These gentlemen are staff members of the Government Technical Institute Magburaka, Tonkolili District, northern Sierra Leone. Government Technical Institute, Magburaka, was founded in 1962 by the government for the promotion of technical and vocational education. They teach mechanical engineering, carpentry and joinery, block laying and concreting, automobile engineering, plumbing and sheet metal work, painting and decoration and many more subjects. Presently, the institute has a total of 17 staff and 300 pupils.

Government Technical Institute Magburaka is the only government technical institute in Magburaka town. Over the years, the institution has been able to train many technicians serving both within and without Sierra Leone. It makes good grades at the external examinations organized by City and Guilds of London Institute. The institution also serves as a consultancy and guard to the people of Magburaka.

This is the second loan Government Technical Institute is requesting from Kiva through SMT. School staff from this institution, like many other schools' staff within SMT’s operational areas, come to SMT to apply for loans. With the help of these loans, they can accomplish certain tasks that they would otherwise not be able to accomplish with their mere salaries alone. But with the help of this loan, some can pay school fees for their children; others can use the loan to buy pieces of furniture, a plot of land, house-building materials, or invest in business. At the end of each month, these teachers can repay the loan out of their monthly salaries. The institution’s bursar is directly responsible for deducting the repayment and pays SMT on their behalf.

Santigie A. T. (first row, second from right) is a lecturer at the institute and head of this group. Santigie is 56 years old, married and has 3 children – 1 in Senior Secondary School and 2 already grown-ups and on their own. Santigie has been teaching for 10 years now. With his share of the loan, Santigie will pay school fees for his child and invest the rest in his farm. He will buy goats and sheep and palm seeds to plant in his palm-tree farm.