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Liberia: May 2016 Update - Conference

Liberia Conference Report: Education As Community Transformation From May 2016 The report of the conference is here! Please review the outcome of this productive and pivotal experience, held in Sinkor, Monrovia in Liberia.

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Selflessness Through Typhoid and Torrential Rain

Mr. Weyhee (left) gathered self-mastery students at his school last year.

Minutes ticked away as the time drew near for the Education as Community Transformation conference in Liberia to begin. The Full-Circle Learning Country Director, Davidson Efetobore, glanced around the room. He could see dignitaries around the room, and several schools had arrived, but he could not see one of our most beloved school directors.

Davidson Efetobore opens the meeting.

Students of the Korto School and representatives of the National Teachers' Association await their participation.

NGOs meet in a breakout group to discuss ways to support schools in the transformation work.

Someone sent word that this man, Lester Weyhee, was in the hospital with typhoid! Not only that, but his and other schools had been flooded out in the torrential rains that fell over the past 24 hours, making the trip from the outlying countryside perilous. A student service project had been canceled, as a portion of his school's agricultural ground was flooded, creating an uncertain fate for the cabbages students had already transplanted to help feed fifty orphans, 350 remaining students and others in the community. (Five hundred students had been turned away from the school for lack of funds to serve them.)

After the conference ended, we visited this New Hope Foundation School, thinking we would only get a glimpse of the students, but who showed up? The school director, Mr. Weyhee! He came directly from the hospital to meet us, ever vigilant in his desire to serve the children and teachers whose lives he had infused with hope through his Full-Circle Learning education program.

In the face of Ebola, when public buildings were closed to avoid contamination, his students had courageously come to class outside under the mango tree. They had connected their lessons to projects designed to give comfort to an ailing community, offering pepper soup even as patients lay dying. He later led his students in writing essays about selflessness and teaching them about the talents they could offer to serve others. He and other teachers continually strive to set an example of selflessness.

Lester goes from month to month wondering whether he will have enough to provide for the children and teachers in his care. He is one of the more than 1700 Liberian educators trained in Full-Circle Learning. With more orphans in the country than ever and 3,000 more teachers now waiting to be trained, we urgently hope to increase our support for trainers as well as selected scholarships for orphans who will some day grow up to follow the example of Mr. and Mrs. Weyhee.

These children belong to all of us, because we are members of one human family. The fulfilled potential of the tiniest member of society improves the destiny of the whole human family. Thank you for helping us pass on your support to them.

Orphans gather at the New Hope School.

Raise a Voice, Raise a Nation

A thin boy with an outsized smile sits in a Liberian high school history class. A teacher equipped with only a piece of chalk engages the class in a study of Imperialism. Students then recall their humanitarian heroes and the character traits they showed. The boy raises his hand to share his esteem for Nelson Mandela. When asked about problems in their own community, the boy presents a challenge. The class discusses a way to solve it using their own mathematical, oral speaking skills and character strengths to meet a neighborhood challenge.

These scenes unfolded during the historic week of the Education as Transformation conference in Liberia, on May 24, 2016, an outgrowth of the work that transpired over the past decade, under Country Director Davidson Efetobore--and thanks to you, our supporters.

In 2014, Full-Circle Learning donors jumped in to help buy disinfectant requested by teachers who led an Ebola prevention effort that helped mitigate suffering in Liberia. Supporters may not realize the extent to which these teachers set and example that increased the demand for Full-Circle Learning teacher training. Now 81 schools are incubating a generation of leaders who will not only strive to prevent disease but also war, corruption and injustices due to the lack of basic services, especially now, as the nation accommodates many more orphans and even fewer jobs. (The government estimates unemployment at 50% and locals estimate it at 85-90%.)

This new movement in Liberia is populated by dedicated educators, some of whom may not have been paid in their official positions for the past year since Ebola containment, yet who sacrifice additional time as Full-Circle Learning's volunteer teacher-trainers, to ensure that the coming generation will apply integrity, compassion and oneness as they influence the destiny of neighbors and nations.

Full-Circle Learning's Education as Community Transformation conference came at the request of the Education Ministry, whose leaders declared that, if supported, this movement will help Liberia return to its pre-civil war values.

The conference guest list included representatives from schools and NGOs from Monrovia and Paynesville. It came during the wet season, attracting 450 participants before, during and afterward, despite many homes, offices and schools being flooded by the rains.So why did the event leave us feeling a sense of poignant introspection as we pondered its significance a week later?

