A couple weeks ago, I had a meeting with the superintendent of Nimba County, Mrs Edith Gongloe-Weh. She was appointed superintendent in September and discussed with me the county development agenda. The priorities (in order) are 1) Road and Bridge Rehabilitation, 2) Primary Education and 3) Construction and maintenance of Health Services. I have noticed how horrible the roads (and bridges) are and I can see why improving ability to transport is the number one priority. Liberia has many natural resources, and Nimba County has an abundance of iron ore, gold and diamond. But it is pretty much impossible to transport the resources.
Road to Karnplay
Schools
IRC participates in Education in various ways: training teachers, encouraging women to teach, youth resource centers, raising awareness, increasing enrollment and vocational training. One of my assignments here was to distrubte items to schools and assess the needs of schools, speaking with principals, teachers, students and other education professionals.
One of the problems I mentioned earlier is that the government has not yet provided textbooks and curriculum to the schools. (According to the county education officer, the books should be distributed by mid January – but there is no word on the curriculum). In many cases, there is only one textbook for the hundreds of students, and it is impossible for them to finish an assignment. In visiting the schools, there is a lack of space, especially in the lower grades. 100s of students fit into a small classroom. In many cases, classes are held
Classroom in Garplay
There are so many needs and they cannot be met with the funds allocated to this project (this is the case in the health and gender-based violence programs also). Some funds were given for school books and supplies and I am struggling with how to best allocate them. I do not feel that we should use funds for items that the government will give for free. But at the same time, if the government is going to take months to a year to give them out, should we wait? Another issue is making sure that the items donated are used and used properly. Many times books that are donated sit on the shelves unopened collecting dust. And other items like lesson plan books are given without any instructions, so the teachers do not know how to use them.
I talked to a few students to find out what they think about school. and getting an education. Andrew is 17 year old in the 4th grade in Yekepea. His father passed away and his mother worked as a farmer on the pepper farm. During the war, he helped his mother on the farm so he did not go to school for a few years. His mother works very hard to help pay his school fees but she does not have enough money. He studies hard and wants to be an English teacher in Liberia.
Many students drop out from 4th to 6th grade, sometimes because they don’t want to go to school, others because they cannot afford fees. And many of the girls drop out because they get pregnant. Mathusa is a 17-year-old in 8th grade in Karnplay. She had to leave school for a while because she got sick with Malaria. She said that many of her friends dropped out because of pregnancy. Her parents cannot afford sending her to school so she usually asks people to help her to raise the $550/year school fee. She wants to be a doctor.
In Garplay I talked with some high school students about sex education. I spoke to Louise, a 19 year old in the 11th grade. In her class there are only 5 girls and 85 boys, most of the girls dropping out because they got pregnant. Since this is such a huge issue, I asked if the students are taught sex education, on how to be safe and use protection. She said that it was not taught in schools- that whatever she has learned has been through community programs, like the women’s centers. Louise wants to be a gynecologist but she has a few hurdles to cross. One hurdle is that her high school only goes up to 11th grade. The only high school nearby with 12th grade is in Karnplay which is already overcrowded. In addition, the only universities are in Monrovia and most people cannot afford to go and live in Monrovia. There are scholarships available, but those are usually prioritized by special interest and the people who should get them do not get them.
The unemployment rate in Liberia is about 85% (though this seems to be the rate in 2003 as well so not sure how accurate it is). There are not enough professional jobs out there so it is difficult to empower kids to study when the incentive is not there. However, many kids want to get an education so they are prepared when an opportunity presents itself.
It was great to meet the students, talk to them about their hopes and dreams, learn the difficulties they have gone through in life and what motivates them to stay in school. My hope is that all of them stay in school and achieve their dreams, as this generation is the future of Liberia. Health
In Monrovia, I met with the Health Coordinator, Dr Tahlil who explained the health program and said that health staff need to learn how to use what they have efficiently. The three most important things needed for great care are prompt diagnosis, prompt referral and prompt transportation. Prompt diagnosis is difficult without qualified staff and Dr Tahlil estimated that only 31% are qualified. Unfortunately, when a lot of people get training, they end up leaving for jobs elsewhere and don’t stay to work in the local clinics. Prompt transportation is also a huge challenge first because of the horrible roads and because many people do not have the means to get to a hospital/clinic on time.
Crowded Maternal and Child Health Room
However
With all that is lacking, children are going to school; many have come back after years of being out of school due to the war, illness or other factors. Students want to be educated, learn and make something of their lives: as a doctor, teacher, auto mechanic, electrician.. etc. In Sokapa, they are using a government building as a school. The school is very small and some classrooms only have enough space for 6 students. The town has worked together, raised some money and is doing the construction themselves. In Monrovia, students go to school in a church. The community has come together to build a school. When the community and families get involved, then it stresses the importance of education to everyone., especially children.
Clinics are crowded, but people are coming – using the free services for vaccinations, immunizations, for pre natal and post natal care. There may not be running water, but the water used is clean. Rooms and instruments are sterilized. Staff are trained to teach patients about preventive care- how to prevent malaria, treat diarrhea, malnutrition. Patients can come for HIV testing and counseling.
As I was walking through the clinics, I had in mind what Dr Tahlil told me, that they need to learn how to use what they have efficiently. The clinic that uses a bathroom as a delivery room: as I walked through it, I noticed that they had quite a bit of unused space. One big room was partially used to hold files, but the rest of the space was not used at all. They also had a couple of areas which could be used as storage, and free up space in the clinic itself for patients and patient care. Along with another staff member at IRC, we talked to them about their use of space and asked them to think how they could utilize it better. I said that moving forward, there was no reason that another delivery needs to be done in the bathroom. At another clinic, the staff mentioned they do not have any space for a delivery room, but as I walked through I noticed the same thing, that the space they have can be used more efficiently. The items we are able to provide will not solve all their problems, but I do hope that they can look at the resources they already have and realize that some of the needs can be met.
In January and February, I will be working with IRC staff to see the estimated costs of items, give my assessment of priorities and hopefully come to a final decision on how the money will be spent.
