it a ghost town. However, with a peace treaty between the government and rebels in 2002 and with subsequent remobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants, life began again in the township of Magburaka. Schools reopened, but the Boys School reopened only to find a well-mutilated and vandalized school, with most of its former teachers not willing to come back. Only some of the few teachers were willing to come back and face the challenge of lifting Magburaka Boys School to its former height once again. It's a difficult task, in a country where most qualified teachers are fleeing to seek greener pastures overseas, where teachers' salaries are low, and in a country where textbooks are difficult to come by. But they are determined to bring the Boys School back to its former glory.

To keep themselves from having to flee like other Sierra Leoneans, most of these teachers, especially the younger ones, also engage in some other trades to supplement the meager salaries they receive from government. Thus, they need a loan to enable them to promote their businesses. Others will give their loans to their wives to invest in businesses. Some will use the loan to purchase building materials, others will use it to purchase pieces of furniture, and a few of them will want to pay school fees and other related charges for their children and dependants.

Here is an introduction to these teachers: Hassan M. Conteh, for this purpose the group leader, is 32, and was born in Kambia Northern Sierra Leone. He is single with no children. He will invest his loan in his business as he did with his previous loan. This time, Hassan expects to buy 10 bartars (5 gallons makes a bartar) of palm oil. Although during his first loan, he experienced several hiccups such as bad roads to market places, and business colleagues not adhering to deadlines, Hassan said he will be able to overcome these challenges with this loan. He also said that the previous loan helped him a lot, as he was able to pay for his junior brother's school fees and at the same time feed his perents.

Other members of the group include: Edward C. Sesay, Musa Ben Mansaray, Francis A.K. Thullah, Musa M. Kargbo, Dominic S. Kalokoh, Namisa Sesay, Daniel S. Koroma, Adama P. Fullah, Andrew B. Fornah, Samuel Komeh, Hassan O.M. Bangura, Peter S. Kamara, John M. Conteh and Teddy P. Kamara.



About Group Loans
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults. Learn more

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