Warm greetings.  The school year is well under way - and included in this update are a couple photos of the distribution of scholarships and supplies that took place in September.  Be sure to also see the photo (taken earlier this year) of a group of children holding "thank you" signs.  A couple of the signs say: "Thank You Global Giving Donors"

Together we helped to ensure the continuity of the education of several children in Sierra Leone.  It always warms my heart to see how we are enabling the education of these children - the future leaders of Sierra Leone and potentially the world!

The parents and children were so very appreciative of the support provided.   The funds provided also help to cover levied school-related expenses - which have resulted in other children dropping out of school.

Education, as you know is a game-changer and an enabler.  In each of our personal lives we can attest to the doors that education opened and the opportunities it provided access to.  Well, we are helping to provide access to opportunities for these future leaders.  We have a truly influential role - simple but effective.

 Thanks again for your support and best wishes

Ishmael receives scholarship funds and supplies

cross section of beneficiaries

Thank You GlobalGiving Donors

Just a few weeks ago, in May 2011, I had the opportunity to travel to Freetown, Sierra Leone and meet a number of the children - beneficiaries of this project.  It was a true delight to see their smiling, happy faces.  I verified that they are receiving your donations and making steady progress at school.

During our group meeting, I passed on these messages, which I had received from you, encouraging them to focus on their studies and to excel at school.  I also encouraged the parents to support their children morally and be a continual inspiration. 

My presence and the message of encouragement that I passed on were well received.  The parents and children asked me to bring back their warm appreciation to you for your support that has helped to provide books, school supplies and scholarships for the children.  Your support truly means a lot to them - much more than you would realize.

Over the past month, I ran into a news article that affirms our commitment to supporting education in Africa:

"Look at how Asia’s extraordinary growth in recent decades was fueled by a determination to invest in “human capital".  It is widely understood that Africa’s children will not own the 21st century until their leaders put more emphasis on educating them. Poor, barely literate 18 year olds in a rural area cannot compete for jobs. Neither can they take advantage of the investments being made on the continent.

It seems the critical investment of this century will be how Africa’s children are equipped to prepare for the challenges and chances ahead. There is no time to waste."

We are definitely on the right track - investing into the future of Africa's children. Our continual investment is truly raising the future leaders of Sierra Leone.  Thank you so much fro your on-going support!

Links:

• Africa’s crucial investment – education

Warm greetings-

It is my pleasure to share with you a brief profile and thank you message from Edward, one of the beneficiaries, who has received a scholarship from funds you have provided.

"I returned from Liberia after the civil war and I I live with a single parent, my mother, who has very little marketable skills and no money to embark on income generating activities. My mother struggled under very difficult conditions to keep me in school   I had almost dropped out of school, when I was recommended for the scholarship scheme.

This sponsorship has helped me to continue my education, which is a bridge for me to cross from poverty to self-reliance.  My mother and I are very grateful to you GlobalGiving and Develop Africa for your sponsorship. My self-esteem has been restored and I have a hope and a future"

Thank you GlobalGiving donors for continuing to help bring transformation and real change to Edward's and many other lives!  Because of you demonstrated commitment to empowering lives, Edward's and many other are well on the path to self-reliance and independence.  Many thanks for your support!

Bonus Days: We wanted to take this opportunity to inform you about three upcoming GobalGiving Bonus Days this year. During these days your donations will be matched up to a certain percentage.  This would be a great opportunity to make your donation go ever further 

• March 16^th
• June 15^th
• October 19^th

Recurring Donations: Have you considered signing up for recurring donations?  This is an excellent way to maximize your impact and enable us to do so much more.  Looking for a unique gift for yourself or someone else? Give a recurring donation as a gift. GlobalGiving will send a tribute card to the gift recipient.

We welcome your suggestions, comments and feedback.

Committed to empowering the next generation

Warm greetings.

The new academic school year (2009/2010) is under way and we are happy to report that twenty-seven (27) students have benefited from the scholarship scheme. Two of the students (Thomasia and Timothy) have graduated from primary to secondary school. The parents and students are very grateful to GlobalGiving for sponsoring their children’s education.

Below is a testimonial from Isata, one of the beneficiaries. Your donations are paying for her school fees, and helping to provide books and school supplies.

“I am very grateful to GlobalGiving and Develop Africa for giving the opportunity to go to school. My mother is a poor single parent, hawking / retailing charcoal for our survival. She could not afford to send me to school. I was out of school, helping her sell charcoal until I met the representative of Develop Africa, who helped enrolled me into school, through the sponsorship of GlobalGiving. I promise to work hard and excel in school so that I in turn will be able to help less fortunate children like me. GlobalGiving donors, thank you very much. You have given me hope and a future.”

