Tag Archives: sierra leone

Procter & Gamble Alumni Foundation Grant Boosts Sierra Leone Farmers

Procter & Gamble Alumni Foundation Grant Boosts Sierra Leone Farmers

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Sherbro Foundation is honored to announce that the Procter & Gamble Alumni Foundation Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation has awarded us a grant to expand our transformative Let Them Earn project in Sierra Leone. With this funding, 50 more Bumpeh Chiefdom village farmers (majority women) can replicate the success of early participants improving their incomes, livelihoods, and futures.

Let Them Earn Project farmers, Bumpeh Chiefdom, Sierra Leone

Through our local partner CCET-SL (Center for Community Empowerment & Transformation—Sierra Leone), Let Them Earn provides smallholder farmers with:

  • Interest-free loans to expand their operations     
  • Year-round training on improved farming practices
  • Classes on basic numeracy and small business management

After covering operating costs, setting aside family food, and repaying their loans, participants have net cash income to improve daily life and reinvest in their farms.

“This grant is a big leap forward that’s adding momentum to what we’re doing with village farmers,” said Bumpeh Chiefdom Paramount Chief Charles Caulker. below right with women farmers. “I want to create a culture of increased productivity where farmers continue to grow more, earn more, and villages lead their own development. I’m deeply grateful to the P&G Alumni Foundation for standing behind us with their support.”

Transforming Lives Through Economic Empowerment

Musu Koroma, below, a mother of three, was one of the first farmers to join Let Them Earn. Last month, she showed me how new earnings from her loan changed her life. She reinforced her mud brick house with strong concrete stucco, safeguarding it for years to come from erosion and collapse in Sierra Leone’s heavy monsoon rains. She installed sturdy hardwood doors and windows that keep out rain and mosquitoes. With pride and confidence, Musu is now sending her son to secondary school in a larger town. 

With earnings from her three-acre farm, Musu Koroma, above left, strengthened her house, before like the mud brick house next door.

“Let Them Earn has helped me so much,” Musu said. “I can now do things I never thought possible.”

Results Speak for Themselves

The impact has been dramatic. Families are sending children and grandchildren for higher levels of education. They have more food and can afford protein like fish, important for child development and disease resistance. Homes become safe and healthy places to live with dignity. Villages are becoming debt-free, and communities are rediscovering hope.

Aminata Sandy, above joined Let Them Earn after losing both her husband and the brother-in-law she became dependent on. With her loan, she hired labor for her farm, secured food for her children, and paid their school fees. As the loan recipient, she manages her farm and a household of eight. She’s repaid most of her loan, with the remainder coming with the year-end harvest.

Aminata confidently stood up in front of her village and Paramount Chief Caulker to tell her story. When women are direct loan recipients, Let Them Earn empowers them to make farm and financial decisions. They’ve gained respect and a voice in managing their village.

Microfinance schemes in rural areas frequently fail. Our partner CCET-SL proudly reported 95+% of year one loans were repaid with the combination of interest-free loans and year-round training tailored to farmer needs. Year two Let Them Earn loan repayment promises to reach the same high level. Repaid loans are reloaned to the next group of farmers eager to improve their lives.

Why This Approach Works

After 14 years working with Sierra Leone, we’ve learned a vital truth: sustainable development doesn’t begin with what you construct — it begins with who you empower.

Schools, wells, and roads are important, but villages can’t develop or sustain growth unless individuals become economically self-reliant. Lasting change happens when you invest directly in people, giving them the means and skills to lift themselves out of poverty.

The Let Them Earn program brings together what truly works: financial access, practical skills, and local empowerment—helping farmers move from subsistence living to building viable, income-generating small businesses. Loans are repaid on schedules that match farm harvests.

Yes, it’s riskier to provide loans to subsistence farmers and small traders. It’s time-intensive to deliver hands-on training in remote villages and provide ongoing coaching. But this is what actually works. This is what moves people and entire communities beyond survival mode to genuine economic opportunity.

Sherbro Foundation sends our deep thanks to the P&G Alumni Foundation for their continued confidence and partnership in Let Them Earn. Year three of the project will bring even greater growth and opportunity to the villages of Bumpeh Chiefdom.

For program details: https://conta.cc/4oVfeom

You can help support Sierra Leone farmers: https://sherbrofoundation.org/donate/

From Darkness to Light – Learning to Read

From Darkness to Light – Learning to Read

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Imagine a child entering Class 3 who can hardly read simple words. Some still struggle naming letters or numbers. This is not uncommon in Bumpeh Chiefdom and across Sierra Leone. These children risk never catching up and often drop out of school in frustration. Their lives remain forever limited without reading skills.

Our partner, the Center for Community Empowerment & Transformation (CCET-SL), fills teaching gaps with a targeted Class 3 learn-to-read program. Experienced, retired teachers work weekly with students in seven schools on their first formal reading steps, while coaching their inexperienced teachers.

CCET-SL submitted this story of a girl struggling to read and her remarkable teacher who was retired “but not yet tired” – eager to keep teaching.

Rachel’s Reading Journey

Modigay is a small village surrounded by lush green fields with a winding dirt road to Rotifunk, the chiefdom headquarters. There lived spirited class-three student Rachel Bangura. Every day, Rachel woke before dawn, her heart filled with learning dreams despite overwhelming circumstances. Her family, struggling as subsistence farmers, could barely afford life’s necessities, let alone help with homework. Rachel often joined her parents in fields after school.

Rachel loved school, but joy was overshadowed by struggles. She could hardly read, spell, or connect sounds to letters, filling her with anxiety. In her bustling Rotifunk classroom, while other children eagerly raised hands, Rachel sat quietly, hoping not to be called upon. She felt lost in a sea of words dancing beyond her reach.

A New Hope

The Center for Community Empowerment and Transformation works with schools and local council to improve education quality in Bumpeh Chiefdom. They train teachers to improve outcomes among underprivileged children. They brought in experienced retired teacher Mr. Koroma, who had a reputation for transforming struggling students’ lives. With his compassionate approach and innovative methods, Mr. Koroma was determined to help children like Rachel.

When Mr. Koroma first met Rachel, he noticed the curiosity spark in her eyes despite looming fear of failure. He took time to know Rachel, learning about her village, family, and dreams of reading stories. Rachel expressed her desire to read about faraway places and adventures. Mr. Koroma promised they would work together to make that dream reality.

Building Foundations

Mr. Koroma began with basics, focusing on phonics and letter sounds through engaging activities. He used colorful flashcards, songs, and rhymes that made learning fun. Rachel’s shy laughter echoed as Mr. Koroma encouraged students to sound letters and blend them into words.

Initially, Rachel struggled to grasp concepts, feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, but Mr. Koroma’s patience kept her motivated. “Every word you learn is a step closer to your dreams, Rachel. Let’s take it one step at a time!” he would say, and Rachel felt hope ignite within her.

Beyond the Classroom

To further support Rachel’s learning, Mr. Koroma organized weekend literacy clubs in their village where children could gather and learn together. Rachel’s parents were thrilled seeing their daughter engaging with other children in learning to read.

During club meetings, Rachel enjoyed storytelling sessions where she listened to tales from different cultures. She was captivated by stories of brave heroes and magical realms, fueling her desire to read. Mr. Koroma encouraged children to draw pictures related to stories, allowing Rachel to express creativity when words felt elusive.

Breakthrough Moments

As the school year progressed, Rachel made significant progress. One sunny afternoon, while practicing with Mr. Koroma, Rachel successfully read a simple book aloud for the first time.

“Saffie’s Mistake!” she exclaimed, her voice filled with joy. Mr. Koroma and other children clapped excitedly, and Rachel’s face lit up with a radiant smile. This moment marked a turning point; she realized she could read, that she was capable.

Buoyed by success, Rachel started writing short sentences about her life and village. She wrote about family, friends, and beautiful sunsets. Each word she penned testified to her growth and determination.

A Year of Transformation

By year’s end, Rachel had transformed remarkably. With Mr. Koroma’s guidance, she could read simple stories, write confidently, and understand word sounds. Rachel’s self-esteem blossomed, and she now participates actively in class discussions. She’s no longer the quiet girl at the back; she’s become a vibrant classroom community member.

Rachel often shared dreams with Mr. Koroma about becoming a teacher to help other children like herself. Mr. Koroma beamed with pride, knowing his influence had sparked fire within Rachel.

Learn to Read Program Impact

Rachel’s story repeats many times with Mr. Koroma and other experienced reading teachers entering classrooms weekly.

CCET-SL reading tutors break through barriers and jumpstart children’s ability and love of reading. Teachers who only graduated high school receive practical, in-classroom training building their skills and motivation to teach.

Because CCET-SL uses experienced community teachers, the cost is only $10 per student for the whole year. The cost is low, the result is priceless.

To keep kids progressing, we will expand the learn-to-read program to Class 4 with the new school year. You can give 350 Class 3 and 4 children like Rachel in seven schools the chance to unlock their potential through reading with your support: here.

You can also help send 14 early primary school teachers to get 3-year teaching certificates on scholarship. They’ll develop skills to start children on the path to mastering reading in classes 1 – 3.

These teachers have only graduated from high school with no means to pay for higher education.  A scholarship for each year is only $400. Give Now

You’ll be giving Bumpeh Chiefdom children a strong education head-start, an advantage they’ll carry through life. We appreciate your support!

–Arlene Golembiewski
   Executive Director

Meet Our Partner CCET-SL’s New Manager

Meet Our Partner CCET-SL’s New Manager

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When Mustakin Conteh arrived at the Center for Community Empowerment & Transformation last September, he didn’t just bring professional nonprofit experience—he brought a vision. As our partner organization’s first manager with formal NGO background, Mustakin has spent the past year moving CCET-SL from a small community organization towards his goal of a full-fledged Sierra Leone nonprofit.

Mustakin, left, reviews CCET-SL’s Orchards for Education with Paramount Chief Charles Caulker, right.

But his story begins much earlier, in a classroom in Bo.

