We have received our first tranche of funds to begin setting up the technical vocational training program. We will be utilizing one of the school classrooms, divided in half, to provide training in soap-making and tailoring. Our first step is to get the classroom ready before we start purchasing supplies.
We also hired some young men to clear a section of swampy land on the edge of our property for vegetable gardening. An expert in the area identified this plot as the most fertile section that would require the least amount of inputs to get the gardening started. Edward, a former child from PDC who now has a degree in agriculture, will be guiding us through our next steps. Much of the land around the school is clay and covered with large boulders and sand leftover from the mining company that used to be based there.
Celebrations!
One of the primary teachers from PDIA married a woman in the village related to Finda. The traditional wedding was hosted at the orphanage and all of the students living there contributed to making the celebration a success. It was a huge event attended by most from the village as well as many of the former orphans from PDC.
Bus Troubles
For the past two weeks we have been working with various mechanics to try to get our school bus on the road after it broke down on the way to school. Unfortunately, the junior high and senior high students living at the orphanage have had to walk 1.5 hours each way to school in the meantime. The dirt road to the orphanage is badly rutted due to heavy rains and the constant flow of mining trucks.
Welcome!
My husband, Martin, has arrived from Canada and will be joining in to volunteer at the orphanage and school for the remainder of November. The kids look forward to giving him a warm welcome! The community continues to welcome me with regular gifts of fresh fruit that I get to enjoy with the children at the orphanage.
Greetings from Sierra Leone! It is now coming to the end of my second week at the orphanage. I have more great news, thanks be to God (ka say yata ma!).
The School (PDIA)
-The headmaster is working with the teachers to set up personal bank accounts so that, starting next month, the teachers can be paid using direct deposit. This will ensure greater transparency and accountability with every transaction.
-The teachers have prepared their first sets of tests which the students will write next week. Here primary students write exams in 6 subjects. The total score across the 6 subjects will determine whether the student can go to the next level (it must be 300+). This means that developing test-taking skills is critical to future success.
-Thanks to your donations, we were able to pay to register PDIA with a unique exam code. In previous years our students’ scores have been published under a different school making it difficult to showcase to the community how well our students are doing to attract more applicants.
-I continue to meet with the teachers every M, W and F afternoon:
-With the nursery teachers, we have been discussing ways to communicate with students to encourage them to be self-disciplined and self-motivated based on ideas from the book, “How to Talk so Kids Can Learn.” While corporal punishment is common in homes in Sierra Leone, it is not permitted at the school. We have also been enjoying reading African-based children’s books that were donated to PDIA and brainstorming how to use them to support learning. It is difficult to find books here!
-With the primary teachers, I have been using some concepts in fractions to model and practice how to promote higher level thinking skills in students. We are all really enjoying these sessions!
The Orphanage (PDC)
-Two of the girls who sat their final secondary school exams in June received the exciting news that they passed! This was happily celebrated by all the children in the home.
-The junior and senior secondary boys at the orphanage challenged the boys in the community to a friendly soccer match. After patiently waiting for a large rain storm to pass, the match drew a large, cheering crowd from the community. Although our boys lost, they maintained good character and positive spirits to the end. Next time!
-Abraham, one of the first university grads from the orphanage, invited me to his high school reunion in Koidu where he was given a “Distinguished Alumni Award”. He shared an inspiring speech to all in attendance about giving back to the community by offering to mentor current students, donating a small percentage of their income to development and joining the alumni to share their acquired expertise to guide the school forward.
The Community – Technical Vocational Training Institute
-The project that is requiring the most time and energy right now is the development of PDC’s own technical vocational training institute. Thanks to the generosity of donors, we have a budget to provide for all the necessary supplies and manpower to offer a year of training in three fields.
-Because SLAM is committed to partnering with the community in all development, we followed the cultural protocol of announcing the idea to the town chiefs who then called a community meeting. Forty community members arrived, thirty of these women. This is significant as women are frequently left out of these discussions.
