The purpose of the sponsorship program is to provide an education for each child attending our schools. Through a sponsorship, all the costs involved in sending a child to school will be covered, such as school supplies, a uniform and a meal. Our hope is that every child in each of our schools will become sponsored, because once that happens, that school is considered self-sustaining! Creating self-sustaining schools is our ultimate goal through the sponsorship program and we are very excited to see God work through it!

The website for the sponsorship program should be up and running soon, so make sure you check it out once it’s up! Please consider sponsoring a child too. Your sponsorship could give a child the hope of a better life. Help us ignite hope in Sierra Leone!

To the Friends and Supporters of EduNations:

God continues to richly bless EduNations.

In Sierra Leone, West Africa, EduNations is now responsible for establishing and operating five (5) primary schools (Grades 1-6) serving approximately 1200 children in Freetown, Makonko, Mapinda, Mayata and Maharie.  EduNations is also responsible for establishing and operating the Lighthouse Junior Secondary School of Mapinda, serving approximately 240 students in grade levels 7-9. EduNations has also been able to provide one hot meal daily in most of our elementary schools.  The almost 1500 children attending these schools would have absolutely no access to an education without our help. 

In 2010, EduNations, reinforced its close partnership with Transformation Education in the critical work of recruiting, training, mentoring and supervising the teachers in these various schools.  The EduNations faculty, now numbering 46, is committed to excellence in education and discipleship.  Under the direction of the EduNations faculty, 100% of the sixth-grade students in our schools have passed the national primary school examination.

EduNations also solidified its relationship with the Sierra Leone Alliance of Western New York in 2010.  The Sierra Leone Alliance is an association of ministries and not-for-profit organizations committed to providing humanitarian assistance in Sierra Leone as a concrete demonstration of the love and the grace and the compassion of Jesus Christ.  The Alliance is comprised of Global Outreach Mission which is devoted to rebuilding schools, hospitals and key infrastructure and to planting churches; Jericho Road Ministries which is committed to providing free medical care; Houghton College which is committed to sending teams of faculty, alumni and students to work on economic and agricultural development and sustainability projects, public health education projects, and the re-establishment and re-invigoration of the country’s educational system; and The Chapel at Crosspoint which is committed to providing clean drinking water across Sierra Leone and to coordinating the work of the Alliance.

This year, the Sierra Leone Alliance provided funding to EduNations to ensure that clean drinking water wells and modern sanitation facilities would be installed at all EduNations schools.  Those projects are now nearly complete at every one of our facilities.  The Alliance continues to be a source of great encouragement and assistance in making the EduNations schools the centerpiece of sustainable village life.

In October, Buffalo and Pittsburgh friends gathered to give thanks for the differences made in Sierra Leone in 2010 and to raise resources to continue the good work already begun.  The Buffalo and Pittsburgh events raised over $100,000, including a single donation of more than $30,000 to build a new primary school in a desperately poor area east of Freetown, called “Phase 3”, and another gift of $15,000 to get us halfway toward building a much needed secondary school in the village of Makonko.  We are grateful for your continued generosity and faithful prayers.

We look forward to continuing this desperately important work to which the King has called us in West Africa, all to His Glory.

With thankful hearts,

EduNations Board of Directors.

                There is a common saying among us that “an empty bag cannot stand”, meaning a hungry man cannot work. This saying was largely shared by early educators, and the provision of lunch during school has been the approach implored by our pioneers of education which made this nation the citadel of learning it use to be.  Today, school feeding has died in almost all our countries schools, and this has negatively impacted child participation in the learning process.  In communities where 95% of parents can only provide a single meal per day for their families, serving lunch during school hours is not only a golden opportunity for learning, but also a guarantee of a child’s dignity.

             The results are here to be seen in EduNations schools as we feed our children out of the harvest from our fields. Children as young as four can now freely come to school without being a concern to their parents. Even girls whose place in our society used to be in the kitchen can now compete both in numbers and in academic proficiency with their male counterparts. Also, successes in public exams are a further proof that really, “an empty bag cannot stand,” but a FULL BAG CAN STAND.

         Furthermore, statistics throughout the past years have shown that class one is always the largest class in all of our primary schools, reflecting that the importance of sending children to school is being understood by our communities.

        God bless our donors who have been such a huge blessing to the next generation of this country’s leaders. May He who has called us all into this great task equip, provide and strengthen us all until He comes.

EduNations' Students

An EduNations Team will be traveling to Sierra Leone June 1st and return June 9th for the purpose of observing and monitoring our current work of igniting hope through education in this most “resource challenged” country in West Africa.

This trip will be led by EduNations Vice-President Dr. Dean Weaver and accompanied by Rev. Betsy Rumer, Pastor of Spiritual Formation for Memorial Park Church in Pittsburgh, PA and Deb Waugaman, the Administrative Assistant to the Lead Pastor of MPC and a key volunteer in our Pittsburgh Friend-raising Dinners. This small team will be traveling with Audra O’Rourke, a Senior from Grove City College and member of MPC who will be joining Brian Gangloff, a School Psychologist Doctoral student from the University of Buffalo in NY as an Intern for the Summer with World Hope and Transformation Education; two of EduNations key partners in Sierra Leone.