A Teacher’s Calling

Like many first pursuing higher education in Sierra Leone, Mustakin started as a teacher. With a B.A. in Education, he taught secondary school English and English Literature for ten years in Bo, Sierra Leone’s second largest city. But as the country was recovering from its devastating rebel war, he witnessed firsthand how rural communities remained trapped in cycles of poverty that the conflict had only deepened.

That experience changed everything.

Armed with a Master’s in Rural Development from Njala University, Mustakin embarked on a second career dedicated to rural transformation. For 12 years, he honed his skills with Sierra Leone NGOs and international NGO programs like Save the Children and Welthungerhilfe, learning how to turn development theory into real-world impact.

Boots on the Ground Leadership

What sets Mustakin apart is his hands-on approach—still uncommon in rural Sierra Leone. I find him everywhere: meeting with school principals and teachers, visiting Let Them Earn villages, checking operations at CCET-SL’s Orchards for Education at 8am before continuing with his day. He doesn’t manage from behind a desk. He leads from the field and sets operating standards.

Staff and community members could see he’s there to improve the lives of everyday people. His respectful, engaging style quickly earns trust. CCET-SL’s small staff achieves broad community impact through local partnerships. Mustakin’s kind of relationship-building is everything.

Mustakin, right, officiates a ceremony handing off Sherbro Foundation funded tools for village road repairs. He oversaw work where villagers manually dug roadside rain gutters and filled gullies, keeping roads drivable in the rainy season.

Results, Not Just Reports

Mustakin didn’t come to simply manage programs on paper. His NGO experience trained him to look beyond activities to long-term impact. “How are we actually improving lives?” he asks—a critical question as CCET-SL enters year two of its village farmer development program, Let Them Earn. He’s guiding the project team and villagers to identify early learnings and make modifications to be more effective.

Mustakin, center, explaining Let Them Earn project objectives to Mokomrabai project participants.

Project Management expertise

This results-oriented mindset recently solved a pressing challenge. Climate change is threatening CCET-SL’s 60-acre Orchards for Education with rising dry season temperatures and erratic rainfall. When asked to address this, Mustakin sprang into action.

Within three months, he had:

  • Researched water system solutions, confirming a borehole as cost effective
  • Engaged government advisors for technical design
  • Secured the best borehole contractor
  • Delivered a complete system reaching 220 feet to an aquifer providing plentiful clean water

Today, elevated storage tanks and standpipes cover the 60-acre orchard, ensuring maturing trees have year-round water. Mustakin isn’t an engineer, but he knew how to analyze problems, find technical resources, and execute solutions—exactly the project management skills rural communities desperately need.

Mustakin here supervising installation of a nine-foot water storage tank platform.

Building a Legacy

For Mustakin, this work transcends employment. “I’m here to create my own legacy,” he tells us. His commitment to the people of Bumpeh Chiefdom runs deep, driving him to push through the daily challenges of rural development work. Like getting to project sites on roads, left, he found even his motorbike had trouble passing in the rainy season.

As CCET-SL – and Sherbro Foundation – continue our mission of lifting communities out of poverty, we’re grateful to have a leader who understands sustainable change requires both professional expertise and genuine heart for the people being served.

Thank you, Mustakin, for choosing to invest your talents where they’re needed most—and for showing us what dedicated leadership looks like in action.

— Arlene Golembiewski
   Executive Director

Casting Off Barriers – Investing In Young Minds

Casting Off Barriers – Investing In Young Minds

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When I visit Bumpeh Chiefdom villages, I see the story of Mariatu Turay’s mother played out again and again. Ya Ramatu is a widow who toils away in her garden using only her own backbreaking manual labor. Foremost in her mind is educating her children. But she hardly earns enough to feed them, let alone take care of school expenses.

Ya Ramatu didn’t have the opportunity for education. Too many children still follow in her footsteps, trapped for generations in the same cycle of illiteracy and poverty.

Too many young minds have been wasted for too long. You can change that. You are changing that.

You helped Mariatu break the mold. We’re kicking off our annual Education Fundraiser so more students repeat her success story this school year. Together we can cast off education barriers and invest in developing more young minds.

Mariatu, left, just managed a feat few rural girls achieve, as a standout secondary school graduate. She was also a school prefect, selected to lead students and enforce school standards.

She now wants to go to university to study accounting. Without our help, she could have been back in her village like her mother, struggling to support two or three children.

Instead, Mariatu and other junior high students you earlier helped, are today’s high school graduates. With early success, they stayed in school, prepared to tackle senior high and now continue for advanced training.

Today, girls and boys routinely graduate from Rotifunk secondary schools, thanks to programs from our partner, the Center for Community Empowerment and Transformation (CCET-SL).

For Paramount Chief Charles Caulker, it’s a transformation. “Our schools have now returned to where they were before the war. Our children no longer have to leave Bumpeh Chiefdom to get a full education.”

Doing what works

Over 11 years, CCET-SL has greatly improved education in Rotifunk. At its core, CCET-SL’s tutorial programs give students the extra teaching support they need to advance to the next level of their education: to junior high, senior high and now higher education.

9th grade students, above, intent on passing to senior high return for another 90 minutes of CCET-SL led after-school classes. This tutorial ensures they complete the full curriculum before the national exam.

In a rural area with limited resources, you must be practical. CCET-SL organizes teachers with the best qualifications to prepare students in grades 5, 6, 9 and 12 for their national exams.

The tutorials use existing teachers and existing facilities to achieve better results. Much better.

Over 90% of students in tutorial classes now pass to junior high and senior high better prepared than ever and continue to perform at a higher level. High school graduates are among the first to qualify for college in 30 years.

Charles Caulker, left, got the highest 2023 senior high entrance exam score ever achieved at a Rotifunk school and in his district of 40 schools. He topped students in five other rural districts. A number of his fellow students were close behind. Rotifunk hospital surgical officer and CCET-SL board director, Mohamed Tommy stands proudly with him.

Today’s lowest senior high entrance exam scores were just few years ago the highest scores Rotifunk students achieved.

For Mariatu – and her mother – CCET-SL’s tutorial programs made all the difference, enabling her to graduate with good grades at no extra cost. Sierra Leone schools often charge fees for extra after-school classes to prep for exams. Or parents pay teachers to tutor their children for national exams.

With Sherbro Foundation funding, CCET-SL tutorial classes are free, giving all students equal opportunity to get a full education.

Women often care for children of other family members. Kadiatu, center above, has responsibility for seven children; three are hers, four her brother’s. The family burden to educate children is great.

Program impact

Paramount Chief Charles Caulker sees the impact of CCET-SL program as “a big leap forward.” He told me, “CCET-SL is closing the huge gap left in chiefdom schools by the [11-year] war. For years, few students passed. Now, nearly all students pass. Grades are significantly improved to the point many graduates now qualify for university or [three-year] diploma courses.”

Chief was blunt about the state of Rotifunk schools for years after the war. “Only the students seen as useless remained in our schools.” Bright students found their way out and parents made every effort to send their children to better schools in bigger towns and cities.

Paramount Chief Caulker, above center, is a strong advocate for women. He knows the greatest long-term impact he can have on his chiefdom is helping to educate their children.

Chief Caulker now sends his granddaughters to Rotifunk schools. “This shows my conviction. I wouldn’t send my own children to school here if I didn’t believe the learning process was good,” he said. “I see no difference in their learning compared to Freetown schools. Look at Naomi. Her English is good, and she does very well in math. I’m so happy.”

Rotifunk schools are not overcrowded like those in Freetown. Children get more individual attention and they do better.

Chief Caulker’s dream 11 years ago was to educate his grandchildren in their own chiefdom. Today, granddaughters, Naomi, 7th grade, above left, and Grace, 5th grade, are thriving in Rotifunk schools.

Raising the bar

CCET-SL’s collaborative approach with Rotifunk schools is helping set a higher standard of education. They review and analyze student national exam results with schools by subject and agree on improvements they can work on together. Teachers get help with teaching materials and classroom coaching on teaching methods.

“CCET-SL is creating competition among Rotifunk schools, causing them to rise to a higher level,” Chief Caulker added.

With your support, we’re in the fourth year of CCET-SL managed teacher certification scholarships. CCET-SL handpicked 19 promising primary and secondary school teachers, especially for English, math and science. Women teachers are in short supply. CCET-SL sought out local female high school graduates to develop as teachers. Teachers go to classes during school breaks and apply each term’s learnings back in their classrooms. Nine schools are improving as their teachers improve their own educations.

Young minds are no longer wasting in Rotifunk. With CCET-SL programs, more and more students are graduating high school and at younger ages.

Seventeen-year-old John Sandy, left, just sat for the national graduation exam he’s optimistic will gain him admission to university. Graduating at 20 and 22 years of age had been the norm.

Also, students often must retake the graduation exam to improve results before getting admitted to universities and technical institutes.

They’ll lose a year or two and have to raise funds to pay to repeat the exam and maybe a review class. It’s an expense many can’t afford.

The big education leap Chief Caulker credits CCET-SL with is not just academic success. It also clears a huge financial hurdle for the poorest families – avoiding lost time and substantial cost before students can gain advanced education and productive job skills.

Bumpeh Chiefdom greatly needs highly skilled trades people, not just university grads. We’re planning new scholarships for young people to pursue training in areas like construction, electrical systems, mining technology, agriculture and animal husbandry.

Chief Caulker knows opportunity will open with education. “People get enlightened with education. They’re creative. They’ll use their creativity to create their own opportunities and develop small businesses.”

Ya Ramatu’s life would have been vastly different with even basic education. Our challenge is to help the next generation of Mariatu’s and John’s get the head start they need in school for better, productive lives.

School starts in September. For only $50, you can give a 9th or 12th grade student ten months of instruction to ensure they’re ready to advance to the next level of their education.

A student prepared and confident of progressing to senior high or college for only $5 a month. A bargain!

“It takes a village” to educate Bumpeh Chiefdom children and we’re an essential part of it. Join our village and give a child an opportunity that changes their life.