In a garden, the vines that spontaneously spread and bear fruit--the ones that promise the greatest harvest--inspire the gardener's care. When we see vines heavy with budding squash lying under frayed leaves, our attention goes to those burgeoning but thirsty plants, not to the vines that did not bear fruit. I thought of such an image as I returned from Liberia, where unity, courage and a remarkable faith in the goodness of humanity inspire educators to transcend daily challenges and a history of struggle to rebuild the strength of its youth. Yet I wondered, How will Full-Circle Learning, its in-country collaborators and its primary Africa funding partner, EHG, meet this immense challenge alone? How will our means stretch to fill the need?

The 31 schools who participated in the Ebola effort attracted requests for training from 50 more schools. Not only have 81 schools now received Full-Circle Learning capacity-building workshops, serving more than 1700 teachers in the country, but 3,000 more teachers are slated to attend workshops in August.

Today, 19,000 Liberians students have been affected by the earnestness of 75 volunteer trainers who help their teachers integrate character education, community service and conflict resolution into their academic program. Every training packet must be printed by hand. There are no buses, so often rented cars must bring trainers and teachers together. Electricity is often lacking, so computer technology is not an option for reviewing training materials and designing curriculum as a group.

How will our resources keep up during this period of expansion? How will the schools with the new Ebola orphans continue to serve them, in cases where no tuition exists to even pay the teachers? Every hundred dollars will help one more school. That's how.

We want to honor the self-sufficiency and integrity we have seen, and so we ask for your help in fostering this process of growth with basic supplies for those striving to touch young lives whose sources of hardship and resulting strength exceed the imagination of most of us.

We may not easily picture the impact this movement could have on a nation, but my own mind's eye settles on the beaming face of a boy in a history class who walked a long muddy road to attend school so he can inspire his community to unite around a cause. His hero, Nelson Mandela, had sacrificed everything to do so, and he seems ready to do the same. We hope his wish comes true, for this boy dreams on behalf of a new generation of change agents.

Liberia

April 17, 2012
Girls Write for the Future of Girls
(Childhood Marriage in Liberia)
Every war tests the resiliency and taps the spiritual reserves of its victims. A very few walk away stronger, redefining both victimhood and valor. In these passages, you will hear the strength of those who seek to improve their communities by sharing hope and reflecting positive values. Whether or not their families could protect them from poverty, they have at least been sheltered the youth from poverty of spirit. You will also hear the voices of those who have seen the residue left by war and mirror its lament. They are learning to become the eyes and ears of the people, in pursuit of a better life for their peers. All these voices are uniting as advocates of the oppressed and as future leaders of Liberia – and the most amazing factor is that they are young girls.

Girls United (GU) - Liberia has taken on a special challenge in the month of April, to encourage girls to become advocates for maximizing the potential of their peers, and doing so in such a powerful way that childhood marriage will not seem a positive option for many of the girls currently trapped in this practice.

This report introduces the creative works of a few of the 95 the girls currently enrolled in Girls United - Liberia. They have begun a special movement in April, with guidance from their facilitators, to advance the United Nations goal of prevention of childhood marriage.

The Girls United program began with inspiration from the progress of Girls United-Haiti. It is based on the Full-Circle Learning model of transformative education. “As one of the first of its kind in Liberia, the program has surprised us with is impact,” says facilitator Davison Efetobore. “News of its positive influence and importance has spread across communities and households in Liberia like wildfire. Its full scope has not fully been grasped by all, according to but its message has been overwhelmingly embraced by the girls themselves, who are the target of the project.”

In their spring 2012 discussions, essays, stories and poems, the girls describe the inner struggle posed by the conflicting messages they hear. These struggles are presented by school mentors, pressure from parents, poverty and survival issues, and decision making challenges. Their own emerging freedom of expression helps the girls to address their own traumas, sort out their own convictions and act on them as they challenge others to create habits of thought and mind that lead to good decision making.

Liberia is a country where illiteracy and poverty are among the many challenges faced by most inhabitants as the country moves from war to reconciliation and stability. About 85 percent of parents are illiterate and unaware of the important roles girl children can play in the development of communities and societies.

Current issues under discussion by the GU in all participating schools include:
1. Childhood marriage and early pregnancy
2. Girls selling their bodies instead of attending school
3. Girls forced to be with a man to help feed their own parents’ families
4. Girls’ repeated molestation by teachers in exchange for good grades
5. Girl students dropping out of school as a result of financial constraints

Understanding the reasons for these social trends is the first step to addressing them. Now GU girls are working to improve their creative skills in order to effectively speak out to other girls. The works they share online are also being shared with girls in Liberian schools and neighborhoods. Your support can help them publish their works for girls in their local communities. See fullcirclelearning.org for details.

