COVID-19 triggers More Poverty for College Graduates in Sierra Leone


New graduates in Sierra Leone are bothered by the lack of jobs as a result of the global pandemic. Shortly after the implementation of social distancing, one key mechanism to contain the spread of the coronavirus, many offices in Sierra Leone stopped accepting new intakes. As a result, new college graduates have been left unemployed, broke, and frustrated.
“Since the start of this pandemic, my friends and I have been finding it very difficult to find a job," said Isatu Conteh, a graduate from the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) in Freetown. "We’re still relying on family and friends, which does not augur well. Because the essence of spending years in university studying is to be able to have a job and start living your dream life," she said. "Not to come back and continue to be a burden to others.” 

 Hamza Koroma (seen in the photo) is another new college graduate of Fourah Bay College (FBC).

He said that although Sierra Leone is a country where new college graduates do not hope to get a job immediately, things were much better before the Coronavirus emerged. Right now there are hardly any job adverts, he added. That was not the case in previous years. 

Hamza continued to say that many graduates do not only have unemployment problems, but some are beginning to experience psychological problems as well because people feel frustrated after several failed attempts in finding a job.

 Moving on to Njala University in Bo District, some graduates said they are not only frustrated by the high number of rejected job applications but also because they were not able to take part in a traditional graduation ceremony. 
“We’ve all been yearning to wear that precious gown of honor but sadly we couldn’t and many of us have been left discouraged. Nobody would want to employ a graduate without their credentials," said one graduate.

"In fact, there are no job opportunities as I speak, and that has worsened the situation. I wonder what would become of us when the (pandemic) is finally over,” said another.

 With all this, there is a possibility these graduates could be entering a new form of poverty in Sierra Leone.

 *For Young Life in Freetown, I’m Inyillah Borteh Conteh reporting*


Comments

  1. UnknownJune 5, 2020 at 2:46 PM

    It really saddens the heart to read such unfortunate events about our country and the state of those awaiting graduation and employment...thrilling work miss conteh ..keep it up

    ReplyDelete

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