Where Survival Takes Priority Over Education… Children In Poverty Stricken Families Dare To Dream

At an age when most children should be worrying about homework and playground games, 13-year-old Ibrahim spent his days breaking stones under the burning sun on the outskirts of eastern Sierra Leone.

His hands are rough. His clothes are covered in dust. Each strike of the hammer sends small pieces of rock flying into the air, as he works beside adults in a quarry that has become both a workplace and a symbol of survival.

For every pile of crushed stones he completes, he earns a small amount of money that helps his family buy food.

“I want to go to school every day,” he says. “But if I don’t work, we will not eat.”

His story reflects a painful reality facing many children across Sierra Leone, where poverty continues to push thousands of young people into labor long before adulthood.

According to UNICEF, almost one in five children in Sierra Leone is engaged in child labor, while many are exposed to hazardous forms of work that threaten their health, safety, and future opportunities. Children can be found in quarries, mining communities, fishing centers, farms, markets, and busy streets, where survival often takes priority over education.

For families living in extreme hardship, the decision is often not between school and work, but between hunger and survival.

Sierra Leone continues to face significant poverty challenges despite progress in several development sectors. Reports by UNICEF and development partners indicate that more than 66 percent of children experience multidimensional poverty, meaning they suffer deprivation in areas such as education, nutrition, health care, housing, sanitation, water, or access to information. In some rural districts, child poverty rates have exceeded 80 percent.

Behind these figures are children like Ibrahim.

His father once worked as a farmer, but declining harvests and rising living costs have made it increasingly difficult to support the household. The family survives in a small dwelling shared by several relatives. During the rainy season, water leaks through the roof. Electricity is rare. Food is uncertain.

Many evenings end with a single meal.

When school reopened after a period of financial difficulties, Ibrahim returned briefly to the classroom. However, the cost of uniforms, books, transportation, and household responsibilities forced him back into work.

Now he spends most days inhaling dust instead of attending lessons.

Teachers in nearby communities say poverty remains one of the leading causes of absenteeism and school dropout among children. Hunger, child labor, and family economic pressures continue to undermine educational progress despite national efforts to expand access to schooling.

The burden is not only economic.

Child rights advocates warn that prolonged exposure to labor can damage children’s physical development, mental wellbeing, and long-term prospects. Many children who leave school early struggle to escape cycles of poverty that often continue into adulthood.

International and national reports have repeatedly highlighted the connection between child poverty and broader social challenges. Sierra Leone’s child welfare situation is shaped by a combination of economic vulnerability, unemployment, inadequate housing, limited social protection, and unequal access to essential services.

Yet amid the hardship, hope survives.

When work ends, Ibrahim sometimes borrows old exercise books from friends. At night, he practices writing under the dim light of a neighbor’s solar lamp.

He still dreams of becoming an engineer.

He talks about building roads, bridges, and houses that could improve communities like his own.

The dream remains alive, even as reality pushes against it every day.

Across Sierra Leone, thousands of children carry similar dreams while navigating lives shaped by poverty and uncertainty. Their ambitions are often buried beneath economic pressures they are too young to carry.

The country’s future will not be determined only by policies, elections, or economic statistics.

It will also be determined by whether children like Ibrahim are given the chance to exchange hammers for books, quarries for classrooms, and hardship for opportunity.

Until then, many dreams will continue to rise from the dust.

And many childhoods will remain trapped within it.