Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone

 Project Officer: Jonathan Bambara

 Locations: National Coverage

 The Basic Education and Sponsorship program   of the Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone   has been able to achieve the following activities   for the reporting period. The period under   review has been a challenging moment in the   history of our operations as the Covid19   pandemic in Sierra Leone has been dreadful in   many aspects as so many development programs were put to halt but yet still the Basic Education and Sponsorship program of the Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone was able to carry out the following activities amidst the challenges successfully. At the start of the year most of our activities were almost put on a hold due to the outbreak of the Covid 19 as schools and other learning institutions were all closed with lots of public health restrictions and guidelines. As a result of the above, the government and health authorities in order make significant efforts to break the chain of the covid19 transmission; measures were put in place ensuring citizens’ compliance to the instituted measures. These measures at the end of the day were able to adversely affect the lives of the ordinary citizens’ lives in the country as a whole. These measures include but not limited to the social, economic, political, and spiritual activities across the country which posed serious challenges for even government, businesses and development partners in implementing their planned programs and projects and the Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone (EFSL) was no exception.

Therefore, the Basic Education and sponsorship department of the Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone has for the period under review for 2021 been able to achieve and implemented the following activities.

The following were the achievements made for the period under review and they include but not limited to the following:

• The identification, verification and registration of 150 individual sponsorship vulnerable children
• Training of sponsorship orientation for school management, Administration and parents
• Training of cooks on food and nutrition
• Distribution of dry rations (food items) to sponsorship children
• Provision of medical services
• Training of mothers club, SMC, and teachers Gender based violence in school.
• Provision of reading and other learning materials to children in their final year of their type of education
• Training of SMC and school administration on inclusive education
• Training of SMC, CTA, and teachers on ethics, child right/protection and corruption
• Online training for the International Network for Christian Education (INCE)
• Training of teachers, CTA, SMC, and community stakeholders ranging from child protection and teacher development
• Commemoration of the Day of the African Child
• Distribution of mosquito nets
• INCE online training for Christian teaching
• Distribution of Teaching and Learning materials

The identification, verification and registration of 150 individual sponsorship vulnerable children

For the period under review, 150 vulnerable and deprived children were identified, verified and registered into our sponsorship program from five (5) communities. The communities are; Mowagor, Tissana, Levuma/Mosonga, Lorgbana, and Semabu from Jong and Sogbini chiefdoms respectively. The identification, verification, and registration of these children came about when our donor partner (Woord En Daad) deemed it fit to add to our sponsorship number from 175 in 2020 to 325 in 2021 children. The sponsorship number is divided into two sectors which are: a. Group sponsorship and b. Individual sponsorship. In the group sponsorship we only have 75 children and the Individual sponsorship we have 250 children respectively.

Sponsorship orientation training for school management, Administration and parents.

As part of the sponsorship program, sponsorship orientation for school management, administration and parents is one of the mandates for a successful program implementation. School managements, administrations and parents were drawn from the five (5) communities of our operations in Mowagor, Tissana, Levuma/Mosonga, Logbana, and Semabu.

 

Training of cooks on food and nutrition

Nutrition is essential for a good performance at school. Sponsored children are guaranteed of at least a good meal a day. This has to be not only starch but also vitamins, minerals, and protein and in adequate quantities: vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat, etc. Therefore, ten (10) cooks from five sponsorship communit.es were trained so as to implement the requirement of the sponsorship program. At the end of the training, a practical exercise was done to ascertain the quality of the training they have received.

Distribution of dry rations (food items) to sponsorship children

Since the outbreak of the covid19 and the public health restrictions and guide lines are still in force, the normal school feeding are not in place at the moment and therefore dry rations have been provided for the sponsorship children in their various communities to maintain the social distancing and other public health regulations established by the government and other health professionals. The dry rations were therefore given to them to be taken to their homes to eat with their entire families. The dry rations include the following:

• Rice, Palm oil Onions, Salt, Maggie etc

 

Provision of medical services

It is very essential that every child has to undergo a careful medical examination by a doctor and a dentist to spot immediately all contagious and dangerous diseases if any. Further the weight and the height of each child should be taken regularly. A health record of each child should be kept, and general medical and dental check up of all inmates of the school should be arranged for at the beginning of the school year. In cases of accidents and sudden severe diseases the person in charge of the sponsorship children in the school is responsible for the concerned children been taken to a good medical facilities. Therefore, health care supports have been given to most of our sponsored children during the period under review. But previously after the signing of an MOU with a reputable pharmacy, it later came out not to be continued base on their part of the understanding of the document. The Pharmacy was expecting EFSL to be paid monthly like any other staff so whether they render a service or not they should be paid at the end of each month and that was how the contract was terminated at the end of the day.

