They Need a Bigger Boat!

From the beginning of our teacher training efforts, it was always the main goal of LOEP to assist our colleagues in developing their own professional development program.  We believe in the old adage, "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime". We all recognized the value of helping to build a program that Liberian teachers could sustain on their own, conducting their own workshops, their own trainings and sharing their new methods and techniques with other teachers in Liberia.  Recent reports from Liberia show how far we have all come to reaching that goal.
Mr. Gbah's Report:
Emmanuel Gbah is a full-time teacher at CRM orphan school where he teachers fifth grade.  He is the married father of three girls who attend school (in a nation where less than half of all girls attend school), he is a deacon in his church, a full-time student at the University of Liberia and three nights a week he teachers adult literacy in a little school operated by his church.  He also mentors untrained, unpaid teachers in that same school, helping them develop classroom skills and techniques he has learned in the LOEP workshops.  Recently Mr. Gbah made the arduous journey to his rural home village for a rare visit with his family.  Such visits are far and few between for Liberians and it had been years since Mr. Gbah had seen his "little brothers".  The visit was a joyous occasion and a time for him to share with his family details of his life in the city of Monrovia.  He happily reports, "God could have it for me I was able to travel with some of my teaching materials" from LOEP workshops in the LOEP "teacher bag".  When he arrived in the village word of his visit and his life as a teacher in Monrovia spread.  He was asked to conduct a teacher training for teachers in the village school.  As he recounts, " this was a huge challenge for me ... because I was alone without consultant,but I accepted the challenge," and his detailed report on the workshop content is a most touching account of his experience. Despite his reservations and initial lack of confidence, he conducted a successful training and highlighted the most important concepts of, a) inclusiveness, b)effective teaching methods to replace harsh beatings and discipline, and c) helping children understand and process the information they are taught.  He wrote, “I firmly believe that the act of conducting the workshop was buttressing the dream of LOEP….by the help of God I was able to conduct the workshop ... and it was appreciated by the school administration.  I ... extend my thanks and appreciation to the LOEP team for their level of cooperation and for the knowledge that they continue to impact onto us teachers of Liberia".
Mr. Gbah's reference to the LOEP "team" includes all of those friends here in the US who support LOEP's teacher training and shipments of instructional materials, books and school supplies.  Mr. Gbah and his colleagues who have taken LOEP workshops know that there are hundreds of people here in the US they have never met who make the LOEP workshops possible. 


One by one our Liberian colleagues are "learning to fish" - they are going to need a bigger boat.  Please continue supporting LOEP teachers reaching their goals!
  

Waiting and Praying

Yesterday was a good day for democracy as Liberians went to the polls to vote for only the second time since the long war years. It was a peaceful day and, by all accounts, people waited patiently (as these ladies did) in long lines to cast their vote.

Although current President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's star status in the international community was confirmed with award of a Nobel Peace Prize last week, it is not clear that she is popular enough at home to receive 50% of the popular vote to avoid a run-off. Presidential candidates must receive 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off in November following the October election.

Since the war ended in Liberia, women have emerged as a powerful influence in political life. While many accept the new dynamic as part of Liberia's healthy growth into a successful, democratic nation, there is still resistance to the modern roles.

We are praying and hoping for a successful transition. Whether it is a second administration for President Ellen or, as is always possible in a Democracy, a new administration with new leadership - Liberia has come too far to turn back now!

For more election news and pictures go here: http://unmil.org/

Festival of Leaves

LOEP is selling crafts today at the Festival of Leaves.  All proceeds will go to send school supplies to our partner schools.  If you are in the area visit us at our booth on Chester Street.

Thanks to the Northern Virginia Daily for a very nice article on LOEP and our teacher training efforts.  I wish that LOEP Teacher Trainers, Emmalee Iden, Phylis Benner, Karen Darner and Rachel Price could have been here to talk about training.  They are the teachers of the LOEP Teacher Training Team.   Their depth of experience and commitment to LOEP is such a blessing to our Liberian partners!

Peace Prize!

Congratulations to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee! The people of Liberia are extraordinary and these women give them  every reason to be proud.  A Peace Prize was certainly the last thing anyone expected for citizens of Liberia just a few short years ago when war waged and  women were second class citizens.  How far the nation has come and now the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to two women is proof of how far they can go on the strength of commitment to peace and depth of faith.  Congratulations to our friends, colleagues and partners in Liberia!  We stand with you as you approach election day and make even more remarkable progress as a nation.  