On behalf of students and parents, thanks so much for all the support you provide!

— Arlene Golembiewski,
 Executive Director

It Takes Money to Make Money – the Let Them Earn Project

It Takes Money to Make Money – the Let Them Earn Project

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It takes money to make money. This could not be more true than with the plight of subsistence farmers in Bumpeh Chiefdom.

When you only net $50 to $100 a year in cash from your farming, you don’t have enough to eat and live on. There’s nothing extra to send your children to school; pay unexpected heath care expenses; fix your leaky roof.

You definitely don’t have money to put into expanding your farming so you can grow more and earn more.

We are going to start changing that with the support of The Procter & Gamble Alumni Foundation. We are beyond grateful to start the Let Them Earn Project with a $24,000 grant from the P&G Alumni Foundation Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

Subsistence farmers are limited by what they can grow with manual labor. Most harvests are for household food; some is bartered for local goods. That leaves little to nothing to sell for cash.

There are two things I’ve been wanting to do for some time. First, is take our work to the villages beyond Rotifunk, Bumpeh Chiefdom’s headquarters town. 75% of the chiefdom’s population lives in small, hard-to-access villages that the government and NGOs never reach. But with Paramount Chief Charles Caulker and our partner CCET-SL, we can.

Secondly, I’ve long wanted to help village women. Chief Caulker describes women as beasts of burden. They’re constantly working — farming, caring for their house and their children, cooking, lugging water and firewood. They walk miles taking a small amount of produce to market in a basin on their heads. They’ll be lucky to earn a dollar. They do all the work, and their male partners and relatives take control of the money they make.

Chief Caulker, lower left, screened villages for the project with a series town hall meetings. He looked for industriousness (eg., backyard gardens) and willingness to comply with project terms.

The Let Them Earn Project combines microfinance farm loans in five villages with specialized training on growing and marketing to ensure participant success. 70% of participants targeted are women.

Let Them Earn will teach small farmers to raise quick-growing vegetables as cash crops and market them in bigger city markets where prices are higher and they can earn more money. The project will help protect their earnings so they can quickly invest in expanding and growing second and third crops. This will help assure they pay back their loans and make the funding available to a new group the next year. 

Typical microfinance loans charge 30% interest. That eats up the small profit farmers earn, leaving them where they started. Let Them Earn will charge zero interest. We want all earnings in their pockets, not ours. We’re commercializing CCET-SL’s tree seedling nursery to finance administrative costs when the grant ends.

Practical training

We’ve hired a professional agriculture manager with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture Economics. Chief Caulker and I are impressed with Tommy Sankoh’s knowledge and the practical advice he offers on managing agriculture in a traditional rural setting.

Tommy will provide guidance on the best crops for local growing conditions. Uneducated farmers need training. But not in a classroom. To boost their success rate, he will train small farmers in demonstration gardens at their level of literacy and monitor progress of their individual farms. Training this extensive for illiterate farmers has never reached the village level.

Left, at a village meeting, Tommy is well-spoken, understands project management and is hard working. Born and raised in a Bumpeh Chiefdom village, he was glad to come home after his degree and accepted Chief’s job offer.

Tommy treats the illiterate project participants with respect and quickly developed rapport. They are like his home village family and neighbors. We’re excited to think of the impact he’ll have as CCET-SL’s agriculture manager and in helping subsistence farmers develop successful small businesses.

Changing village cultural practices

Paramount Chief Caulker is using the project to change two long-held cultural practices that hold back overall development.

Chief is a tireless advocate of women. But village women traditionally don’t make decisions on use of family land independent of husbands and male relatives and embark on business development. Yet, they shoulder the responsibility to feed and care for children and elderly relatives.

Laws were enacted giving them these legal rights. But remote villages are the last to hear of laws and change comes slowly in traditional societies. 

Chief Caulker will be a visible champion of Let Them Earn and use it to create women entrepreneur role models at the village level.

This will not be a simple or quick change. But Chief is skillful in using strategic carrots to change behaviors that influence longer term cultural change. 

Chief Caulker, above, explained his project vision in each village and expectation for majority of women as participants. Most villages welcomed the opportunity for their women. A couple needed calibration.

Project manager Tommy Sankoh, left, interviews each candidate to verify they meet project criteria and are credit worthy for a small loan of $225.

Fatu Kallon, right, of Mobinchi village is typical of most village women with six children. Two are grown, but she cares for the others with no husband.

The project will help Fatu earn more to better sustain her family. Sending children to school is a priority for mothers. This means sending them away for secondary school to a town like Rotifunk, an expense many, if not most, families cannot afford.

It’s common that women care for 7, 8 and more children, including those of other family members, like deceased or disabled siblings.

The other practice Chief Caulker wants to eliminate is using children as farm labor. It’s common for children 8 and 10 years old to leave school and work as free labor on family farms. Once out of school, they’re unlikely to return.

A condition of being in the project is no children 15 years of age and under can be used as labor during school hours. It will be strictly enforced, with participants kicked out for violating the rule.

Project launch

I returned last week from a six-week trip to Bumpeh Chiefdom where I helped launch the project. We were excited in seeing its potential and got off to an auspicious start.

Women rejoiced in song and dance as they thanked their paramount chief for bringing them this opportunity.

Their traditional Sherbro song says, “Hold yourselves tight. Keep the family together.”

We decided to expand right away from three villages in the grant with 35 participants, to five villages and an additional 15 participants. Fifty village farmers will now get opportunities they’ve never had before.

I decided to fund the additional 15 positions. When you see how great the need is, I felt there’s no time to waste in improving the lives of village farmers. Year by year, we want to expand to cover more families in the initial villages and add on more villages.

We can’t thank the P&G Alumni Foundation enough for getting Let Them Earn off the ground. You’re helping us make an important intervention that will have generational impact! A loan of just $225 for a village farmer is life changing.

We’re feeling grateful for a successful 2023. Our partner CCET-SL delivered the best education program results yet to date. Thanks so much to all of you for helping make this happen. Because of you, children from primary school to the university level got new or improved education opportunities!

We’re looking forward to all 2024 will bring.

Sherbro Foundation wishes you and yours very Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy (belated) Hanukkah.

— Arlene Golembiewski,
 Executive Director

Celebrating Ten Years Working in Rural Sierra Leone

Celebrating Ten Years Working in Rural Sierra Leone

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2023 is Sherbro Foundation’s tenth anniversary! We have much to celebrate from a ten-year partnership with our friends in Bumpeh Chiefdom. We formed a joint vision back in 2013 with Paramount Chief Charles Caulker. We would send girls to school and start on his dream of growing fruit trees to fund future education programs. Chief founded our partner group, the Center for Community Empowerment & Transformation (CCET-SL), and I started Sherbro Foundation.

There’s been twists and turns over the ten years and adventures we couldn’t have imagined that only made our relationship stronger. We’ve passed the test of time, met our early goals and expanded beyond them.

This called for celebrating!
Chief Caulker and CCET-SL put on a weekend-long event for their program beneficiaries and 300 chiefdom people. Sherbro Foundation Board directors Steve Papelian and Cheryl Farmer, Mary Avrakotos, Ann Arbor Rotary Club and I joined government officials and other VIP’s as honored guests.

Rotifunk was abuzz with activity for an event this big. To bring people from across the chiefdom, Chief Caulker arranged boats carrying them from villages up and down the Bumpeh River.

Women set up in locations around town cooking to feed all the guests. Massive pots cooked rice and plassas for 40 or 50 people each.

Baffa shelters were built on a school sports field from bamboo cut and lashed together. Big palm branches laid on top shaded us from the hot tropical sun. Hundreds of chairs borrowed from schools were carried over to seat guests.

On the big day, the women’s society created a festive atmosphere. Their pulsating drumming and dancing with their Bundu devils, below, energized the crowd. 

Reflecting on our early days
As I sat waiting for the event to start, I was thinking of our early days. CCET-SL and SFSL in 2013 would be unrecognizable today. For four years CCET-SL was a group of volunteer teachers, offering their services after school and on weekends to start new programs.

The living room of Chief Caulker’s small guest house was CCET-SL’s office. I carried the first computers over in a suitcase, and only a couple teachers knew the basics of using them. Memos were written by hand and snapped to send as a photo. Project photos often served as reports. With limited phone service and few smart phones, most business was (and still is) done by Whatsapp calls and texts.

But we got started. SFSL has always followed the principle that we support goals and objectives our partner sets for itself. I still remember Chief Caulker’s words that we will start with “small, beautiful things.” Things we can start quickly that will have an impact on improving the lives of chiefdom people within months, not years.

Chief had already waited for ten years after Sierra Leone’s war for government or NGO funding that never came. With SFSL’s help, he could take charge and act on projects he knew were greatly needed. But SFSL was new. So, we picked things that were simple to start with little funding and achievable in the short term. Concrete results from these fledgling efforts encouraged more donations.

The first two projects SFSL funded in 2013 were $20 school fee scholarships for 120 girls and $600 for a tree nursery to grow fruit tree seedlings to start the Orchards for Education program. $350 to start adult education soon followed when local illiterate women said they want to learn to read and write. 

Today, there’s multiple programs and ten years of results to call out at our celebration.

CCET-SL director Rosaline Kaimbay, left, gave an impassioned review of how the organization developed over ten years.

She’s been there from the beginning and deserves the credit for creating innovative education and women’s programs and leading them to where they are today. Thank you, Rosaline!


CCET-SL program graduates who moved on to higher education filled a large part of the main seating area. Their blue T-shirts proudly declare they are CCET-SL alumni. Gathered together in one spot, below, they showed just how far CCET-SL programs have come over ten years.

Program beneficiaries illustrate results
CCET-SL wanted to showcase its results – educating and developing people. Beneficiaries of nine programs talked about the impact CCET-SL had on them and their peers.

Our first university scholarship graduate, Aminata Kamara, is an alumna of CCET-SL tutorial programs that prepared her for university. An outstanding student, she lost an opportunity to study in China. Now a B.S. degree graduate, she told young students they must seize the opportunities CCET-SL gives them from primary school to university to “learn book”.

