by Barbara Veres, Social Media Coordinator
Continuing on with our Sierra Leone updates, we are pleased to report on the progress of our Peer Literacy Program (PLF).
The Peer Literacy Program & Kathombo School
CEF’s Peer Literacy Program gives 20 Peer Literacy Facilitators (PLFs) an opportunity to become role models in their community by becoming tutors to nearly 326 students who are registered in after-school reading and phonetics sessions. We are excited to report that we are now seeing more girls (193) than boys (133) attending these sessions.
Since the beginning of this project one year ago, seven female PLFs have successfully written their national exams, qualifying them to attend any post-secondary institution of their choice that befits their exam results. This school year, seven more PLFs will write their national exams in June 2012.
Without the undivided support of Augusta Numova, CAUSE Canada’s Peer Literacy Coordinator in Koinadugu, these programs would not have been as efficacious as they have been. Augusta supervises all of the PLF tutors and students. Her responsibilities not only include managing the PLF program, but also overseeing the class groups at their Integrated Learning Centre to develop phonetic skills and promote reading.
Due the PLF program’s exceptional results, we are pleased to announce that the program will be expanding to include two additional schools – Koromasilia and Affia. Both of these schools are villages outside of Kabala (the capital of the Koinadugu District) and have recently established high schools from where eight girls will participate in the PFL program.
Although these girls are going to be a bit younger than the female participants in Kabala, it is important to develop female role models from a young age in such rural communities. To ensure that the young PFLs are adequately supported, CAUSE Kids will work to provide more training to tutors and develop more effective ways to monitor each student’s progress by getting a teacher in each village to assist in the daily monitoring. Augusta will continue the training and monitoring scheme for the girls.
Finally, CEF is proud to announce that the construction of the beautiful school in Kathombo II was completed on June 1, 2011. Currently there are nearly 340 students in the school attending grades one to six. The new building will serve grades four to six and will be used by 165 students when school resumes in September 2011. Seven teachers will staff the new building.
During a grand celebration filled with dancing that lasted until the afternoon, CAUSE Kids staff handed over the keys to the school’s management team in an official ceremony on June 14, 2011; with the building complete, each grade will now have its own classroom that will accommodate up to 55 students per class.
Overall, CEF’s engagement in Sierra Leone is starting to achieve some very positive results that are making a big difference in the lives of many children living in Sierra Leone. Today, the students in Koinadugu, Kathombo, Koromasilia and Affia have the opportunity to further their schooling in ways that were once impossible.
CEF would also like to take this opportunity to thank the various organizations and individuals who have worked with us and supported these projects. Without the tireless efforts of CAUSE Kids staff, the Peer Literacy Facilitators and Augusta Numova, we wouldn’t have been able to effect such positive changes in the lives of so many children living in Sierra Leone.
Thank you to all of our photographers, board of directors, volunteers, supporters who have made the dream possible for so many!
We hope all is well and the New Year is off to a good start! Here’s a quick update on the progress of the Mobile Health Clinic. Everything is going very well. Mr. Lowey has now finished the welding of the steel floatation system as well as the wooden platform and fencing around the platform. Mr. Lowey is a very good man and highly skilled at building floatation structures. Originally from Vietnam, he came to Cambodia when he was 12 years old and began to work, he now has forty five years of experience and also grew up in the Lake area.
The pre-fabricated building is now being built by a Khmer company that is run by an Italian engineer, who has dedicated over eight years to assisting the people of Cambodia by running a training program for the Khmer people. So this project is not only assisting those in need of medical care it is providing work and training for many Khmer people, which is a bonus for the project. January 29th is the proposed finished date, after that the clinic will be towed to the Stung Sen river which should take about 24 hours. We are going to document the trip with pictures and videos as we go along.
The Lake Clinic staff are very happy to have this clinic built, and we are working closely with them to ensure the clinic will suit their needs. The doctors, nurses and midwives are all relieved to have a permanent facility where they can treat those in need and have a comfortable place to stay while working in very isolated areas. With the help of K.I.D.S., the building of the bathroom, kitchen, solar support and water pump system, are now being designed and implemented. All in all, the floating clinic is being built on schedule, which is exciting to hear!
