PEN PALS, BACKPACKS & CODING: Supporting education in Sierra leone

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Before this week, students at Bumpe had to carry computers on their heads from the office to the lab. Having 12 backpacks makes it safer and easy for students to carry computers.

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 At the computer center, girls at Bumpe learn coding using Python Software. Students have accomplished Lesson 1, can locate a PDF book and perform the first program on Coding.
 

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Girls recieve replies from theri pen pals in the GLI (Girls Learn Institute) chapter at the Girls Middle School in Palo Alto, CA. Students share stories about their lives and about their findings in computer studies!

Bump Up Bumpe

 By Carina Kaplan

On May 15, 2015 the Kposowa Foundation in conjunction with Oakwood School’s Girls Learn International (GLI) chapter, put on an event entitled “Bump Up Bumpe” to raise money and awareness for the Bumpe High School in Sierra Leone.

GLI is an international organization under the Feminist Majority Foundation that helps spread awareness about women and girls’ issues. Each GLI chapter raises money and communicates with a partner school, and Oakwood’s partner school is the Bumpe High School in Sierra Leone, Africa. In the wake of the Ebola crisis, the Bumpe School was in need of aid kits and school supplies. Girl students were particularly impacted.  Families tend to send their boy children to school first, while girls became caretakers. In addition, many girls were married and became pregnant during the prolonged period of time that the Bumpe School was shut down due to the Ebola outbreak. The Oakwood School GLI chapter committed itself to raising sufficient funds for the Bumpe students, including scholarship money for girl students.

The event took place at one of our chapter members home. At the event, there was food including cupcakes with inspiring women on them, a raffle for fun gift baskets, a yoga class, an African drum circle, and we screened the short film “A Girl’s Rite,” which was made by a few Oakwood students and focuses on menstruation as a taboo in modern society.

Most importantly though,the event was centered on a panel discussion with many distinguished women in the media industry including Sam Taylor Johnson, director of Fifty Shades of Grey, Mimi Kennedy, actress in the television show Mom, Aline Mckenna, writer of many movies including Devil Wears Prada, Patricia Resnick, writer of feminist play 9 to 5, and Erica Huggins, president of Imagine Entertainment. The panelists discussed topics such as how education enabled them to succeed in an industry so often riddled by sexism and inequality, how they believe the media can be used as a tool for change, and how gender has impacted their academic and professional career.

Overall the event raised over $5000 and helped fully fund 8 girls’ education for a year. The event not only raised money for an incredibly important cause but raised awareness about the sexism and inequality that still exists in our world. 

Poda Poda Brings Sustainability to Bumpe

The Kposowa Foundation would like to thank its gracious donors who helped purchase a Poda Poda, a minibus that will help bring sustainability to Bumpe. The Poda Poda will be used to not only transport students to Bumpe High School that walk long distances but also to generate income for the community. For a small token, community members can ride the Poda Poda to travel to Bo to sell their goods. The proceeds from the Poda Poda will be used to award student scholarships and also pay teachers’ salaries. The Kposowa Foundation is excited by this development opportunity and means to bring sustainability to the Bumpe community. 

Bumpe Students Strive for Excellence

Last year, 62% of 9^th grade students at Bumpe High School passesd the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) – a public exam taken at Junior High School that qualifies the students to enter Senior High School. The school has implemented a new program involving weekly night study sessions for students from 7-10pm. In rural areas in Sierra Leone most people do not have electricity and cannot afford a generator. With the $3 contributions of students and their parents, the school has provided a generator and daily petrol to provide power during the evening sessions. This was a great investment for families as many cannot easily afford the $3 contribution toward fuel. 

As mentioned above, people in the Bumpe community do not have generator light in their villages and the students walk (2-9) miles to BHS, so it was essential that these study sessions provide meals for students to stay focused and productive. Bumpe High School provided $90 towards the provision of a bag of “Gari” a product of cassava, two bags of corn flour, half bag of sugar, three drinking buckets, 48 pieces of cups and spoons.

We have 80 excited students who are enthusiatics about studying every night during the week. The students can boast of food during study and they are excited and zealous to obtain the best grades to be among the high flyers in the country.

It is our hope that we continue to encourage these students in attaining quality education, high academic excellence and to help rebuild Bumpe High School in the future. 

Joseph Hindo Kposowa heads Environmental Education Project in Bumpe

As a participant of TakingItGlobal's Global Encounters program, Joseph Hindo Kposowa combined his passion for his community and his skill to begin an Environment Education Project in Bumpe. Hindo's program aims to raise awareness about environmental degradation and waste management by providing workshops for teachers, students, and community members. Such training will educate the community on safe waste management practices to combat outbreaks of deadly disease like malaria and cholera. The project aims to raise $500 and will undoubtedly empower the community to take action. You can support the project here!

A Bumpe Student Receives A Scholarship

The Kposowa Foundation would like to acknowledge the generosity of a gracious donor who provided a four-year scholarship to Bumpe student, Nyanda Kakegbeh. Nayanda is in the 8^th grade and shows great academic promise. She has five siblings and her parents are subsistence farmers in Bumpe Chiefdom. Nyanda is hard-working, respectful and loved by her fellow students.She is also President of the Cultural Group at Bumpe High School.

Nyanda, along with the Foundation, deeply thanks our donors for their contribution and supporting her bright and happy future!

Woodburn Gives to Bumpe

In May, Judy Culberson met with students and their teacher at Woodburn Elementary School in Morgantown, WV. The students presented a check for $300.00 to the Kposowa Foundation. As a unit of study, six students ran a café for teachers throughout the school year. A kindergarten class baked muffins each week, and these fourth-grade students sold them and water to the teachers and administration at the school. Proceeds from this project are dedicated to a charity of their choice. This year the students chose to give the money they earned to Bumpe High School. During the presentation, students talked to Sarah by conference call, asked questions, and learned a few Mende words.Three students from Woodburn also participated in a pen pal exchange with 3 Bumpe students and their teacher, Amy Ellis, hopes to continue the exchange in the upcoming year. The Kposowa Foundation thanks the students of Woodburn for their amazing contribution!

AIDS Awareness Campaign

In March 2012, the Berkeley Carroll School in partnership with the Kposowa Foundation sponsored an HIV/AIDS and STD awareness workshop at Bumpe High School. The workshop included 90 participants from various schools and medical practitioners taught students about the causes, symptoms, and prevention of HIV/AIDS and other STDS. From the campaign, students were able to learn about the hazards of HIV/AIDS, STDS, and teen pregnancy.

Bikes in Bumpe

Bumpe High school has just acquired fifteen bicycles for use by students who have been walking long distances to the school.  When we learned here in Morgantown, WV, that the Village Bicycle Project was distributing bikes and training in Ghana (and Sierra Leone!), we contacted them to inquire about some Bikes for Bumpe!  Dave Pelham responded quickly with information about their bike workshops and sales programs.

It was fortuitous that some dedicated donors at Wesley United Methodist Church in Morgantown had a buckful of pocket change they had collected to help make "Change in Bumpe".  A generous anonymous donor added some larger bills to the pot and the total contribution was adequate to fund costs of a full day bicycle workshop in Bumpe including purchase of the bicycles.  Hindo Kposowa assisted as Dave (VBP)  arrived with bicycles and tools to spend the day teaching students and others how to maintain, repair and ride bicycles.  Bikes can now be checked out by responsible students who will use them for their trip to and from school. The smiles in the photos make it clear that everyone is delighted with this new program.