Training of mothers club, SMC, and teachers Gender based violence in school.

Training was conducted for school management committee, Community teachers Association, Head of schools and the teachers on gender based violence in schools.

Provision of reading and other learning materials to children in their final year of their type of education

Provision of reading and other learning materials were provided for children who are in their final year of the type of their education for both the National primary school examination (NPSE) and the Basic Education Certificate examination (BECE). Just few months before their exams, reading materials like past questions and other related and viable material were provided for the children in question and prior to their examination they were finally given mathematical set to ease their exams without borrowing anything from their colleagues during the examination period.

 

Training of SMC, CTA, and teachers on ethics, child right/protection and corruption

Training was conducted for SMC, CTA and Teachers on the teachers’ code of ethics, child right and protection and corruption in schools. The training was geared toward the following:

• The roles and responsibilities of teachers and other education personnel
• School Management Team on good governance
• School management committees
• Teachers code of ethics
• Child protection and its related issues
• And corruption in school etc

On the part of the SMCs the following objectives were to be achieved

• Ensure the members fully understand and are aware of current educational policies, strategies and interventions related to primary school education in sierra Leone
• Sensitize members on the need and importance of community participation in school management
• Create awareness of the roles, responsibilities and functions of SMCs and other stakeholders as MBSSE, school administration, local councils, proprietor of school and NGOs
• Create awareness in SMCs on contemporary issues such as child friendly schools, the child right Act, the code of conduct for teachers and other education personnel, and other emerging issues in education
• Ensure that the SMCs have a solid and realistic action plan for school improvement

On the part of corruption the following were discussed:

• For the effective and efficient management of school resources

Commemoration of the Day of the African Child

On the 16^th of June this year the day of the African Child was commemorated as it has always happened since the incident took place in Southern Africa.

Since 1991, the Day of the African Child has been celebrated on June 16 to commemorate those killed during the Soweto Uprising in South Africa, and to recognize the courage of the students who marched for their right to an education.

The Day of the African Child is also an opportunity to raise awareness for the ongoing need to improve the education of children living across Africa. It’s a need that still very much exists today. Of the 57 million primary school age children currently out of school around the world, over half are from sub-Saharan Africa. The Theme for this year commemoration was ‘‘THEME: HUMANITARIAN ACTION IN AFRICA; CHILDREN’S RIGHT FIRST. GLOBAL THEME..... ‘’30 Years after the adoption of the Charter; accelerate implementation of Agenda 2040 for Africa fit for Children’’

THE LOCAL THEME: “PIKIN LAW AFTER 14 YEARS, HOW E TAN LEK’’

The commemoration brought children from all our sponsorship communities except for one due to the high rise of the river that they could not crossed. Different performances were carried out by the children from their various communities which include dancing, rhyming and singing.

Distribution of mosquito nets

The team leader for the Basic Education and sponsorship program was able to distribute mosquito nets to 150 new sponsored children in the program from the five schools and communities that we are operating in. Before the distribution of the mosquito nets, they were admonished to tell their parents not to abuse the nets for the wrong purpose. The wrong purposes include but not limited to:

• Must not be used as a fishing net
• Must not be used as a fence to protect their chickens
• Not be used as a fence to secure their backyard gardens
• Not be used for only the parents but purposely for the children. Etc

And lastly they were encouraged to be using the nets on a regular basis as that will prevent them from malaria and other related diseases.

International Network of Christian Education online training for Christian teaching

The first module of the INCE online course was geared towards Christian education and classroom practice. The Module ran for eight (8) weeks with eight participants from EFSL. During the course of the training, the following topics were discussed with lectures from both the Netherlands and the UK respectively.

Skills

1. Teachers are equipped with necessary pedagogic skills,

2. Teachers: a. have proper attitudes towards teaching, b. have self-confidence, c. use positive approaches to instruction and classroom management,

3. Teachers make proper use of a variety of instructional facilities.

Result of the training:

The teachers have been refreshed and equipped by familiar and new insights on the area of Christian pedagogical and didactical concepts and can translate these into the context of the learning environment of the CCLC classrooms

The aim of INCE is:

• to develop children and youth into responsible citizens;
• to enable them to support themselves and to care for their families;
• to equip them as change agents in the society

Value based education:

Our Christian identity will continue to be the foundation and the core of INCE. We do our work, knowing that we are all wonderfully made by our Creator (Psalm 139). Our aim is to reflect His abundant love towards those who are in need. Driven by this belief, we want to ‘defend the weak and the fatherless, uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed’ (Psalm 82) and, following the footsteps of Jesus Christ, ‘love our neighbor as ourselves’. Values like righteousness and mercifulness are therefore very important, and result for example in a strong focus on reaching the poorest of the poor. This will have a positive influence on learning outcomes, since many studies suggest the relation between values, character education and academic results.