The photos show some of the children who have benefited from your support and donations. You will notice that they are proudly holding GlobalGiving signs / stickers.  In the coming year, we hope to expand the sponsorship scheme to other deprived communities, where there are equally desperate needs for support. We hope to add at least 10 new beneficiaries to the scheme - bringing hope to many more.

With this in mind, we welcome your donations between now and the end of the year that would enable  us to continue to impact many more lives like Isata's.  Thanks for your support and for making a donation today! 

We would also be happy to hear from you - so feel free to send us any comments and suggestions you may have on how we can do even more.  We would be so happy to hear from you.

Best wishes

The next generation of leaders

Star beneficiary

scholarship beneficiary

Warm greetings

We are extremely happy to bring you this project update. All of the children receiving scholarships did extremely well and were promoted to the next class. Their parents, happy with the academic progress, of their children, expressed their appreciation for your on-going support. It’s indeed a rewarding feeling to be a part of laying a great foundation for these children through education.

On May 5th, Develop Africa school supplies and scholarship beneficiaries had the unique opportunity to meet Britt Lake, the Program Operations Manager of GlobalGiving. Britt spent a day visiting Develop Africa's projects in Sierra Leone. A picture of Britt with a few of the beneficiaries is provided below.

Janet and the Sierra Leonean team were honored to host Britt. The visit involved a review and general monitoring of the different projects that Develop Africa has on GlobalGiving. We are happy to report that Britt was happy to see the progress being made and the work that we are doing with your support.

Education continues to be very much on the minds of people in Sierra Leone and the current education system is being reviewed. See below for a link to an article on this. We are praying that this change will help ensure that they receive an even better foundation.

Gearing up For the New Academic Year: In the coming months, we will awarding new scholarships and we would be so grateful for you on-going support, that is helping us impact the lives of these children. Please take a moment to make a donation today or send us feedback with your comments and suggestions on how we can improve etc. Be sure to also send an email to your friends and family asking them to support this worthy venture.

Thank you so much for your support!

Cordially and best wishes

Links:

• Government to overhaul educational system

Warm greetings

Activity Update: So far this year we have together provided scholarships to an additional 10 students. See - photo of some of the children and their parents – taken at the award ceremony in Freetown. The new shipment of books and school supplies has arrived in Freetown. In the next update, we will provide additional information and share photos etc.

Please take a moment to watch the brief “thank you” video – linked below that made my day. With passion and fluency, in this special video message, Thomasia one of the scholarship beneficiaries extends thanks and gratitude on behalf of the other beneficiaries to you our GlobalGiving donors.

On one hand, it’s disheartening to be reminded (in this video) that even today, there are a lot of children out of school. Fortunately, on the other hand, it’s heart-warming to be reminded that together we are shaping the lives of these children and making a difference. As Thomasia states towards the end of the video – “Your sponsorship has made it possible for our parents to send and keep us in school. We are grateful for your support. We thank you GlobalGiving, Develop Africa and other donors for giving us hope and a future”.

These words from Thomasia made my day! The realization that my involvement is “giving hope” and “helping to provide a future” warmed by heart. Thomasia’s words will remain with me and continue to encourage me to do so much more.

I hope her words made your day brighter too. I hope your heart is warmed too as you listen to the video and read this update. It’s truly amazing how together we can help ensure that children are able to complete their education. I trust also that you would be inspired to do more – however you can. Remember every bit counts.

Without your support all this would not have been possible. Develop Africa is truly grateful for your past and on-going support. Thanks again for your support. Your feedback and suggestions on what we can do additional to expand our impact are so very welcome.

We wish to invite you to help spread the word about the joint impact we are making. Please invite / encourage your friends, family members, co-workers etc. to get involved. You can email this link to them or post this on Facebook etc. Together we can do even more and make this world a better place…

Cordially

Sylvester

Links:

• Video: Thank You Message From Scholarship Beneficiary

Thanks to your on-going support, Develop Africa helped effect real change by providing 15 scholarships to children in Sierra Leone. The scholarships were provided at a scholarship award ceremony which took place on October, in Freetown. The occasion was graced by the parents, friends, teachers and staff of the school and the recipients of the scholarship award. The students and parents were delighted to receive the financial assistance that is making education a possibility for them. Together we are influential and effecting real change, one child at a time.

Marie Mansaray, one of the beneficiaries, gave a vote of thanks and asked local Develop Africa representatives to convey their heart-felt gratitude to GlobalGiving and other donors. Thank you Globalgiving partners, friends and family for helping further their education. We are together truly making a mark that cannot be erased. Additional information and a link to photos taken at the award ceremony are available here - http://bit.ly/phs2009 .