She thanked us all for changing her life. We couldn’t be prouder of Aminata. Today, seven students follow her on their education journey with university scholarships.

Salamatu Fofanah, primary school headmistress applauded CCET-SL for coaching primary schools. This is where we build a strong education foundation, she said. Two years ago, Bumpeh Chiefdom primary schools were among the lowest scoring schools in Moyamba district. They’ve rapidly improved to be among the top schools with CCET-SL support. 

Salamatu is one of 13 local teachers completing teaching certificates with CCET-SL scholarships. “We are proud and honored to say we are trained and qualified teachers!”

Anne Marie Kaimbay didn’t get the college entrance exam scores for university admission on her first try. She repeated 12th grade in CCET-SL’s WASCCE preparation class and passed the exam the second time. She’s now a 2nd year civil engineering student at the University of Sierra Leone. 50 more students are in CCET-SL’s WASSCE preparation class.

Anne Marie proudly told the crowd, “Whatever a man can do, a woman can do better.”

Teacher James Kamara’s commitment to leading the 9th grade after-school tutorial program shows in its results.

He described the senior high entrance exam results steadily growing each year to 100% of all students passing in 2022.

“Bravo to CCET-SL,” he declared for offering this program free of charge to students. “Special thanks to our paramount chief for helping Bumpeh Chiefdom make the mark in education.”

Isatu Bendu has a special place in my heart. I met her eight years ago in CCET-SL’s adult education program. Now a primary school teacher, she told her story of being a primary school drop-out from an illiterate farming family. With CCET-SL’s help, she passed the entrance exam for a primary school teacher training program and today teaches class one.

She proudly said she’s gone from being “nobody” to a respected member of the community – a teacher.

Our first women’s program was for Ebola relief. Farming and markets had been shut down for months, slashing incomes.

Hawanatu Sesay explained how the Women’s Vegetable Growing Project helped her and her peers. With project seed for peanuts and vegetables, they harvested within 3 or 4 months, earning cash to feed their families. The project went on to help 400 women get back on their feet over three years.

Graduates of nursing and vocational training programs and primary school students gave their stories of how CCET-SL’s education programs moved them forward.

A Paramount Chief’s vision realized
I don’t think anyone that day was more proud than Paramount Chief Caulker. He realized his dream of educating Bumpeh Chiefdom people that today continues. He beamed as each speaker recounted their personal story of life-changing education made possible by CCET-SL. With education, they’re going on to develop the chiefdom.

Chief spoke of his own goal of bringing the Orchards for Education program to maturity. The orchards will soon begin generating income to fund education programs for years to come.

The self-sufficiency vision Chief laid out ten years ago was achieved with 60 acres of fruit orchards well on their way to fruiting stage. The first lime and coconut trees planted now tower over us.

We ended the day relaxing in the orchard we planted from seedlings grown in our own nursery.

Chief Caulker poured libation, left, to thank the ancestors for looking over the success of our work and asking them to continue to guide us and grant us all long life.


Chief could now lean back now among the orchard trees with friends and relish ten years of work well done. We enjoyed palm wine freshly tapped from orchard palm trees. This is what satisfaction looks like. Mary Avrakotos, Ann Arbor Rotary Club, above left, and Steve Papelian, SFSL Board Director and former Rotifunk Peace Corps Volunteer, right, join Chief Caulker.

You, the supporters of Sherbro Foundation, were called out and thanked many times that day. You weren’t there, but you were in our minds and part of the celebration.

Please stop now to take a virtual bow that you richly deserve. So many of you have continued to support Bumpeh Chiefdom people for years.

On behalf of Chief Caulker, CCET-SL and Bumpeh Chiefdom people, we send you our deepest thanks. We’re grateful that you’ve been part of our ten-year journey. You have truly changed the lives of many people.

Thank you!

— Arlene Golembiewski

Executive Director

Developing Sierra Leone Teachers as Agents for Change

Developing Sierra Leone Teachers as Agents for Change

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Bumpeh Chiefdom now has six new college-educated teachers!

Thanks to Sherbro Foundation’s teacher training scholarships, six instructors in Rotifunk schools completed three-year Higher Teachers Certificates.

After passing the government certification exam, they’ll qualify to become government-approved teachers earning regular monthly salaries. And Rotifunk schools are starting to fill their ranks with trained and qualified teachers.

Four of the graduate teachers, above, smile after completing their certification exam. L to R: Salamatu Fofanah, Abul Aziz Bendu, Kadiatu Sesay and Idrissa Smart Kanu.

Long journey to qualified teacher

But that’s just part of it for these dedicated local teachers like Abdul Aziz Bendu, 30. After finishing high school in 2009, Aziz started teaching lower primary school and worked his way up as a Rotifunk secondary school teacher. Many teachers in rural areas have even less education and no training to properly teach the state curriculum.

Without funds for college, it took Aziz 14 years to reach this point where he proudly holds a secondary school teaching certificate. That’s not uncommon. He’s committed to keep teaching in Rotifunk.

“We were born and raised here,” he said. “If we can’t make this a better place, who would?”

Aziz has sacrificed to stay in this rural area. Without certification and government approval, teachers are considered “volunteer.”

Schools must come up with extra funds to pay them, maybe 400 or 500 Leones per month. That’s about $25 with Sierra Leone’s sky-rocketing inflation, and perhaps a third of a certified teacher salary.

And yet, he is supporting a younger brother and sister still in secondary school; they share two rooms with him in a Rotifunk colleague’s home.

Left, Aziz teaches geography and social studies.

Aziz was the seventh of nine children born to one of his father’s four wives. Most of his father’s children have no formal education. His father was a subsistence farmer who grew rice and peanuts in one of the most “deprived sections” of the chiefdom.

His mother died when he was young and he was raised by an older sister. “She didn’t go to school, but she had a passion for education,’’ he said.

He took that passion and ran with it, mastering English and dreaming about advancing his education. He now is one of the first from his home area with a college education.

Aziz’ small home village is a few miles from Samu Section’s headquarters village, above. Samu is a remote part of Bumpeh Chiefdom near where the mouth of the Bumpeh River enters the Atlantic Ocean. The only practical access is by boat.

Dedicated teachers, despite many challenges

With a three-year Sherbro Foundation scholarship, Aziz traveled an hour away for teacher training classes over school holidays. There aren’t textbooks and teacher trainees pay to download assignments at computer cafes.

His school principal pays volunteer teachers stipends with funds gathered from the government and parent donations. “But I can’t even buy a bag of rice for the month with it,” Aziz laments. In his spare time, he grew two acres of peanuts to earn extra money to live on and support his two siblings.

With Sierra Leone’s stunning 30% – 40% inflation rates, food and survival are his focus. Small pleasures are no longer affordable.

The home where Aziz stays is on Rotifunk’s new community solar grid system. But it’s expensive and most homeowners can only afford a few lightbulbs for evening light.

“Some people want to add TVs or freezers,’’ he said. Freezers are more reliable coolers than refrigerators. “But we only use it to charge phones.”

Service frequents shuts off in the rainy season.

He lets his young siblings occasionally play games on his phone for fun. For holidays, he tries to get them clothes. “But now, the focus is on food. I told them they have to use their old shoes for school this year,’’ he said.

The youths have never been to a city because travel is too expensive. Aziz doesn’t visit Freetown either. It costs $8 round trip to catch a minivan ride to the Capitol. The official price of gas just jumped from 20 to 30 Leones per liter – or $6 a gallon in US dollars.

Local teachers work as change agents

Still, Aziz said, “I’m proud to stay in Rotifunk, to be a ‘village boy’. I have a passion for teaching and love for my chiefdom. In the future, I want my name mentioned as one of those who worked hard to develop the chiefdom.”

“We have so many challenges,” he said. “Most schools don’t have the required infrastructure. We need qualified teachers and learning materials. We need computers and IT education.”

But Bumpeh Chiefdom is luckier than most. “We are fortunate to have a paramount chief committed to education,” he said.

It was Paramount Chief Charles Caulker’s vision that created Rotifunk’s nonprofit Center for Community Empowerment and Transformation. CCET-SL leads the innovative programs Sherbro Foundation helps fund, including teacher training scholarships.


“We are making progress. And with support, we can change,’’ Aziz said.

They are changing. Rotifunk schools achieved goals that were just a dream a few years ago. Nearly all students in CCET-SL tutorial programs now pass to the next level, from primary school to junior high to senior high. Many graduates now qualify for higher education. 

Teachers like Aziz are change agents in rural communities. Sustainable progress will continue when local teachers are developed from within the chiefdom. They plan to stay and help children from their families and neighbors go further in education than ever before.

Sherbro Foundation just funded CCET-SL to award thirteen more teachers with scholarships for three-year primary and secondary school teacher certificate courses.

Your support strengthens the leading edge of education and progress in Bumpeh Chiefdom.

We believe stronger teachers make stronger students – and stronger communities. We’re thankful that you do, too. Support more teachers with training scholarships here.

Chris Golembiewski
— Sherbro Foundation VP

Growing the Future of Education in Sierra Leone – Orchards for Education

Growing the Future of Education in Sierra Leone – Orchards for Education

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This year marks Sherbro Foundation’s 10th anniversary, bringing back a flood of memories. Few are as vivid or became as important as the Orchards for Education, below 2023.



I traveled to Sierra Leone for two years before founding Sherbro Foundation. It was back then that Paramount Chief Charles Caulker told me the story of his baby tree he dearly loved. A coconut tree was planted together with his umbilical cord in his mother’s village at the traditional naming ceremony. After about ten days when it’s clear the newborn will survive, it is presented to the community and their name proclaimed. Baby Charles was named after UK’s Prince Charles, born the year before. Below, a naming ceremony I attended for two newborns in Rotifunk



After weaning, two-year-old baby Charles was sent to live with his maternal grandparents in their village until he started primary school, a traditional practice. His grandfather taught him to water his coconut tree and take care of it. The small child could see his tree growing as he did in his first few years.