Virginia to Africa - LOEP at the Festival of Leaves

Virginia to Africa
The Annual Festival of Leaves in Front Royal, VA draws thousands of visitors from the Baltimore/DC metro area who come for the Shenandoah Valley's spectacular Autumn leaf display. This year the Festival is held on Saturday, October 8 and LOEP will take part with Virginia to Africa - our booth highlighting Liberia, teacher training in Liberia and offering a unique mix of handcrafts for sale made by LOEP volunteers with all proceeds to support LOEP work.

The crafting ladies of Browntown Church put in many Saturday hours to produce handcrafted items for the annual Festival. Children's gift items will be available thanks to crafting Browntown ladies who brought their sewing machines and their skills on several Saturdays to produce adorable crayon rolls and ponytail holders. Festival goers looking for perfect stocking stuffers need go no further than Virginia to Africa.

Char Turner and Beth Iden have been crafting items to sell at the Farmer's Market in Harrisonburg, VA. For the past year their work has been available at the market and Char's original handmade prints have become very popular for their delightfully original folk art style. In addition to her original prints, Char also makes beautiful beeswax candles the old fashioned way - melting pure beeswax and dipping each wick repeatedly to produce high-quality candles that burn longer with less drip. Her work is much in demand at the Farmer's Market and, although she can barely keep up with that demand for her art and candles, she managed to make enough to offer candles and prints in LOEP's Virginia to Africa booth at the Festival to support LOEP teacher training work.

Beth's interest in African fabrics and wax prints gets stronger with each trip to Liberia and this year she has put that interest to work for LOEP. She uses the unique textiles in designing and crafting original designs for home decor items and accessories. Bags, table runners and mats, and eyeglass pouches with distinctive African flair will all be available at the Virginia to Africa booth for our friends who share the love of colorful African textiles and may be looking for unusual Christmas gifts.

Each LOEP item comes with a special, handmade bookmark that explains how the gift donation supports education for orphans and vulnerable children in Africa. The Virginia to Africa booth will also feature information on LOEP and pictures of the teachers and children with whom we work each year.

LOEP expenses to ship school supplies are rising and as our own U.S. economy dips, fundraising becomes more challenging. We get great support from our long-time friends and donors, but to remain viable we are finding new ways to keep up our three-times-a-year shipments of school supplies to Liberia. We are also finding great opportunities to make new friends for LOEP. Stop by the Virginia to Africa booth at the Festival of Leaves - we would love to see you!
Bring your checkbook and do some shopping for special folks in your life who will appreciate the donation to help children in Liberia.

If you are interested in giving LOEP handcrafted items for gifts, contact us through www.loeproject.org for details. Some items pictured on the LOEP Facebook page.

Almost time for the May Shipment!

These foam puzzles are currently available at Staples for just one dollar each! They make wonderful educational tools for both young and older students. If you're near a Staples, please pick some up and send them to LOEP...there is still time to include these in the May shipment!

Thanks for your support!

Meeting A Community's Education Needs

600 children and as many as 35 adults attend Christ Redeemer International's school every day. 

A neighborhood church operates this school constructed of grass mat walls and plastic tarp roofing.  Classes are held each weekday in three separate sessions to accommodate the 600 children who attend the four room building.  An additional evening session is held for adult literacy classes.   Those classes are regularly attended by up to 35 adults from the surrounding community who attend despite long working hours during the day, difficult transportation and no electricity to light the evening study hours.  Teachers for both the school and literacy classes are church member volunteers who are incredibly committed to their church and their nation's progress.

The classrooms are crowded each day with children for whom education is a privilege and a high priority in their families.  There are no books or classroom instructional materials.  All instruction is accomplished by the teachers who copy notes and information from their own knowledge and memory of the subject matter onto the blackboard.  Students memorize the information from the blackboard and, for those fortunate enough to have a copy book and pencil, copy the information directly from the blackboard into their copy books for later review.
LOEP teacher, Mr. Gbah (barely visible on the right of the above picture), is a full time teacher at one of LOEP's partner orphan schools, is himself a full-time student at University of Liberia and volunteers each evening to teach adult literacy classes in this facility.  He is an active lay leader in the church and, as an educator, takes an acitve role in the success of the Christ Redeemer School.

As many as six students crowd onto each bench/desk in their classroom each day.  The broom is used to tamp down loose dust on the hard-packed dirt floor.  Liberian schools were still on Christmas break when the LOEP team visited in early January.  Literacy classes, however, were still being held and literacy students who arrived for their evening class while we visited are pictured below.

            Neighborhood children some of whom attend the CRS School

Science Test for grade 5/6

Some of the dedicated teachers at CRS who volunteer their time to teach in the community school.