In addition to visiting all the existing partner schools, the team is especially excited to visit the village of Maharie to be a part of the ground breaking/ ribbon cutting for this new school which EduNations has helped to build in partnership with the Wesleyan Church of Sierra Leone and World Hope. In this poorest corner of this poorest nation, it is a great opportunity to ignite hope through education. This project was the direct result of last year’s trip and the generous response of one family who saw the need and wanted to make a significant difference.

Look for team updates on the EduNations Websites…as technology from Sierra Leone will permit. And finally, please pray for our team while they are there…that their presence will also help to bring hope to all they meet.

We are humbled and grateful for this answer to prayer; I cannot imagine how our friends in Africa will feel when we share this good news about Papa God’s providence and grace.

In 2009, Ernest Bai Koroma (photo), the Christian president of Sierra Leone, called his nation to a 90-day fast. At the end of that season, in a full stadium, in a ceremony attended by both Christian and Muslim leaders, he dedicated Sierre Leone to God. This year he called for a second 90-day fast, starting 20 April and ending 19 July 2010. This time he considers covenanting his nation with God. This is reported by Dutch prayer leader Pieter Bos, who was invited over to help with the preparations for the nation-wide fast.

“In Sierre Leone people don’t separate the spiritual and governmental dimensions of society,” says Bos. “Also Muslim leaders were very supportive for the prayer initiative and eagerly asked our team to pray for them. We made a 1400 km trip through the country, spoke to the president, three government ministers, five mayors, many tribal chiefs and spiritual leaders in eight cities. I could explain the biblical meaning of covenanting with God, the importance of repentance, prayer and unity. Ten years after the civil war, this is a new season for Sierre Leone.”

Sierre Leone is one of the poorest nations in Africa, but nevertheless donated 100,000 US dollar to Haiti to help the nation’s restoration process.

Source: Pieter Bos, Serving the Nations

Six retired teachers from the UK help bring transformation to education in Sierra Leone

By Crissa Nelson

Teachers from 11 primary schools in Sierra Leone saw the classroom from their student’s perspective at an all day Transformation Education workshop lead by six retired teachers from the United Kingdom. Friday 15 January, 84 teachers gathered to learn new tools for engaging their students in hands on, experiential learning. According to the laughter and songs heard spilling out from the three classroom rotations—the teachers learned first hand how engaging, interactive teaching can lead to fun, retain-able learning.

“This is a vibrant and motivating team. They have a wealth of knowledge and they want us to share in it,” Mr. Samba Conteh said. “I am blessed that Transformation Education has made it possible for my own school to benefit from making such a vibrant team available to this country.” Mr. Conteh is the Head Teacher at Modern Elementary School and was excited to learn leadership skills for how to assess his school and teachers and encourage improvements from a rotation specifically for head teachers.

Transformation Education (TE), directed by Gwen Smith, hosted this team of teachers from Mission Direct, engaging them in opportunities to work in the classrooms and with the teachers of the 11 pilot schools TE works with. Throughout their two-week visit, the team has conducted workshops everyday on diverse subject matter within individual schools. The workshop on Friday engaged all the Head Teachers and many classroom teachers in a workshop focused on specific teaching methods and administrative assessment.

“I learned about different techniques of teaching because learning is divided into three groups, audio input, visual input and aesthetic input. So to engage the children, I will tell them a story, ask them questions about it and then have them dramatize it,” Hawa V. Kamara, teacher of class six at Baptist Primary School, said.

TE works consistently in 11 public and private schools in Freetown to teach and implement a Classroom Discipline Plan (CDP) and Biblical Based Curriculum (BBC) to help teachers manage their classrooms and encourage character building learning.

“After the very first workshop I implemented the CDP in my class,” Mrs. Kamara said. “I have seen a great difference in terms of behavior. They ask permission, raise their hands, clap for each other…and the children learn more.”

“Transformation Education has really yielded good dividends in my school. With the CDP discipline has really taken shape. The children know what is expected of them,” Mr. Conteh said. “The BBC character traits are [also] very good for the children. For example, caring. The children are told about it for a whole week and by the end of the week you can see their behavior changing for the better.”

“If actually implemented, this will impact the whole education system of Sierra Leone,” he said.

TE works closely with Ministry of Education staff, Mr. Albert Karimu, who praises Transformation Education’s impact on education in Sierra Leone. “TE is very, very essential,” he said. “I am visiting schools to monitor and see if what we are teaching is being implemented, [what I have seen] is very good. There is transformation.”

Mr. Karimu recognizes and welcomes the value of outside perspectives and techniques brought by the team.

“I have been with the team all this week and it has been very successful. Most of their teaching is practical and interactive so I think the teachers will be able to take it back to their schools and implement the interactive style,” Mr. Karimu said.

