Through pain, fear and the sleepless nights, Hassan didn't give up on his dream. He knew that if he was strong enough to get this far, he's strong enough to carry on.
Schools across Sierra Leone were closed for a year during the Ebola outbreak. All clubs and societies and many businesses ground to a halt too. Only the hospitals were open, where doctors and nurses were working overtime.
Hassan did not enjoy being idle. He became restless and wanted to learn. His brother occasionally tried to teach him, and lessons were broadcast over the radio, but Hassan was eager to get back into a classroom. He missed his friends. He missed learning. He missed his teachers – well, most of them at least.
Hassan could hear his mother's voice in his head encouraging him to study and better himself so that he could be the one in his family to get himself out of poverty. "My mother told me to take my studies seriously because she did not want me to end up selling small stuff like she did," he said. "She wanted me to do better."
As life started to return to normal, and the outbreak was brought under control, Hassan heard that his schools were reopening with the new academic year. He was eager to go back, but he no longer had the same care and attention heaped on him that his mother had once provided.
Who would buy him a new school bag and pens? What about text books to take down his lessons notes? And his school fees? His uncle and aunt provided him with food and shelter but they had their own children. Money was already very tight, so having an extra mouth to feed and school supplies to buy posed problems.
Hassan's anxiety was relieved when Street Child Sierra Leone were able to support him again. It turned out there were lots of children in Hassan's position. In the wake of the Ebola crisis, they established a programme to specifically ensure children orphaned by the outbreak were able to continue their education despite losing their main caregiver.
The project helped to cover his school fees and provided his aunt with a grant so that she could build up the small business that she ran. That way the extra income from her business would help feed the family but also guarantee Hassan's continued education. It helped them become self-sufficient.
So armed with a new backpack, pens and notebooks, black shorts and a smart new yellow shirt with his school's logo, Hassan proudly set off for class.
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It was an opportunity that Hassan intended to embrace with both hands. Suddenly his dreams of becoming a doctor were rekindled. And his future opened up in front of him. Again, his mother's voice rang in his head and after returning from school and helping with the washing up or cleaning, he would diligently settle down to do his homework.
Hassan is part of the new generation of Sierra Leoneans - those who grew up amidst the devastation of Ebola. Though shaped by the loss of the deadly disease, it built a strength in them too. They are survivors, they are fighters. Hassan is grateful for his brother, for his aunt and uncle and for the opportunities that he does have.
The loss of his mother is always there, just beneath the surface. But so are the lessons she taught him, the dreams she supported and the self-belief she gave him. Looking towards the future, Hassan knows what he wants for himself and his community.
"I want to become a doctor to help my people," he said. "I want to help the ones that are in the street, those that are poor, those that are more vulnerable and less privileged. I want to help them using the education that I get."
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Here at Comic Relief we are proud to be able to support Hassan through our funding of Street Child Sierra Leone.
To get involved this Red Nose Day and make your laugh matter head to rednoseday.com
