26 Feb 2011

SOWC / SIERRA LEONE YOUTH PROFILE

Fifteen-year-old David Vandy and his family were forced to flee to Liberia in 1991 when the Revolution United Front invaded Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow its government, sparking a gruesome 11-year civil war. He and his family returned to Sierra Leone in 2002 where David is hoping to go on to secondary school. David’s profile is part of a series of UNICEF stories focusing on the development of human rights of adolescents as part of UNICEF’s flagship publication “The State of the World’s Children” report titled “Adolescents: An Age of Opportunity.” UNICEF

Posted at: February 26, 2011 12:01 am

Duration: 03:41

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: SOWC / SIERRA LEONE YOUTH PROFILE
TRT: 3.41
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
 
DATELINE: 20 NOVEMBER 2010, KAILAHUN PROVINCE, SIERRA LEONE

SHOTLIST:
 
1. Wide shot, boy ringing school bell
2. Wide shot, children leave school
3. Wide shot, children stream out of classrooms.
4. Med shot, David Vandy in storeroom
5. Close up, David takes machete
6. Med shot, ants crossing road and David walking
7. Med shot, David going though bush with machete in hand
8. Various shots, David in bush
9. SOUNDBITE (English) David, 15-years old:
"My Name is David Vandy. I am 15 years old. I was born in Dawa Town. When the war came we fled to Liberia - me and my family. In Liberia, there was no school there."
10. Tilt down, burned out van
11. Med shot, burned building
12. Pan left, through misty jungle
13. Wide shot, woman and child walk through forest road
14. Wide shot, family sitting in home
15. Pan right, burned out building
16. Close-up, bullet hole
17. SOUNDBITE (English) David, 15-years old:
"After the war done, we returned to Dawa in 2002 and I started to go to school in 2003. I asked my father if he would help with my school but he said there was no money. So I told him, I will go to school, I will force myself to go to school." 
18. Wide shot, school
19. Pan left, classroom
20. Close-up, students looking on at lesson
21. Med shot, David sitting in class
22. Med shot, teacher write on board
23. Close-up, David writing bad looking
24. Pan right, over students heads
25. Tilt down, teacher to book in hand
26. SOUNDBITE (English) David, 15-years old:
"Now when I'm finished with school, I go to the bush and brush my place. I plant chilli, peppers, kasha, and when they survive I pick them and sell them." 
27. Various shots, David working in field.
28. Various shots, David at chilli bush
29. Wide shot, children in class with David
30. Tilt down, children holding sheet for photograph
31. Med shot, children pose for photo with David
32. Med shot, photographer snaps
33. Wide shot, David and friends hanging out
34. Med shot, David laughing with friends
35. Tilt down, to book
36. SOUNDBITE (English) David, 15-years old:
"When I done with school, I want to be a teacher."
37. Wide shot, over roofs and into the forest 
38. Wide shot, David plays with sister
39. Close-up, David and sister
40. Close-up, David smiling

STORYLINE:

It's the end of the school day in Dawa Town, Kailahun District Sierra Leone. But for David Vandy the day is not yet over. He picks up his machete and heads into the bush on the border of Liberia.

SOUNDBITE (English) David, 15-years old:
"My Name is David Vandy. I am 15 years old. I was born in Dawa Town. When the war came we fled to Liberia - me and my family. In Liberia, there was no school there."

The Kailahun district was the area of Sierra Leone most affected by the 11 year civil war. Schools ceased to function and there was mass displacement, killing torture and rape. David and his family fled the conflict.

Since 2002 the community has returned and people are slowly rebuilding their lives. Bullet holes and burned out buildings are an every day reminder of their turbulent past.

SOUNDBITE (English) David, 15-years old:
"After the war done, we returned to Dawa in 2002 and I started to go to school in 2003. I asked my father if he would help with my school but he said there was no money. So I told him, I will go to school, I will force myself to go to school."

The school in Dawa charges 5,000 Leones, about (USD1) a term. Despite education being free in the country, David must still pay a fee that go towards paying unregistered teachers and for school supplies. In a country where more than half of the population earns less than (USD)1 a day, fees can prevent the most marginalized from attending school.

SOUNDBITE (English) David, 15-years old:
"Now when I'm finished with school, I go to the bush and brush my place. I plant chilli, peppers, kasha, and when they survive I pick them and sell them."

David will be part of the only second postwar class to graduate from primary school in Dawa. A photographer has come to take ID photos and register them for the final exams. 
David is a diligent student. When he is not working in the fields he gathers with his friends to hang out and do some homework.

SOUNDBITE (English) David, 15-years old:
"When I done with school, I want to be a teacher."

As dusk falls over Kailahun district, David plays with his younger sister. Tomorrow will be another long day for him, but with peace and a functioning education system there is hope that he will become an adult in a different world to that of the former generation.