Kadiatu Tarawaley, teacher of class five at Samaria Primary School, is excited to bring back what she has learned to her classroom. “These are very experienced women exchanging their methods and experience so we can apply it to our classrooms,” she said.

“[The team] really passed on their own experience to us and now I am going to pass it on [to my teachers],” Head Teacher of Mother Ester’s School, Abigail Juana said. “Transformation Education has done a good job for me and my school. It is wonderful to have TE in this country, from us others schools will be able to learn.”

In 2009, EduNations set some ambitious goals to help the children of Sierra Leone:

• Complete and supply two new schools;
• Rehab and expand several classrooms at partner-sponsored schools;
• Continue to support the training of teachers; and
• Help develop a self-sustaining community agriculture program.

In April, an EduNations team traveled to Sierra Leone to meet with our in-country partners, check the progress of these projects, and evaluate the core needs of the communities we serve. By making education free and accessible to children who otherwise would not receive one in this poorest corner of the world, EduNations is fulfilling its mission of igniting hope.

Our team’s first stop was the Mother Ester School that EduNations built in partnership with King of Glory Ministries, just outside of the capitol city of Freetown. This school, which opened in September, will serve more than 300 students in grades 1-6.

During our trip, we not only secured the adjacent land for immediate expansion, but we were introduced to a neighboring community called Mamba Ridge. This community’s school was gutted and abandoned after the country’s civil war, as was the granite quarry from which the residents earn their living. Today, these people earn just $1 to $2 a day breaking granite rocks by hand to feed their families. And the only opportunity for school involves a dangerous trip several miles down the mountain into the busy city of Freetown.

After meeting with the village elders, EduNations and our partner, King of Glory Ministries, agreed to initiate a new project on Mamba Ridge. Once we secure all of the necessary funding, we plan to start building wells, latrines and the new school in 2010.

Our team next traveled into the interior of the country with another partner, World Hope International, to visit several villages, including Mabali bana, where Edunations helped to furnish a primary school. On this trip, we asked World Hope to identify some of their priority projects. They took us to the village of Mahari, where we saw a dilapidated school, still in use, that was damaged years ago by the war. The village’s commitment to education was evident, but they lacked all means to repair their school. Thanks to a generous donation of $30,000, we will rebuild that school in 2010.

Our team then traveled to visit our friends and partners, Compassion and Action Ministries, or CAM. They had a surprise waiting for us in the village of Mayate. Using funds and labor from the village and from CAM, they built a temporary structure, with a five-year life span, to expand their school. They did so because they wanted to be “in on the blessings too.” We would like to help CAM raise the funds it needs to build a permanent structure in Mayate.

We also plan to dig a well for fresh drinking water – which will protect the health of the students – and also construct facilities to provide proper hygiene and sanitation. The provision of clean drinking water and proper bathroom facilities are now top priorities for all current and future school projects and the villages that are served by them.

The next stop was Mapinda to see the nearly completed Junior Secondary School (grades 7-9).  What struck our team as they continued their journey was the progress – and the concerted effort from the village – that went into building these structures. The older children were freely giving of their time and talents to create something better for their younger siblings. Mapinda is an excellent example of how EduNations strives to use local labor, local materials, and total community commitment to get the job done.

We next visited the village of Maikanko, where we hope in the coming year to raise enough funds to start a Junior Secondary School for this community as well.

A key goal with every EduNations project is to create sustainability and ultimately self sufficiency. EduNations, with the help of Transformation Education, spent a good part of the year coordinating the delivery of two donated and much-needed tractors to the people of Maikanko, which will help them farm a large tract of donated land. With a successful harvest, the land will provide food for the school and the villages. One day, they will produce enough food to sell some of it in the market, which will provide a stream of income.

Our team was able to deliver several spare tractor parts, arriving just in time for their spring planting, and EduNations was given the great honor of sowing the season’s first seed.

With this project and others, Transformation Education has proven to be an invaluable in-country resource for EduNations. More importantly, they do great work training our teachers not only to teach, but to implement a character education program so that our students will become better individuals and productive citizens.

If it wasn’t for our partners, EduNations would not have come this far this fast and we would not be planning additional projects.

One of newest other partners, Gardenfire, a young apparel and gift company, is now selling their merchandise in WalMart, and a portion of every sale is donated to EduNations. Another new partner, clevermethod, a full-service Internet solutions firm, recently redesigned our Web site; check it out at edunations.org. And many others – from a grade school near Pittsburgh to a growing number of church and community groups – have helped to raise funds and friends for our work in Africa.

With your continued help and generous year-end donations, we will have the resources to make a difference and continue to ignite hope in a child’s life. By educating a child today, we create a brighter future for the nations of tomorrow. On behalf of the children, heartfelt thanks and many blessings in the New Year.

As we do with all of our work, we would like to give thanks and glory to God our Father in heaven.  If it wasn’t for His gift of salvation, we would not know what it is truly like to give.

Gratefully,

The EduNations Board of Directors and its Many Partners