It was an early lesson for children in valuing trees and caring for the environment. When he later returned on school holidays, Chief Caulker said the first thing he wanted to see was how his coconut tree had grown and to learn to climb it like the village boys.

I heard this story sitting with Chief under grapefruit trees his father had planted over 40 years before. It was a miserably hot day, when the sweat trickled down your back just sitting still. Chief took me to the grapefruit grove to escape into the shade. Kids climbed the trees and we ate grapefruit they dropped down that were still sweet and delicious.



Chief reminisced about his uncle saying, if you take care of a tree, the tree will take care of you years later. It will provide fruit you can eat and sell for money to live on. Chief Caulker, above, among coconut tree seedlings in today’s tree nursery.

He then lamented that the tradition of planting trees for babies was lost during the war. Today, those trees could be providing money for parents to send their children to school, he said.

It was that hot afternoon under the grapefruit trees in 2013 that we decided we would start partner organizations to send girls to school and grow fruit orchards to later self-fund chiefdom education programs.

Fast-forward to 2023 and Orchards for Education are reality. I had the pleasure in February of sitting under the shade of coconut, lime and guava trees towering over us we planted nearly six years ago. Here’s a look at how the Orchards for Education came to be.

The very first grant newly formed Sherbro Foundation made to its new partner CCET-SL in 2013 was $600 to start a fruit tree nursery. Ebola brought the project to a halt in 2014, but we resumed growing fruit tree seedlings as soon as we could in 2015. All trees in the orchard program have been grown in the nursery from seed of local fruit.



The tree nursery, above, consists of simple pergolas made of bamboo lashed together. Palm fronds are added on top for shade in the dry season. This nursery has grown 30,000 tree seedlings over the years: coconut, orange, lime, grapefruit, guava, avocado, African plum, cashew, soursop and recently, cacao. Some Malaysian oil palm were gifted.
Chief Caulker, left, plants a lime tree seedling in 2017.

Over five years, sixty acres of orchards were developed, fifteen acres at a time. Land is first manually cleared and one to two-year-old tree seedlings are planted in grids of 60 to 100 trees per acre.

Bumpeh Chiefdom is lowland tropical rainforest with a distinct four-month dry season, hot with no rain. Tree seedlings must be hand-watered for 2 -3 years until their roots are established. Then they flourish.


CCET-SL Director, Rosaline Kaimbay and Arlene, above, with a coconut tree one year after planting. In the early days, there was room to intercrop between young trees. Newly germinating corn is seen here.

At three years, trees are well established. Chief Caulker and Arlene, below, admire three-year-old coconut and lime trees reaching their height and more.

In tropical rainforest climate, everything wants to grow. Trees have a huge growth surge in the rainy season – as do the weeds! Workers spend weeks manually cutting back weeds three to four times a year, as well as watering young trees. Cut weeds become a natural mulch and add to soil fertility.

We’re proud the orchards created jobs for 21 full-time workers and one hundred part-time seasonal workers.

Growing fruit trees to maturity takes patience. It’s a labor of love and the reward is worth it. Below, five years after planting, coconut trees are clearly thriving.



Five and a half year-old lime trees, below, tower over Arlene and friend. They’re the first trees to fruit.



In 2023, the first trees reached mature fruiting stage: lime and guava. Pineapples, plantain, bananas and cassava are also being grown as two-year crops. For now, early fruit income is limited and goes into paying orchard operating costs.

It took five years to plant all 60 acres of orchards. Many trees take 7 – 8 years to mature. It will be about thirteen years from first planting to full maturity of all 4500 trees.

The first coconuts planted will take another 2 – 3 years to fruit. But coconuts will be the biggest money-makers and keep fruiting for an estimated 20 years.

I asked Chief Caulker, left, how he felt now that it’s ten years since we embarked on his dream of Orchards for Education. “I’m proud!” he exclaimed.

“We’ve exceeded my early expectations despite the challenges of climate change with more heat and limited water access. Agriculture is a risky business. But we’ve done well and we’re well on our way to our goal of educating our children ourselves.”

We must thank the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor for helping Chief Caulker realize his vision for the orchards. They took the lead in sponsoring two Rotary global grants of two years each to start the orchards. They organized 19 Rotary clubs in the US, Canada and India who contributed to the grants.

Fifteen of the sixty acres of orchards are designated to provide fruit income for indigent health care in Bumpeh Chiefdom. Thanks go to the Wilmington, N.C. Rotary Club, who were partners in the grant and raised funds for this part of the orchards.

Sherbro Foundation donors also contributed to the Rotary orchard grant. With matching from the Rotary International Foundation and district Rotary funds, those donations grew to cover about 25% of the project. Thank you!

I’m now like the young Charles Caulker. Every time I visit Bumpeh Chiefdom, the first thing I want to see are “my trees.” With each year, I’m seeing the orchards growing the future of their children’s education right before my eyes. The dream is reality.

— Arlene Golembiewski
Executive Director

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Contact Us: sherbrofoundation@gmail.com

Giving Opportunity – Honoring a Life

Giving Opportunity – Honoring a Life

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Giving Sierra Leone students the opportunity to improve their lives is one of the most rewarding things we do. The higher the student aims, the more exciting it feels to help them reach the next level of their education journey.

We’re announcing four new university scholarships, each in a field of science. With two awarded last year, that’s a total of six scholarships.

Screenshot 2022-01-26 123336 (2)

Five are Saa Chakporna scholarships given in memory of Professor Tucker Childs, an internationally known linguist whose work included study of the Sherbro language.  We’re grateful to the Beaman Family Fund for funding these scholarships in his honor.

Awardees double the impact of the scholarships by returning to Bumpeh Chiefdom for one year of service for every year of scholarship support they receive. Bachelor’s degree grads will fill a big need for senior high math and science teachers. They’ll introduce hundreds of Rotifunk students to STEM careers for years to come.

Education ends at senior high for so many Sierra Leone students can’t afford who can’t afford college; or they drop out when funds run out. Their loss holds back the country’s development.

Ibrahim K. Bangua c 2022-12-06Ibrahim Bangura, left, waited a long time for his opportunity to get a bachelor’s degree in science education. Far too long. He qualified for university 18 years ago, soon after Sierra Leone’s rebel war ended. But he lost his father while in primary school, and his mother as a small market trader couldn’t help him.

Ibrahim followed the path of many like him becoming a teacher, one of the few jobs available straight from high school without additional education.

 

Ibrahim K. Bangua teaching c 2022-12-06“All this while I have been doing community teaching, teaching mathematics and physics,” Ibrahim told me. “So, I have taught pupils at senior high who are now graduates in the fields of medicine, engineering, as well as professional teachers within science.”

Ibrahim was finally able to enroll and complete his first year in science education at Milton Margai Technical University in 2021. This year he was identified him as a student meeting our criteria for a  teacher scholarship .

For the next three years, Ibrahim’s scholarship will cover tuition, living expenses and a laptop computer. He readily committed to teaching in Rotifunk because “teaching is a passion to me.” He’s ready to start by helping to teach during his university breaks.

Without trained science teachers in Rotifunk schools, local students haven’t qualified for admission to bachelor’s degree science programs.

Nationally, only 38% of 2022 high school grads passed the Biology exam with at least a C score for college entrance. Other STEM subjects were even lower: Math – 23%, Chemistry – 2%, Physics – 1%.

We want to change that and open the world of science and technology to Bumpeh Chiefdom students in their hometown.

Our partner CCET-SL contacted Milton Margai Technical University (MMTU) directly to find science teacher candidates to develop science education in Rotifunk. We look for candidates in financial need.

Tamba Gborie bTamba Kemoore Gborie is another MMTU student awarded a scholarship. He attended the Bo Government Secondary School, one of the oldest boys’ high schools in the country, and one of the few offering the full science curriculum. From there, Gborie said, “I started growing my love for science subjects.”

“This journey hasn’t been an easy ride for me reaching this point in my studies, “he told me. That’s why he’s so grateful to Sherbro Foundation and CCET-SL for giving him this scholarship opportunity.

After completing his Rotifunk teaching commitment, Gborie’s goal is to continue his studies to become a Medical Doctor.

Aminata Kanu b 2022-12-12A young woman from Rotifunk started medical school this fall with our third Saa Chakporna scholarship. Aminata Kanu completed two years of premedical science courses at the University of Sierra Leone and was admitted as a full medical student.

Aminata was raised in Rotifunk by her mother, a single parent and local primary school teacher. After primary school and junior high, she transferred to Annie Walsh Memorial Secondary School, a Freetown girls school offering senior high science.

“Coming from a small town, “Aminata said, “I’ve seen people die and suffer because of poor medical facilities in the community. It has been a passion and dream to become a medical doctor as a way of helping my people and community.”

The Methodist-run Hatfield – Archer Memorial Hospital in Rotifunk has come a long way in the six years since Aminata left for her studies. She can get practical experience there in her chosen field of obstetrics and gynecology. The hospital now does cesarean sections and other basic surgeries for the local population.

Gibril. bAnother Rotifunk resident is pursuing primary care medicine as a community health officer. Gibril Bendu will be at the front line of health care when he completes his degree funded by the Sherbro Foundation board.

Community Health Officers (CHO’s) provide primary health care in health clinics mainly in rural areas. For many, this will be the first and perhaps only health care they receive. CHO’s also offer public health programs on preventive care for the community.

I first met Gibril in 2013 as a Rotifunk secondary school science teacher. He comes from a tiny subsistence farming village. He started teaching right out of high school twelve years ago to earn money and help support siblings behind him.

When I observed Gibril’s biology class years ago, I saw he had ability beyond a rural junior high teacher. SFSL helped him get a teaching certificate to improve his teaching skills and get credentials needed to earn more. We then supported him to repeat his old college entrance exam, enabling him to be admitted for the Community Health program.

After his CHO degree, Gibril can also do an internship at the Rotifunk hospital, and hopefully be appointed to an area public health clinic.

We now have a total of six students on university scholarships – all in science and technology!

