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More than 800,000 people die each year as a result of unsafe sanitation and hygiene,  according to the World Health Organization (WHO).  That's why on World Toilet Day in 2018, Nine River (9River) Media pledged to fund the construction of toilets for hundreds of school children, who have no access to safely managed sanitation in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Few weeks ago, 9River and its charitable arm, the Hannah Deen for Social Care  organization , celebrated the completion of the first toilet block in Calabatown and Allen Town.  Work at the Vision Academy International School in Kola Tree, Calabatown, began at the end of 2019. Foday Conteh, the building contractor, worked with project manager Inyilla Borteh-Conteh,  and Mr. Lebbie, the town chairman.

Kadijatu 'KJ' Bah is a third-year student at Fourah Bay College. KJ was also the inaugural recipient of the Hannah Deen for Social Care Scholarship Award, funded by 9River Media, in January 2020. This August, KJ wrote about teenage pregnancy during the COVID-19 lockdown period,  peer pressure, and poverty.  In her second interview, KJ continues her conversations with young people in her coastal community in western Freetown, Sierra Leone. Listen to what the Save the Children Sierra Leone volunteer says about the negative impact of the pandemic on children and families.   Other articles by Kadijatu 'KJ' Bah Teenage Pregnancy in Sierra Leone