Jenneh is now our main contact in LUMDS. She will report from her trips to our schools and give us updates about the schools, life of the students, the teachers daily challanges and joy. She will also report from the life in the villages and what the people there are concerned with.
This first report is from her conversations with a students, the principal and a member of PTA, (parent Teacher Assosiation), at Velley-Ta public school,
She is majoring in enviromental science beside her work in LUMDS.
Velley Ta School Interview report from May 7, 2024,
I visited Velley-Ta Public School to conduct interview with the principal a student and teacher. Those interviewed were Stephen Dennis, principal; James Flomo, PTA Chair; and Bendu Binda a student
Student Bendu Binda is 14 yrs and a female. She is in the the 5th grade. Her ambition is to become a nurse after college. Bindu have big dreams for caring for herself through school. She is planning to make a big garden that will support her educational journy when she leaves elementary school. The proceeds from the garden will help her further to get through high school and college. Thus becoming the first child to graduate from college in her family. She plans to get a job as a nurse which will allow her to help her parents and other disadvantage kids struggling with poverty as she too is now dealing similar conditions. She also said she is hoping that Giving Hope shouldn’t give up them as “Education is expensive but Giving Hope makes it possible for us who cant afford it ”! Giving Hope sees us as " children who need a helping hand and see the value in us and give us the same privileges and possibilities as other kids have throug their grants".
James Flomo is a member of the volunteers in the school and also the in the PTA. He teaches Math and English in a special class. He’s also the parent of two girls who are benefiting from Giving Hope program. James "shared that the PTA and students are appreciative of the things Giving Hope has done and will continue to do for them". He said that students and parents are all involved in the school agriculture practice. They have 10 acres of land which both parents, teachers and students are working on. So far, they have prepared just one of the acres of land at the back of the school and have planted Cassava along with Okra garden. They will cultivate the rest of the land as soon as they can and have the recourses to finance the seeds and equipment.
A success Story: There was this student Alphonso Jimmy who started the school from kindergarten since the intervention of Giving Hope in Velley Ta Public School. Through the help of Giving Hope, he was able to finished with the elementary division. Alphonso Jimmy: "With the support I had from GHTAC, benefiting from the scholarship helped me go through elementary school successfully and then went on to the administrative Compound of the county and completed my education". He has now come back as one of the volunteer teachers and teaches all subjects and he’s currently in community college in Kakata.
Jenneh: Isn’t it amazing that the those who had no hope is now giving hope back? He’s still benefiting from Giving Hope because he’s a volunteer teacher. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet Alphonso because he’s part of the those that went to work on the farm, on our next visit I will do an interview of him and get few pictures.
Stephen Dennis (Principal): In an interview with Stephen, he said "In every PTA meeting, parents express their gratitude to Giving Hope and words are inadequate to express how grateful they’re to Giving Hope".
They can’t even afford to buy a bag nor shoes for one child but Giving Hope always coming through for their children. Without Giving Hope, they are nothing, as parents are struggling to pay tuitions and also there’s no money to compensate volunteer teachers to keep their school active and some of the teachers live far distances. So they’re asking for assistance from Giving Hope to build them a teacher quarter that make it easier to attract teachers".
The principal also hope for few tools that they will need in order to forward their agriculture process like, shovels, digger, hook, wheelbarrow and etc.
This type of equipment and funding for teachers accomondation is not yet in GHTAC's budgets but with more donations that may be possible in the future.
If you want to support the Velley-Ta school in their struggle initiative to become more self suficcient in providing food for the children, or contribute to the childrens possibility to go to school go to our web page to se more.
You can also go to our webshop that sell products the students make as a part of their education.
Comments