Our first two Saa Chakporna scholarship students awarded last year are in the third year of bachelor’s degrees.

Tommy Sankoh family farm b Sept '22We anxiously await Tommy Sankoh finishing his degree in agricultural economics at Njala University. With his return to Rotifunk,  he’ll advise CCET-SL on its agriculture program and teach high school students and local farmers improved growing techniques and developing farming as a business.

Alimamy Kamara is completing a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He’ll teach math and science in return for his scholarship support.

We are so proud of these students.

Huge thanks go to the Beaman Family Fund for funding five of them to meet goals they’ve worked so hard to prepare for.

We end this year with a sense of deep gratitude to all of you for making this a year of accomplishment. Our partner CCET-SL’s programs did better than ever. You make these things happen and we can’t thank you enough.

We wish you and yours health and much happiness now and in the new year.

–Arlene Golembiewski

A Boost to the Finish Line

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“CCET-SL has rebuilt senior high education in Rotifunk,” Paramount Chief Charles Caulker commented as we wrapped up a recent meeting on our partner CCET-SL’s education programs.
 
I knew what he meant. When I first returned to Sierra Leone 11 years ago, there were four secondary schools in Rotifunk, most small junior highs. None had the full teaching staff to cover all subjects. Many teachers were just out of high school themselves and uncertified. None of the handful of graduating seniors met university entrance requirements.
 
Fast forward to today, with the month-long national senior high completion exam beginning. CCET-SL expects this year’s students to do at least as well as last year. In 2021, 64% of graduating seniors in CCET-SL’s program met the minimum requirements for university admission. Several did considerably better. Another 15% qualified for teacher training college. That’s about 80% qualifying for higher education.
 
What changed? Our partner CCET-SL introduced programs to systematically improve education.
 
Their six-year-old after-school tutorial program has prepared hundreds of junior high students for senior high. CCET-SL‘s all-day 12th grade school just completed its third year.
 
Both programs are getting results – thanks to funding from your Sherbro Foundation donations. We’re reaching out now for your help to fund them for another year.
 
Mabinty 20220528 (2)
 
Mabinty used CCET-SL’s programs as steppingstones to her goal of working in government, even becoming a Parliamentarian. She is graduating from 12th grade, a feat still uncommon for Bumpeh Chiefdom girls.
 
She told her story, not an easy one, to Mrs. Kaimbay, above. At the age of nine, her father divorced her mother for another woman. Both parents left, leaving her with her impoverished grandmother who could barely care for her. Mabinty had to repeat 8th grade after missing a lot of school when her grandmother couldn’t pay her school fees.
 
Sherbro Foundation scholarships then kept her in school. Participating in CCET-SL’s 9th grade tutorial program and the 12th grade school, Mabinty now feels confident as she sits for the West African Secondary School Completion Exam, or WASSCE. “I’ve never failed to attend school, and was always successful in my school exams,” she said. She hopes her WASSCE results will gain her admission to the University of Sierra Leone to study political science.
 
To have Bumpeh Chiefdom girls and boys today speak of their education goals with such conviction and confidence is striking.
 
When Rosaline Kaimbay, below, took over as CCET-SL managing director in 2017, she set out to improve the quality of education in Bumpeh Chiefdom.
 
Rotifunk, the chiefdom’s headquarters town, was typical in seeing only about 30% of teens make it to junior high.
 
By the 10th grade, half of those dropped out. The few successful students whose families could scrape together funds, transferred to senior highs in cities with qualified teachers.
 
By 12th grade, remaining Rotifunk seniors dwindled to 5 – 10 per school. With these numbers, schools couldn’t get government support to hire qualified teachers.
 
A former results-oriented school principal, Rosaline knew there had to be a better way. She saw there were various teachers across the schools who had skills in different subjects. She convinced the school principals to pool both their 12th grade students and their best teachers into one effective all-day school.
 
The 12th grade school covers eleven subjects for both college bound and commercial students. Walter Schutz Memorial Secondary School provides classrooms, below.

WASSCE class entrance test 20211008 (2)

It’s all done only with available local teachers but organized for optimal results.
 
The school is run in a disciplined manner and the entire WASSCE curriculum is covered. Students do practice exams to get familiar with the exam format and questions. The concept showed immediate results in its first five-month trial. With a full 10 months in 2021, the school produced the dramatically improved results above.
 
Mrs. Kaimbay avoids bureaucratic approaches and maximizes benefits for students and their families. That includes admitting “repeaters” into the program. With years of inadequate teaching, many students don’t pass the WASSCE the first time, or their results are too low for their college or program of choice.
 
About 30% of students in the 12th grade school have graduated but are repeating the year to sit the exam again. The program was extended to allow local graduates to repeat at no cost to try to bring up their exam results. When more graduates move on to successful jobs and careers, they, their families and the community all benefit.
 
Susan 20220525 (3)

Susan is a repeater intent on getting admitted to a four-year degree program in accounting at a good college. She told Mrs. Kaimbay, above, she wants to go into banking or be a private business accountant. She passed six of eight subjects on her first WASSCE exam. Five passes would get her into a college, but she didn’t pass English, required for her chosen degree program.

Completing high school was a struggle for her. Her parents are illiterate village farmers with no money for her education. A guardian in Rotifunk barely provided her basic care. She received just one school uniform to wear daily every two years.

Sherbro Foundation scholarships helped her reach senior high. Susan now wants to take the leap to college and a professional career. Our support boosted her to this point!

Mariatu’s story is much the same. A guardian helped her complete high school when her village parents could not. She repeated 12th grade to improve her exam results so she can study law.

She’s seen older male lawyers return to Rotifunk to visit family, but never a chiefdom woman. She wants to be to first local woman to successfully become a lawyer.

Rotifunk’s young men have similar dreams – and they need the same boost.

When his father died, Kamiru, left, waited three years after graduating high school before the CCET-SL program was available to help him repeat the WASSCE exam.
 
He wants to become a Community Health Officer. The CHO is like a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant who run small community health clinics. They operate clinics solo, being the first line of primary care medicine for most people.
 
WASSCE results from last year’s 12th grade school amazed me. But the elements for success were there: all subjects taught by capable teachers; a disciplined program ensuring the whole curriculum is covered; and students serious about their education goals. They must pass an entrance test to confirm they are at senior high proficiency before entering the program. No laggards allowed.
 
Chief Caulker’s statement on CCET-SL’s role in rebuilding senior high education, is an understatement. Without CCET-SL’s programs, these able young people would be languishing with no way to advance.
 
The cost for this 10-month program is $40 monthly stipends for the teachers. Many of them don’t get the full government teacher’s salary of $140 a month. With Sierra Leone’s run-away 21% inflation, teachers keep falling financially behind. Our modest $40 a month stipend helps keeps them afloat.
 
If you want your donation dollar put to good use in an efficient program with demonstrated results – sponsor a teacher for CCET-SL’s for Tutorial Program. Help us continue another year here.
 
At $40 a month – or $400 for one teacher for the school year – you’ll move Rotifunk’s young people up the ladder of success and keep teachers in the classroom teaching.
 
We greatly appreciate your support. Thank you!
 
— Arlene Golembiewski,
Executive Director
How to Change a Child’s Life. For $25!

How to Change a Child’s Life. For $25!

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It’s 1 pm and James Kargbo turns back from the blackboard of his fifth-grade class at Evangelical Primary School to find Mr. Barnard in the doorway of his classroom. He wasn’t expecting Mr. Barnard just then, but welcomes him into the class. Mr. Barnard is a familiar face, showing up unannounced once every one or two weeks to observe his class and coach him on his teaching. 

Mr. Barnard, below, occasionally takes over the class to give a demonstration lesson on more difficult topics. You know it’s an experienced teacher when normally bored preteens sit in rapt attention on a subject like fractions.

We are kicking off our annual Education Fundraising Campaign showcasing the new primary school tutorial program our Bumpeh Chiefdom partner CCET-SL launched last September. Nearly 400 students in classes five and six in seven Rotifunk area schools and their teachers participate. 

With your help, we’ve done a lot to raise the quality of education in Rotifunk schools in the last several years. We’re particularly excited now by the potential of the primary school program and the impact we can all have on children’s lives there.

It became clear, to get HERE  ……………… We need to start HERE!

Operating for five years, CCET-SL’s after-school tutorial program for ninth graders now has 95% of students passing their senior high entrance exam. But passing doesn’t mean results are strong. Many are in fact rather marginal. 

To set kids up for success in senior high and give them a good shot at higher education, we need to work with them at the primary school level. 

Fourteen teachers and nearly 400 primary students were put in the capable hands of Oliver Barnard, a retired primary school teacher and headmaster of 30 years’ experience. At 65, this man has energy to spare. “I actually enjoy teaching,” he said. Of retirement age, but not ready for it, he lamented,” I thought I was nowhere. Now I’m back in the system.” His frown turned into a wide grin. Teaching children he says, gives meaning and purpose in his life. 

And Rotifunk’s primary school teachers need him. Only 4 of the 14 teachers he works with have the basic three-year Teacher’s Certificate, qualifying them to teach primary school. 

The other ten only graduated from high school and were put in front of a classroom, like Mohamed Kamara. A teacher for three years, he would like to go to college, but like most, doesn’t have the means to pay for it. Abdul Kanu, at Supreme Islamic Council School, below, is another dedicated teacher who appreciates Mr. Barnard’s guidance.

IMG-20211115-WA0006 (2) Sometimes a principal just hands new teachers a book and sends them to a class to teach. The principal often teaches full time themselves and has little time to monitor or coach a young teacher. 

To make matter worse, without a teaching certificate, the government does not pay unqualified teachers. School principals scrape together donations to pay them from parents who have no money to spare. Maybe half the parents will offer something, often as little as 5000 leones – or 50 cents. From this, unqualified teachers get a token monthly payment of $15 – $25 a month. 

With classrooms like James Kargbo’s at the Evangelical Primary School, below, you know schools don’t have extra money to pay teachers. Nonetheless, teachers are teaching, and kids are learning.

