Mariellyn Hilgeman, MEd, works with kindergartens and preschools throughout Central and South America as an educational consultant serving with Association of Christian Schools International Latin America. She also serves as Christian Early Education international editor.
Five years ago, Harriet Quenisear, a mother in Liberia, West Africa, faced a challenge: her husband was in ministry, she sold goods in the market to support their family, but they had no one to care for their infant son. Many of Harriet’s friends struggled with the same problem.
Harriet and her family lived at a mission station informally called ELWA (Eternal Love Winning Africa, the call letters of the radio ministry), where SIM (Sudan Interior Mission) had established a Christian radio and medical ministry 50 years ago. A decade of civil war had sent most of the missionaries elsewhere, and Harriet asked if she could open a childcare program in the buildings that had once housed an MK (missionary kid) school.
A SIM missionary, Debbie Sacra, lived next door to Harriet. In good African tradition, the idea for the childcare program was hatched while the two women sat under the shade tree between their houses.
In November 2001, the childcare program opened with about 20 children, ages one through four, and 4 volunteer helpers. The benefits to the children were so apparent that parents were soon asking whether the program could become a school. It seemed impossible because these mothers weren’t trained as teachers. But when they were given a curriculum (Liberia is an English-speaking country) that inexperienced teachers could easily use, they took the gift as a sign from God.
The kindergarten division (ages three through five) of the new ELWA Academy was slated to open in September 2003. A final outbreak of fighting from June through August 2003 threatened to derail the project, but classes began in November 2003.
The emphasis in the preschool classes is on language development, Bible lessons, rhymes, and the use of stories. The literacy rate in Liberia is among the lowest in the world, so phonics is taught to prepare the children for reading. The teachers use donated resources and books from the United States. Each room has a teacher, an aide, and nearly 40 children. The school day begins about 8 a.m., and the children are released at 1 p.m., when the heat of the day begins to sap the energy of the teachers and the students. The school year runs from September to June, avoiding the heavy rains of July and August.
The biggest challenge facing all schools in Liberia is the lack of trained teachers. Missionaries from SIM have worked alongside ELWA Academy’s national teachers, modeling teaching techniques. ELWA Academy hopes to help train teachers from other schools so that even more children might enjoy a quality, developmentally appropriate early childhood education.
Field Trip Liberia 8.1