Over the course of the year through your giving Develop Africa has also been able to provide over 8 drums / barrels books and school supplies to the El Shaddai Children’s Home (in partnership with Lead Global, Inc.) and the Freetown Cheshire Home (in partnership with Nuwach Ministries).

As the year draws to a close, we would like to make a special appeal for your support … and send you a friendly reminder to add us to your “gift list”. Please consider making a donation before the end of the year and help us impact many more lives. We would so very much appreciate your support now and on a regular basis next year. We would also be so grateful to hear from you and welcome your feedback.

School Supplies Distributed at El Shaddai Children's Home

Links:

• Scholarship Award Ceremony
• School Supplies Provided to El Shaddai Children's Home

In April - May, this year, I had the opportunity to visit some of the partner schools in Sierra Leone. While there, I presented 3 new XO laptops to the Eva Houston School. I was very warmly received at each school. I had a brief meeting with the school Principals / Head Teachers and was given a tour of each school. The children, teachers and Principals expressed their deep gratitude for the assistance that you have helped provide. They asked me to convey their appreciation to you – our donors - for the materials received and scholarships provided. As they explained some of these materials are hard to come by and unavailable locally. By providing these supplies free to the schools and students, we are together promoting and supporting education. Through the scholarships and this supportive environment, the children are able to continue their education and their learning is enhanced. Thanks donors for your on-going support! We all realize the value of a quality education – and even much more so in these days. This means a lot more than you will ever realize. This is helping to greatly increase their opportunities for success and independence.

Additional details about, pictures and a full report on my field trip are available from the link below. We would appreciate your feedback and hearing from you. Please feel free to contact us at any time.

Your continued support is also appreciated. Please consider making an additional donation today or signing up for a recurring donation. This would help us impact many more lives. Thank you.

Presenting 3 XO laptops to a school

Reviewing teaching supplies in use in a classroom

Links:

• Field Trip Summary Report

In most places in the Western world, it’s cold or cooler now. How about a heart-warming moment for a change?

Well, here is an unedited, 8 minute video from Freetown, Sierra Leone that shows a group of very grateful children and teachers. This video was shot late in December 2008 – just before Christmas. You can see in the video the books and teaching supplies that your donations are helping to provide. Clearly the books and supplies received meant a lot to them.

Be sure to listen to the end of the video where you can hear the song in your honor. In this song YOU are proclaimed and acknowledged as “jolly good fellows”.

Thank you for helping to make a difference in their education through your donation.

We welcome your additional donations today and throughout the year – that will help us continue to do so much more.

Links:

• Video of Appreciation From the Field - On Youtube

Hello friends,

As of Saturday December 6, we have together raised $3145 from 87 special donors – you being one of them. We appreciate each of you - for investing into the future leaders of Sierra Leone and also for helping Develop Africa secure a permanent presence on GlobalGiving. We did it together! Kudos to you all!

Some of you have already received a link to a recent Sierra Leonean newspaper article about our education initiatives in Sierra Leone. The link below – “Develop Africa Boosts Education” – shows how together we are making a difference.

The $3145 that we raised so far is a great start towards the project funding goal of $49,987. This amount will help provide much needed scholarships, books and school supplies for about 20 children. With your help we can do much more and reach our funding goal. So, as we close out the final month of this year and plan towards the upcoming year, can I ask that you help us take this project to the next level? Below under ‘Attachments”, is a link to a PDF file that provides some suggestions on how you can help us take this project to “The Next Level”.

Every action you take, every invitation you extend, every donation you make - all together counts and will help educate the next generation. You are powerful!

Thank you so much for your support! I'll keep you updated on our progress.

Best wishes

Sylvester

Links:

• Develop Africa Boosts Education

• The Next Level (PDF)
  

Dear friends,

Thanks to all of you that already donated to the GlobalGiving Challenge 2008! We appreciate you.

Below is a link to a “thank you” letter (in PDF format) I just received from Freetown, Sierra Leone - In this letter, the Headmistress / Principal of the school expresses gratitude for the supplies you and other previous donors have helped to provide. Thanks for joining us in continuing to make a difference – and helping to educate the next generation of leaders in Sierra Leone.

As of Sunday, November 16, the project has received a total of $1,240 from 32 donations. With this money we will be able to provide additional scholarships, children’s books and much-needed school supplies. This is a great start!

We however still have 43 unique donors to go in 5 days time. This is “doable”. I’m sure with your help we can reach this goal.

Please let your friends and loved ones know about the challenge and encourage them to give too. If you could personally reach one or convince one person, we will definitely get there. You are welcome of course to make an additional donation.

Cordially

Sylvester

• Thank You Letter - Tower Hill (PDF)