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Village children are walking 3, 4 and even 5 miles each way to go to primary school like these in Rotifunk. Their village schools often barely function, with one or two teachers for six grades who may have only completed primary school themselves. These are among the children in greatest need of education that we can influence in a positive direction.
 
Most class five and six teachers in Rotifunk are young men because they have at least finished high school. It’s one of the few paid jobs in town, but the pay is hardly enough, especially with a family. Teachers like James and Mohamed leave school to go home and work in gardens growing fruit and vegetables to supplement their tiny family incomes. Their wives may be the primary breadwinners of the family as market women, selling produce in the market.
 
This leads to morale problems and malaise among many unqualified teachers. Without having learned teaching methodologies, they struggle. When one teacher must teach all seven subjects for one grade, they skip over the topics they’re not familiar with. Students end the school year without learning the full curriculum.
 
English language, written composition and math are the weakest subjects in primary school. These remain weak all the way through to the 12th grade national graduating exam. Students never catch up.
 
Mr. Barnard is shaking the trees to change this. In a good way.
 
The teachers know he’s there to help them and look at him as the coach and mentor they never had. Week by week, after observing their class, he gives feedback on improving their teaching. He helps them prepare lesson plans on topics they are weak in. His demonstration classes give teachers confidence to cover topics they didn’t know how to teach and practical tips on handling a class.
 
The kids enjoy him. The class gets a shot of energy when Mr. Barnard confidently takes over a lesson. And they learn.
Sometimes Mr. Barnard puts the chalk down and just talks to the kids about the importance of education in their lives. He points out successful people they know who only got ahead because of their education.
IMG-20211116-WA0009 (2) Too often these young impressionable students see the opposite – young people who dropped out of school and with the little money they earned bought cheap cell phones and flashy clothes.
 
Young women tell the girls, you’re wasting your time in school; I have my own baby.
 
What they don’t realize is, chances are, the women will be abandoned to raise that baby themselves. Young female and male drop-out’s never get ahead and live impoverished lives. Sound familiar?
 
But many times, it’s a role-model teens strongly admire that sparks their imagination and starts a change in their lives. If she or he came from the same place as me and achieved what they did, so can I. Rosaline Kaimbay, CCET-SL’s locally born and college educated managing director has been a role model that sparked this change in many students.
 
We all recall teachers who had a big impact on our lives. Sherbro Foundation is working with CCET-SL to develop more teachers who will play that role for these kids.
Last week 200 class six students lined up to take their National Primary School Exam in Rotifunk, most from CCET-SL’s program. The exam sets the course for their education journey. Either they continue to secondary school, or faced with repeating class 6, many drop out.
 
With nine months preparation and practice exams, Roman Catholic primary school headmistress Salamatu Fofanah could see the difference in the students from CCET-SL’s program this year. She said, “Today our children feel relieved and happy to take the exam in a cool atmosphere. They have the confidence to take their exams with no fear. We appreciate the great support of CCET-SL and Sherbro Foundation.”
 
She knows James Kargbo and his fellow teachers have worked for months to prepare their students for this week with Mr. Barnard’s ever-present coaching. The results will no doubt be better than last year. The teachers are energized to keep improving and pledge to soon achieve the highest results in the district.
 
Sherbro Foundation is excited to kick off our annual Education Fundraising Campaign with this practical program. It’s developing teachers on-the-job, while covering the full primary school curriculum and giving students a better education. It uses existing resources to do this.
 
As the advertisement used to say – the cost per student for the whole school year for all of this? Only $25. Changing a child’s life? Priceless!
 
I can’t think of many things we can do with higher impact on the lives of more people. 
When 400 young students get a strong education foundation and keep progressing in school, the impact will be felt for years to come. Whole families benefit when students turned adults keep succeeding.
 
You can help change a child’s life for $25. Sponsor four for $100. Or why not sponsor a whole class of 20 for $500? It’s a guaranteed feel-good investment you’ll be glad you made. Give HERE.
 
As always, we deeply appreciate your support. Thank you!
 
— Arlene Golembiewski,
Executive Director

Opportunity is Knocking – You can Answer the Door

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Bumpeh Chiefdom students are eager for opportunities to advance their educations. You’re the key to opening the door to secondary school and higher education – the path to building better lives.  

We’re excited to now offer programs extending from primary school through university degrees!  

You can support chiefdom students: Join our Annual Education Campaign HERE. 

tutorial Tutorial Programs

9th and 12th grade students get extra classes in preparation for their national exams, the gateway to senior high and higher education admission. 

$60 gives a student 10 months of classes. 

Learn more here.

IMG_4342 (2) Primary School Tutorials

Our newest offering is after-school classes for grades five and six. Kids who do well in primary school are set up for success in secondary school and beyond.

At $18 each, we’ll cover 400 students!


Learn more here.

sierra-leone-off-grid (3)Vocational Scholarships

Ten students are entering the second year of 2-year vocational diploma courses. They learn practical job skills: construction, electrical installation, and IT.

$450 pays tuition, practicals, travel and the certification exam fee.     Learn more here.

img-20201118-wa0010-4Teacher Training Scholarships

Quality education starts with trained teachers. Six teachers are continuing the second in a 3-year Higher Teacher Certificate program. They keep teaching while attending their own classes during school holidays.

$700 covers a 1-year scholarship, including $350 tuition.   Learn more here.

Safiatu Bendu (7)Nursing & University Scholarships

We’re happy to report both of these scholarship programs are funded, thanks to our earlier appeal for the Community Health Nurses and another generous donor.

We appreciate the support!

Our successful tutorial programs are entering their fifth year. Because of you, students are also continuing into higher education – “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities to achieve actual careers.

You are the key!

Please send your online gifts here.  Contact Us for sending checks.

Thank you for opening the door!

One Door Closes, But Another Opens

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Kadiatu knows what it’s like to have doors close to her. She was one of the first Bumpeh Chiefdom girls to graduate from high school supported by Sherbro Foundation scholarships, proudly getting her diploma in 2016. She did well on the national exams, meeting entrance requirements for a 4-year college program – still uncommon among chiefdom students. 

Then the door of opportunity slammed shut. She had no money to continue her education and no job prospects. Kadiatu’s mother passed away and she returned home to take care of her three younger siblings.

We’re kicking off our Annual Fundraiser for Education with a focus this month on teacher training scholarships. Quality education starts with qualified teachers!

IMG-20201118-WA0010 (3)Today, Kadiatu, left, is in the first group of teachers Sherbro Foundation is returning to school to pursue their HTC – the Higher Teacher’s Certificate. 

They’ll build their teaching skills and be eligible for a government paid secondary school teaching position with full salary. 

Back in 2016, Kadiatu had come so far. Hers was the very first group of girls in Rotifunk to graduate in over 20 years, aided by our scholarships. I remember the excitement of these girls proudly going off to sit for their national exams. Kadiatu’s results were among the best of all the schools in Rotifunk.

And then, she was back home where she started, since her father, a security guard, couldn’t afford to send her to college. 

Sherbro Foundation has emphasized sending girls to schools. They are usually the first in their families to attend secondary school, often away from home. But they haven’t had women teachers as role models and counselors in their formative years. In the nearly ten years I’ve now worked with Bumpeh Chiefdom, I’ve only seen two women teachers in Rotifunk secondary schools. After a couple years, they’ve left for other opportunities. 

Sherbro Foundation is working with our partner CCET-SL to change this by developing women from within the community as teachers. They can go to college for a 3-year teaching certificate during school holidays while continuing to teach. We require they teach at least three additional years in return for their scholarship. Many established teachers are interested in staying in the community long term.

Salamatu FB Salamatu, left, another scholarship recipient, was born and raised in Rotifunk, and has been a primary school teacher there for nearly 20 years. We didn’t know just how important – and urgent – it was to open the door to higher education for her with a scholarship right now. 

Salamatu is the headmistress of one of Rotifunk’s primary schools. One of its six teachers, she also serves as the acting head for the school. She developed the school from what had been called shambles to one with the largest primary school enrollment. 

I’ve met Salamatu and she’s what you want in a school head. She’s warm and nurturing, with a positive can-do attitude, while being firm and setting clear standards.

But she received notice that she would be replaced if she hadn’t at least enrolled in college for the requisite degree for a school head. There’s many acting principals and school heads in Sierra Leone like her, who don’t have the required credentials for the job. But with no one else available, they’re appointed on an interim basis.  

Her notice serendipitously came when one of the original six secondary school teachers accepted into our HTC scholarship program backed out. He didn’t want to sign the contract requiring three years of additional service. Salamatu wasn’t just a good substitute. With her teacher’s scholarship, the community can retain a dedicated and proven primary school head.

Salamatu Fofanah RC School b2 Salamatu’s story as a teacher goes back 25 years.  

She was in the last class to graduate from Rotifunk’s only secondary school when Sierra Leone’s rebel war started. Paramount Chief Charles Caulker evacuated her and 2000 other residents to a village down the Bumpeh River. It became a refugee camp for several years, where they were safe from marauding rebel soldiers who had occupied Rotifunk and the surrounding area. 

Salamatu married and had four children, only to lose her husband during the war. One of Chief Caulker’s first actions after the war in resettling the destroyed Rotifunk was to reopen schools. In 2002, he asked those who had completed high school to come back and serve their community as teachers. 

A single mother, Salamatu stepped up and taught for eight years before getting NGO support to complete her first-level teaching certificate as a primary teacher in 2010. Now, she’s started on her Higher Teacher’s Certificate. 

After having taught 18 years, I laughingly told her, “You could probably be in front of your class teaching, instead of being the student.” She replied, “I’m learning a lot. I’m proud and grateful to be a student teacher. It’s given me more confidence for the work. I can handle administration properly. I know how to talk with parents and encourage them to send their children to school, especially the girls.”   

The HTC program develops teaching skills and how to teach the core subjects: English, math, science and social studies.

Secondary school results are poor because there aren’t enough qualified primary teachers giving them the knowledge they need to succeed at the next level.

