Sherbro Foundation sends a big thank you to U.S. members of the Caulker family for donating to Sherbro Foundation’s Girls’ Scholarship Fund. Family members at this year’s annual reunion donated $1050.

Their generosity means 63 Junior Secondary School girls are returning to school as the new school year starts! Their donation amounts to nearly 20% of this year’s scholarship campaign goal.

Members of the Caulker Descendants Association at their July 2016 family reunion – their 17th reunion.

The Caulkers are one of the oldest ruling families in Sierra Leone. They are the descendants of paramount chiefs from two branches of the Caulker family in Bumpeh Chiefdom and Kagboro Chiefdom.

This remarkable family traces their heritage back to Thomas Coker, one of the earliest British traders in Sierra Leone who set up a trading post for the Royal African Company in 1684. Coker, himself Irish, was the British company’s agent. He married a daughter of the one of kings in the coastal area of today’s Kagboro and Bumpeh chiefdoms. Their progeny were the start of the Caulker clan.

The Caulker Descendants Association formed in 1999 to teach and celebrate their family history and heritage. They’ve been meeting annually for seventeen years.

 The Caulker Family tree documents their 350 year history starting at the base of the tree with Thomas Coker, born 1667 in Ireland. The tree was constructed by Imodale Caulker Burnett after many years of research into the family’s history she then chronicled in The Caulkers of Sierra Leone: The Story of a Ruling Family and Their Times.  Fascinating reading.

A family reunion wouldn’t be complete without a sheet cake to serve a crowd. But how many families can decorate their cake with a family coat of arms dating to the 1600’s. 

Arlene Golembiewski, Sherbro Foundation Executive Director, accepts the Caulker family Scholarship Fund donation from Enid Rogers, a Caulker grandchild, at their reunion banquet dinner.

Many extended Caulker family members remain in Bumpeh Chiefdom, including teenage girls who will benefit from Sherbro Foundation’s Girls’ Scholarship Program.

The Caulker family has long placed a premium on education. Sherbro Foundation is grateful for their support for girls education in Bumpeh Chiefdom. We hope this remains the basis for a strong partnership between the Caulker Descendants Association and Sherbro Foundation.