First I would like to say thank you for the opportunity to enter in this competition. This is a great cause and I am very happy to be a part of it. As far as my designs go I mainly focused on practicality of the garment due to weather conditions, etc. and a traditional school uniform. When designing for children it is important to keep in mind that they are going to be running and playing in these clothes, but for these children there is much more to be considered. For the boys’ garment, I began my research with friends that I knew that had young children. One of the main focuses was how fast children grow between the ages of 4 and teens so I wanted to figure out a way that I could design something that would last for a long time. The shorts that I designed for the boys have a built in expandable waistband. There is a thin piece of elastic that would be sewn inside the waistband with a small opening for the elastic to come out of. There are approximately 7 small button holes as well as a button sewn on the inside of the waistband allowing for the children to make the shorts tighter or more loose as they grow. Once they get a little bigger, they simply let out the elastic and button it to the next buttonhole. As far as the cuffed shorts go I also took into account that children get taller. So I incorporated a cuff that would be able to get longer or shorter as children grow. There are 3 different snaps that would be sewn into the side seam of the bottom of the shorts that not only have snaps on the outside, but also on the inside of the garment. The “female” side of the snaps would be on the actual shorts themselves while the “male” side of the snaps would be attached to a separate piece (shown) that while you roll the shorts up or down it simply attaches itself to the cuff on the outside of the shorts. There would be 2 “male” snaps on the removable piece so when the shorts are cuffed, it would attach to the cuff itself and the remaining snap shown where the shorts are uncuffed. There is also a large pocket with a snap on one side of the shirt as well as 2 large pockets with snaps on the back of the shorts. This way the children can carry whatever they might need in their shorts without losing anything or having anything fall out of the pockets. The girls’ design is a little simpler, but still has the idea of a child’s growth as well. The girls would be a simple dress with an elastic waistband that would allow for movement and growth. In the bottom of the dress, there are 2 large pockets deep enough to carry whatever they might want to from school to home, but there are also small snaps attached to the dress to make sure that nothing falls out of the pockets to secure what is inside. These, unlike the boys’ shorts, are sewn onto the side seam and are not removable. For the actual design of the garments, I researched school uniforms from all over the world and came up with this design. I wanted them to be modest but still practical. The handkerchiefs around the collars are meant to be a white or ivory cloth and the trim along the collar of the girls dress and the boys left arm is a small, ½ inch trim that if possible is meant to be some sort of reflective material. I thought of this when I heard that the children have to walk long distances to get to school and was concerned that maybe if they are walking towards sundown that they might not be seen. Therefore a small reflective trim just to reflect them at nighttime would be a good idea. In the day it just looks like a white detail. I feel that my designs are practical and appropriately designed for children’s school uniforms and I think that the children of Sierra Leone would most definitely agree!