For the eight weeks, the following topics were taught and they are as follows:

• The classroom community purpose of discipline
• Models and foundations for Christian curriculum design
• Models and foundations for Christian curriculum design 2
• Learning styles, grouping for learning and cooperative learning
• Disruptive behaviour
• Identifying students’ worldview
• Fruits of the spirit
• Assessments

 

Distribution of Teaching and Learning materials

Teaching and Learning materials were distributed to our sponsorship children in all our 5 supported primary schools and by extension to some secondary schools in Bonthe district southern Sierra Leone.

Handing over ceremony of the six classroom building at Levuma community

The education team and the CEO of EFSL initially had a general community meeting with all the stakeholders of the Levuma community and they were told about the intention of EFSL and their partner organization Woord En Daad for the construction of the six classroom structure. The meeting was blessed with the presence of the Chiefdom speaker of the Jong Chiefdom and the Court Chairman to add their voices to the proposal. This is a communities which has been yearning for quality and sustainable education for their children have always worked in that direction as the makeshift structure should be a clear indication that they are interested in education for their children. On that note the Levuma and Mosonga, requested the support of humanitarian organizations like EFSL in Sierra Leone and their partner Woord en Daad.

Finally the building of the six classroom was completed and handed over to the Bonthe district Council on behalf of the community people

 Ensure that Communities and Schools have access to health and WASH Facilities and Services.

With Support from Woord en Daad, we constructed water wells in two newly build schools (one water well build in Ngolahun and one In Wulai Jong).These Water wells helped increased students access to safe drinking water. The provision of safe drinking water in our project schools has contributed to a positive and health-conscious school culture and environment.

In addition to the provision of safe drinking water in schools, we enhanced 80 girls with Knowledge on menstrual and personal hygiene. Teaching on menstrual hygiene fostered an understanding and supportive atmosphere among peers. It has reduced feelings of embarrassment or isolation that some girls may experience during their periods, promoting a sense of social inclusion. Menstrual hygiene training equipped girls with essential life skills related to reproductive health. This knowledge helped them make informed decisions about their bodies and prepares them for the physical and emotional changes associated with puberty.

Through the Basic Education and sponsorship project, we treated 200 sponsored children with sickness and health conditions such as Malaria, Typhoid, skin diseases, and Cough anaemia.  Children with serious medical were sent to Government hospital in Mattru Jong in Bonthe district for further diagnosis and advanced treatment. As a preventive measure against mosquito bites and by extension from falling ill of Malaria, we supplied all 575 Sponsored Children and parents with Insecticide treated bedrest.

Youngsters have increased access to basic quality education and market relevant.

TVET skills.

Basic Education and Sponsorship Project

For the period under review constructed 2 six Class room buildings with gender sensitive latrines (One in Ngolahun and one in Wulai) in Bonthe district. The school built in Ngolahun is owned and managed by Assembly of God Mission- Sierra Leone and the one built in Wulai is owned and managed by United Brethren in Christ (UBC).

 

EFSL conducted nine awareness raising sessions in project communities on the importance of education and the objectives of the sponsorship program implemented by Woord en Daad and EFSL in Bonthe district.

EFSL provided 575 sponsored children in nine project schools with food (rice, onion, Maggi, salt) and learning materials. For these children facing economic challenges in our project schools, the provision of food and learning materials has helped alleviate some of the barriers to education. The sponsored Children knowing that their basic needs for food and learning materials are being met has positively impacted their self-esteem and confidence. This sense of security has contributed to a more positive attitude towards learning.

We received money from Sponsors for the purchase and provision of extra gifts to sponsored children in the project schools. The extra gifts were purchased and distributed to sixty-six( 66) sponsored children.  

 

BASIC EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.

The focus of the EFSL Basic Education Development project is on people of all age strata. Children (the orphaned, the vulnerable and the girl child) totaling approximately 3000 will be supported with educational support for 2016 – 2020. The project plans to construct ten schools over the five years’ period and in addition construct one Christian College for the training of teachers. Further 1200 adults will be assisted in literacy and another 1,300 teachers trained through the distance education