By: BBC

In a village in Sierra Leone's Eastern Province, two teenagers were buried in shallow, makeshift mining pits, marking the latest fatal accident in a growing trend of children abandoning school to search for gold. Mohamed Bangura, 16, and Yayah Jenneh, 17, died when the pit they were digging collapsed, highlighting the deadly risks of unregulated artisanal mining in a region where formal employment is scarce.

As diamond reserves have dwindled, informal gold mining has expanded, with families relying on the dangerous work to supplement meager incomes. Parents, including Yayah’s widowed mother, sometimes encourage their children to mine despite the risks. Headteachers report that both students and underpaid teachers are leaving classrooms for the pits, undermining education despite government claims of investing heavily in schools.

Activists and charities struggle to return children to school, but without viable economic alternatives, the cycle persists. For families in Nyimbadu and similar communities, mining represents not just survival but the erosion of future prospects, as each accident underscores the tragic cost of poverty and inadequate regulation.