Information for this report submitted by Full-Circle Learning Continental Director Davidson Efetobore and the Girls, with Teresa Langness, Ph.D., Full-Circle Learning Board President

Poetry

War is Very Bad
Dinah Paye, of Light House International
I am 15 year old
But I am still in the 4th grade class
I am too big for this class
My parents did not send me to school on time
They do not have enough money
There are so many girls in Liberia today that are not in school
Because of the 14 years of war
War is very bad

Liberia is Very Poor
Jean N. Weah, of Web International
Because of poverty parents force their girl children to marry older men
just to survive and feed the other children.
Because of poverty girls drops out of school.
Parent’s prefer to send boy children to school and leave the girls at home.
They say that girls belong to the kitchen.
They say girls are useless.
But they do not know that I am the first teacher of the home
I am very happy to be part of this Girl’s United program
Through this, I know I can express myself to the world.

Our Future
Promise King, of Web International
Our future begins from the home
Where children are grown up.
The girls and boys are our next
future leaders for tomorrow.
The future is very dark without me.
If I am not educated I am dead.
Better to die than to be dead among the living.
When you force me to be with a man when I am still young
My life will be miserable
Because I will be very illiterate like you,
So help me to heal the world by educating me instead.

Don’t Destroy My Life
Taiye Ledare, of Light House International
God did not make a mistake by creating me
He created me for a reason
Please allow me to show this reason to the world
Don’t destroy my life while I am still young
Let me become somebody in the future
Let me grow up to choose my husband.
Don’t force me.

I love my home
Boitha Freeman, of Web International
I love my home, my home is very beautiful and I like to be with my family at home.
Every weekend I spend with my family I enjoy what is at home.
My home is where I live, study and play with my neighbors.
I have three brothers and one sister and we all study together.
I love my friends and neighbors; I love them because they are very kind and helpful to me and my family.
I love my parents because they teach me how to become a better person in the future.
I want to become a good person in the future to help my families and others too.

A Day in My Home
Jane Kabbah, of Web International
I love my home, color is white.
I have two sisters and one brother.
I love my mother, she shares with others.
I love my father - he sends me to school - and I also love my friends.
I play with them every day. I love to work with someone;
even though my father is working hard I’m trying my best.
I’m growing up. Thanks to God for saving my life.
I’m proud to be in this family.
I love where I live. I live in Congo Town back road and I love working.

My Home
Lawmet Suah of Web International
I like my home.
My home is very good.
Mummy and Daddy both show lots of respect for me.
They don’t play with my school.
When I come from school every day they will check my work.
They will ask me what happened today at school.
Daddy said when I grow up, I will be a doctor.

Essays

Red Light Every Day!
Patience Koenig, of Kingdom Foundation
As I walked the street of red lights one afternoon, I was disappointed at what I saw. I thought to myself, How can I help to change and solve so many of the problems girls are faced with day to day? Can Liberia be what we think it can be? Will there even be a time when children from age 5-18 won’t be selling on the streets? Are we ever going to experience total change? This is a very difficult thing to do, especially to take children off the streets whose parents sent them there to sell them out.

Look at this fruit wrapping all over the place, dirt peeling off the fruits, bad odor from water in holes along the streets, both cars and humans on the same path, some even making accidents because of overcrowding.

Sellers all over the place; small children—some—or pregnant young girls, all over they are selling instead of going to school.

Oh Liberia, how can this be changed? It is good now that we recognizing all these problems so that one day, as I grow up, I can make a great change.

Early Sexual Activities Among Teenagers
Magdalene Darwar, of Kingdom Foundation International
I have been observing many things in Liberia that are not really helpful to us. Among these things, what I really want to speak against is early sexual activities. Children who engage themselves in early sexual activities are from ages 12-18. It is said in the Bible that sex is not for unmarried people. Many teenagers get into early sexual activities for many reasons. One of these reasons is the kind of friends they involved with, because if you are friendly with someone who already is sexually active, that person will always encourage you to do what they are doing. As a result you will be like that person. Another reason is because some children’s parents don’t offer financial support, for this reason they will also go out, so they can support themselves. Some of their boyfriends might also put pressure on them to have sex. Teenagers have taken this as their priority.

Early sexual activities affect the community in many ways. Some of the effects are: pregnancy increases in the population because the more the teenagers who have children, the more the population will increase. Teenager pregnancy also increases the infant death rate, because as a teen, if you have a child who you are not able to support and that child gets sick, you won’t be able to send your child to the hospital; as a result the child will died.

From all of these things that I said, we as others teenagers who are not involved in these things need to speak strongly against this, so our friends can take the steps we are on and earn their education. One way to stop such things is by encouraging teenagers in our surroundings to stop what they are doing and focus on their education.

