CEF Projects in Sierra Leone - Part 1

by Barbara Veres, Social Media Coordinator

Just last year, CEF announced our extended engagement in Sierra Leone to improve education and literacy programs in the country.  We are excited to announce the results of these programs, which have helped over 3,000 students to date and has provided higher education opportunity to many of the country’s most prolific young women.  Below is the first of our two-part project update to let all of our CEF friends and supporters know what positive impacts our projects have had in Sierra Leone.

The Compassionate Eye Foundation Textbooks Initiative

September 2010 was the first school year that 12 schools in the remote Koinadugu District in northern Sierra Leone had complete sets of textbooks and teacher manuals required by the Sierra Leone Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for their elementary school curriculum.

In February 2011, 40 teachers received additional training during a two-day workshop which was facilitated by a Canadian teacher who travelled to Sierra Leone.  During the workshop, the teachers developed a mathematics teacher manual that focuses on using math textbooks in the classrooms.  The workshop was quite successful due to the availability of a teacher’s manual for each teacher to work from.   Overall, there is now greater use of textbooks in the classroom since teachers are feeling more confident in using their teacher’s manuals.

 

With the 2011 – 2012 school year already off to a start, these textbooks are seeing another year’s use to enhance the learning experience for the young students of Koinadugu once again.   Overall, we are very happy to report that the students in Koinadugu now have a more positive and productive learning environment to learn in.

Stay tuned for more news coming in the second part of our project update from Sierra Leone!