“We have to stop letting children go secondary school “empty,” Salamatu said.

Paramount Chief Caulker said Salamatu is one of the most deserving of the HTC scholarship recipients. “She’s greatly improved the school. I admire her and what she’s done.” He knows she’ll have even greater impact on her students and the community with more skills. 

Salamatu is proud to lead the way among primary teachers. Her own specialty subject is environmental science and home economics. “I want to give kids the foundation they will need for science in secondary school,” she said.

Our goal is to sponsor Kadiatu, Salamatu and four male teachers for the second year of their three-year teacher training course this fall. We have three of the six teacher scholarships covered by generous donors. 

Help us sponsor three more teachers. $700 covers a one year scholarship in full, including tuition ($350) and expenses for the weeks they attend courses. 

Opening doors for capable people shut out of opportunity is what Sherbro Foundation is all about. Join us in supporting Kadiatu, Salamatu and four other teachers in their quest for higher education. Send your gift HERE. 

You’ll improve the quality of education in Bumpeh Chiefdom schools. Together, we’ll put hundreds of children on the path to success for years to come. 

Look for our Education Fundraiser to continue in future newsletters on vocational training scholarships and expanding our partner CCET-SL’s tutorial program. 

Thank you! 

— Arlene Golembiewski, Executive Director  

You’re Helping Many More Than You Know

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With your Sherbro Foundation gift, you’ve helped improve 300 lives by putting 60 family breadwinners on the path to sustainable mini-businesses.
 
The Women’s Small Grant & Savings Project is an evolving story, proving once again that when a door closes in Sierra Leone, another opens.
 
The price tag? Just $6,000 – 60 market women each receiving a $100 grant.

Yeama 12-20They’re women like Yeama, left, who could be on her way to becoming “middle class” in her subsistence society.
 
The 45-year-old single mother of six was an orphan who couldn’t afford to go to school, or send her children to school after her husband abandoned her and the children. With the government now paying school fees, her youngest two girls are in junior high.
 
Yet, she is showing a talent for market trading. With her $100 grant last January, she’s grown her small business. That means she’s able to also save money. She’s one of the highest savers in her women’s saving group of 60. As its first year wraps up, Yeama is close to saving 2 million Leones – or $200. Double the grant she received and more money than she’s ever had.
 
She pays her own transportation for long trips to Freetown to buy toiletries to sell in Rotifunk’s market and still turns a profit. Small containers of soap, skin cream, toothpaste and mirrors are popular. 
 
Other “petty traders” bring to market what they can carry on their heads: palm oil, dried fish, peanuts, produce, vegetable seeds. They buy at low prices in villages and resell at the big Saturday market. Most are illiterate. Many didn’t understand how to figure their profit.
 
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We didn’t set out to sponsor market women. Our chiefdom partner, the Center for Community Empowerment and Transformation (CCET-SL), needed women last year to plant and water seedlings in the vegetable fields. But that project soon grew to 11 acres, too large for women to carry water around by hand.
 
Paramount Chief Charles Caulker didn’t want to put these needy women out of work. That’s when the new door opened. CCET Managing Director Rosaline Kaimbay came up with the idea of funding the women to expand their small market trading businesses and including a group savings plan.

With prompt Sherbro Foundation funding, 20 market women received $100 grants each. Kaimbay, above left in black, gathers them for weekly Sunday meetings where they’re required to deposit something (no minimum) in savings and they discuss selling experiences. The veteran women traders advise the younger ones on good buying opportunities and how to improve profits.
 
Each woman deposits her weekly savings into an iron lock box with three keys, to be returned at year’s end. This is not a micro finance program. These extremely impoverished women can’t afford to pay back a short-term loan with interest. Those kind of schemes have put them back where they started, or even in debt.
 
Marie Lost Botton fishmonger b The women needed instant capitalization to bring more earnings home that improve their daily lives, as well as save. Soon, 40 more traders were added, 20 of them “fish mongers,” like Marie left, who buy dried fish from fishing villages to sell in Rotifunk.

“This program can change the lives of these women,” Chief Caulker says.

“In another year, some can reach what for us is a middleclass income level, and stand on their own using capital they produce themselves,” he said. Women still come thanking him for the opportunity to grow – or pleading for the chance to be included.
 
A steady business, no matter how small, has a broad ripple effect on the women’s community. They spend their earnings where they live.
 
First, children are fed two if not three meals a day. This includes wards many women take in from village relatives so they can attend school in town. Girls stay in school longer, avoiding early marriages and dangerous early pregnancies, and gain more promising futures.
 
With a little savings, women can seek early medical care for kids with malaria or other diseases that take the lives of twenty percent of children under 5.
 
Zainab fish bOne invigorated trader is Zainab, left, who had to drop out of school at the 9th grade. She was forced into an early marriage because her family could no longer feed her at home. 
 
Zainab was a good student. She is now selling fresh fish at the weekly market and manages her business well. She’s one of the best savers in the group. In nine months, she saved $175.
 
Sherbro Foundation Executive Director Arlene Golembiewski sees better prospects for Zainab and others with more training and support.
 
“The fact is, market trading is the main business in Rotifunk,’’ she said. There are no local wage-paying jobs. “Trading should be seen as a career opportunity, not just a default for those with no other options.”
 
And the market looks destined to grow soon because a neglected road between Rotifunk and Moyamba, the district capital 17 miles away, is finally being upgraded. Traffic from across the district is expected to soon pass through town on their way to the capital.
 
Paramount Chief Caulker and the rest of the CCET Board are now evaluating the program, planning improvements for its second year.
 
Adama 12-20Adama, left, works very hard at her new opportunity. One of her husband’s two wives, she was forced to provide for her five children alone. The four oldest were married off young because she couldn’t afford to support them.
 
But now Adama – who walks to market with two tubs on her head — is succeeding at trading and has saved more than 1 million Leones, or $100.
 
At the end of the year, she withdrew her savings. It was like getting a second grant – one she paid herself.
 
If she and her friends could meet you, we know they’d thank you from the bottom of their hearts for providing a way to better futures with new hope.
 
We hope their stories bring you some joy and happiness in this strangest of years.
 
— Chris Golembiewski, Vice President, Sherbro Foundation
 
 
 

Getting Sierra Leone Students Ready for What Lies Ahead

Getting Sierra Leone Students Ready for What Lies Ahead

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Sierra Leone schools finally will reopen in October after a 5-month Covid shutdown

How do you help students now at an education milestone with a looming big exam that determines their fate – or which could result in more barriers to reaching their life goals?

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Sierra Leone students have already been through a lot to reach 9th grade or 12th grade. With previous stops and starts, senior high students are often 20 years old and more. They’ve been in schools with too few teachers qualified to teach the curriculum.

Now, they’ve a 5-month school gap to fill because of Covid.

We’re working on improving Rotifunk’s educational system with teacher training. But what happens to the kids now in school?

CCET-SL’s Tutorial Program, going into its fourth year, tackles this problem, turning it into an opportunity.

Rosaline Kaimbay saw local secondary schools don’t have enough trained and qualified teachers to cover the full curriculum, especially in math, science and English.

Her solution: offer tutorials, but not just one-on-one or for small groups. Offer after-school classes to students from three schools preparing for national exams. And make it free.IMG-20190304-WA0003 (2)With Sherbro Foundation funding, 9th and 12th grade students came in droves for this free extra help. CCET-SL had to limit enrollment to the capacity of the CCET-SL education center, about 75 students at a time.

The program has been a big success and continues to grow. 170 students are anticipated this year, exceeding the size of the CCET-SL center. Classes are in two shifts and overflow classes go to a nearby primary school in afternoons.

Students facing the biggest barriers to education are invited for tutoring, providing a boost for the most vulnerable: orphans, those in single-parent households, often woman-led, or away from their home village living with guardians, and the lowest income families. 80% are girls.

The Tutorial program adds quality to the education these students receive – and does it using existing resources.

20200113_113722 (2)The best qualified local teachers combine forces in extra classes for students from three schools.

For a modest $40 monthly stipend, these dedicated teachers come after school, week after week, for another round of teaching over the whole school year.

The result: 9th grade tutorial students each year got higher results on average on the senior high entrance exam than peers in their home school, better on average than all chiefdom schools and than most of the district’s 40 secondary schools. They took many of the top three results in their home school.

The tutorial students, 80% girls, also became motivated to continue their education. More went on to senior high at the age when girls typically drop-out and marry. With extra support and their daughters’ success, more parents saw the value of education and kept their girls in school.

Create All-Day 12th grade School
Rosaline has taken 12th grade after-school tutoring to a higher level. The total number of 12th graders in Rotifunk schools remains small. Most have dropped out by this point.

Rosaline convinced school principals it would be more effective to bring all 12th grade students together and teach one all-day 12th grade school with the best local teachers at the CCET-SL center.

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Students get the best teaching Rotifunk has to offer. The intensive all-day school prepares them for the exam that’s the entry to all higher education and requested on job applications. All 12 senior high subjects are taught, including classes for college and commercial tracks.

School in the time of Covid
12th grade after-school tutoring converted to the all-day school in December 2019.  Covid then closed schools at the end of March 2020. Still, with six months total of focused teaching, we’re hoping this group now taking the national exam will do better than in the past.

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CCET-SL will resume both the 12th-grade school and 9th grade after-school tutoring when Sierra Leone schools reopen in October. They observe the same procedures as all schools, including Covid safety procedures: required masks, spacing out students and frequent hand-washing. The CCET-SL Center has large windows to open on both sides creating air flow.

9th grade tutorial classes and the 12th grade school will be more important than ever in helping Rotifunk students catch up after missing five months of school for Covid.  No Zoom in Rotifunk!

You can step in and sponsor a 9th grade or 12th grade student for 10 months of classes for only $40 for the whole year.  Sponsor a student here.

Together, we can help 170 students stay on track and make big gains in their quest for a complete education. More than that. They’re preparing for the next step that lies ahead. Thank you!

— Arlene Golembiewski, Executive Director