Childhood Marriage
Magdalene Darwar, of Kingdom Foundation International
Childhood marriage

It increases population

It decreases education

It’s risky, it’s tricky

Its ideas are dreadful, its causes disaster, it causes poverty, and prevention is helpful

It makes you attractive, and getting involved is impressive, but do you know what?

Avoiding teenage marriage and pregnancy is helpful, enjoyable, profitable and involving is destructive, ineffective and it’s vanity.

Only choice left is abstain.

What do you think?

All About my Home
Kemah Marse
I live with my parents in Lover Street. I have three sisters and two brothers. We all live together and help each other.
My community is good. We love each other in our community. My mother goes to work every day. We all go to school to learn many things and we make many friends.
In my home we have to obey older people. I like to learn about good things in school and in my home. I do my work. I love to be with other students and study with them, and we all work and clean our community together. I learn that if you become a good child from home, you can be a good child and student too. In my home I help my sisters and brothers.

I Love My Parents
Davidetta Konah Jallah
I love my home; my mother is a good woman in my home and also my father. They are the best people that I love in my home. I have one sister and five brothers.
My mother is a teacher and I enjoy my family very much. I am going to good school. My school is Web In’t Day School. My home is where I live, study and play games. My house is a very big house. I am going to talk about my neighbors. I live around the beach. In Liberia people do not treat beaches clean. What I don’t like about my environment is that my neighbors toilet and troll dirt here and there around the beaches. Because of this, my environment is not conducive to live in. And because my parents do not have enough, we cannot afford to move to different apartment. My father promises that when he saves enough money, he will look for another apartment that we can move to.

All About My Home
Jean N. Weah
My home is a very good place to live. We are united in our home. I have two sisters and two brothers my mother name is Mercy Weah and my father name is Mr. Nicholas Weah, Sr. I love to eat fried cassava. I love my neighborhood too, because of the love and respect we share for each other. Every day when I go home, my father asked me what I take in school, and he teaches me what I don’t understand. When I go to fetch water, I share jokes with my friends and they all laugh.

A Cup of Flowers
Theresa Smith, Web International
I live in Paynesville City. My home is beautiful. I have a cup of flowers in my house. I have four sisters. I have many friends. My mother takes good care of me. I have many things in my house. I want to be a good girl. I love my family. I love my neighborhood. My parents love me so much.

Liberia

Paying attention - Liberia - Unity

Liberia suffered a civil war for a decade, shutting down schools and leaving many homeless. Now education reform is catching up with adaptive programs. The William Foster School, in Monrovia Liberia, chose to adopt Full-Circle Learning and trained twenty teachers (at all grade levels) in this integrated curriculum training model in 2010. The students conducted their first graduation ceremony on Sunday October 10, 2010. Performances and descriptions of what students had learned from the program so far became “one of the major headlines in the community,” according to one school official.

A decade of civil war heightened the challenges in Liberia when schools closed and children went to war. Now schools are opening again and teachers are learning once more how to design educational systems that accommodate the generation left behind. Full-Circle Learning provides a way for students to learn with a new sense of purpose.

Learning to work together

At the William Foster School, in Liberia, approximately 20 teachers were trained in Full-Circle Learning strategies for ten days in June 2010. They felt a new resolve to promote education reform in their community and to exercise transformative leadership as they begin to implement Full-Circle Learning in their region. Trainer Tamiru Mikre Degefe reported:

The leadership training has helped the teachers to re-examine their mental models and adopt a new conceptual framework. After the first two days of the training, relationship has been improved very much. Instead of blaming one another they began to see inwardly and uprooted those mental models contrary to ideal of Full Circle Learning. They wrote their own journal. Some of them volunteered to share to the group. I will write you more about the process when we finish the training.

The future kindergarten leaders

Today, we started lesson planning. Tomorrow we will start our group presentations. We learn the songs from the FCL CDs everyday. The group volunteered to contribute one traditional song based on one of the Habit-of-Heart themes. We will have a graduation ceremony at the end.

By the last day, the teachers were so excited, they had elected representatives to share the model with other interested schools. The following month, the Ambassadors class at Rancho Sespe, Fillmore, California created the first global challenge for students of the new school. Their habit-of-heart was cooperation. They created a hypothetical business plan for three fruit growers to maximize their resources by developing a co-op and business plan, to make funds stretch farther and to give money back to the community and save some for hard times. They sent their idea with a request for suggestions for improvement and a request for shared ideas from their Liberian counterparts experiencing their first habit-of-heart unit.

Liberia presenting diversity