Gwen teaching in Sierra Leone.
It was with Mercy Ships that she was called into educational development work in Sierra Leone. Gwen started TE with the goal of improving Sierra Leone’s future by transforming the country’s broken and struggling education system.
The statistics speak for themselves…
Only 60 percent of Sierra Leone’s teachers are trained and qualified
There is only a 38 percent literacy rate for 15-24 year olds
The schools of Sierra Leone are largely in extremely poor condition. There is very little money to support the classrooms. Teachers and students scrape up any resources they can—even paper, pens and books are precious commodities. Many of the teachers work without regular pay.
To combat these issues, TE was created as a Biblically-based educational development program designed to equip educators with classroom and behavior management and teaching methods. The program’s aim is to introduce new learning and management methods through the primary school level in order to improve the quality of education and increase the holistic development of children.
In the 2007/08 school year, Transformation Education partnered with Freetown Teachers College, UNICEF and other private schools in training 273 teachers from 28 schools, 60 college lecturers/supervisors and 140 education majors and 188 other educators. Additionally, TE has worked with the government and other education organizations to add Character Education into the national curriculum. TE’s educational resources have also served many pastors and churches.
In the 2008/09 school year, TE partnered with seven schools (training 105 teachers), 12 school supervisors and mentored 2 teachers. In 2009, TE started a partnership with the Curriculum Department of the Ministry of Education to develop a teacher resource/training center and conduct teacher in-service training. TE has shared many computers, books and other educational resources that were shipped in a container. TE sponsors even helped to ship two tractors that will help harvest crops for the children in TE-affiliated schools.
In this most recent school year, TE has worked to establish and maintain the training and resource center that is equipping educators and church leaders. Also during this time, Samuel Saidu Sesay joined our team as TE’s Resource Center Manager. He hopes to promote an understanding of the Christian faith as well as encourage the teachers to pass that understanding and knowledge of the Lord to those they teach in their different schools.
If you would like more information on Transformation Education and their effort to bring education, opportunity and hope to the children of Sierra Leone, please email Gwen at gwenjoy@gmail.com or visit her blog at transformationeducation.blogspot.com.