-The idea was presented and then an opportunity for questions and feedback. The fields that the community was interested in were soap-making, tailoring and agriculture. With knowledge in these areas, our students and the community members will have immediately marketable skills. The women at the meeting were so excited about this, they sang this song: “you should learn a skill if you want to eat; if not you will always be begging.”
-The training will be free for PDC orphans but other members of the community will be required to pay a small registration fee. Like PDIA, this will be a way to support our orphans in a self-sustaining way. These trades will also help reduce the budget since the trained students can provide the orphanage its own soap, school uniforms and vegetables.
-We are currently meeting with experts in these fields who also have experience with training to help us develop a detailed shopping list so we’re ready to go as soon as the funds are transferred. God willing, programs will be underway before I return to Canada! I will keep you posted!
community meeting at the home of the chief to discuss tec voc trainingtypical home in communitymeeting with expert soap-maker and agriculturist
Greetings from Sierra Leone, my home for the next ten weeks. There is much to be thankful for!
Left: I am pictured at the orphanage with PDIA in the background
The School (PDIA)
-the first term began in September and there are currently 120 students on the roster from nursery 1 to primary 6. They are under the care and guidance of nine local teachers and a very dedicated headmaster.
-the students arrive happy and begin with a lively assembly involving lots of song and dance before heading to their respective classrooms. On Friday, a committee of students was selected to form a journalism club to announce various news and events to the rest of the students.
-I’ve sat in on all the teachers in their classes and they are passionate about their jobs and about the students’ success. In fact, our students are achieving some of the top results in the district when they sit their mandatory primary 6 level exams at the end of the school year in June.
-As a teacher by profession in Canada, I have already held sessions with all the teachers to collaborate and share best practices that can help our students better understand the curriculum outcomes. We plan to continue to meet on a regular basis for the duration of my visit.
-Currently the children at the orphanage who are in junior and senior secondary school are bussed at 7 am every morning to schools in the nearby city Koidu; the same bus is then used to transport students and teachers from Koidu back to PDIA. The road is rough and the journey costly, but we have some exciting plans to help mitigate these costs in the future [stay tuned!].
Morning AssemblyNursery students sing along for visual learningPrimary 6 studentsBus taking PDC junior and senior students to schoolBus arriving to PDIA with teachers and students
The Orphanage (PDC)
-I am living in the orphanage alongside the children. It is a beautiful building and everyone does their part to maintain it and keep it clean.
-Every day starts as a community at 6 am with songs and prayers and ends the same way at 9 pm. A family meeting where announcements are shared and concerns addressed precedes the evening prayers.
-I have asked the children what they like about the orphanage and they’ve said it’s become their family, they can worship together, and it is mandatory for them to go to school (in a community where school has not traditionally been a priority due to mining and agricultural activities). They are also well fed with a staple of rice and greens.
-They have quiet time to study every evening from 6:30 – 8:30 pm where they follow a posted study schedule. As it gets dark at 7 pm daily, this is only possible due to the solar panels that provide the energy for the needed light.
Jason with some of the children at the orphanageThe girls’ roomThe boys’ roomStudy scheduleEvening studies
The Community
-I am humbled to be the face of all of you who have offered your time, energy and finances in support of the work of the orphanage and school. The community is grateful and expresses their appreciation.
-I have also been honoured to meet the community members who have made everything possible on the ground – from the house mom, Finda, who continues to find orphans in need to bring into the family, to the chairperson who is a spokesman between the school and the community, to the assistant chief who helped connect the school to the community well to the chief who supported the use of the land. The saying is true, “it takes a village to raise a child.”
-when I say Sierra Leone has become my home, I mean it in the deepest sense. I feel so welcomed here and already mourn the day I will say good-bye.
I am excited to be a part of this project and to witness on the ground all the good things that are happening. I look forward to sending you more updates in the weeks ahead!
