Teaching the Teachers
Ellen
Ellen is another natural-born teacher, teaching 2nd grade at St. Matthew's in Barra, the town on the north end of the ferry from the capital of Banjul across the mouth of the River Gambia. When I spoke with her, she was, like Evalinda, in the Kombo for classes at the Gambia College during the winter holiday, where she is now working toward her Primary Teachers' Certificate. There is a short recording of part of my conversation with Ellen at http://is.gd/EllenGibba
These and the other teachers studying at Gambia College with the support of GambiaRising are already naturally-gifted teachers. Over the next three years they will become even better, and at the end of that time, they will be able to earn enough to afford to stay in the teaching profession.
Thanks to you.
Ellen is another natural-born teacher, teaching 2nd grade at St. Matthew's in Barra, the town on the north end of the ferry from the capital of Banjul across the mouth of the River Gambia. When I spoke with her, she was, like Evalinda, in the Kombo for classes at the Gambia College during the winter holiday, where she is now working toward her Primary Teachers' Certificate. There is a short recording of part of my conversation with Ellen at http://is.gd/EllenGibba
These and the other teachers studying at Gambia College with the support of GambiaRising are already naturally-gifted teachers. Over the next three years they will become even better, and at the end of that time, they will be able to earn enough to afford to stay in the teaching profession.
Thanks to you.
Evalinda
Let me introduce you to Evalinda, who is teaching at the nursery school at St. Michael’s in Njongon, not far from the northwestern border with Senegal, and who thanks to GambiaRising’s donors, is now in the ECD program at Gambia College. She was in the Kombo for classes when I was there in January, and I recorded part of my conversation with her which you can see at http://is.gd/Evalinda. (If you are short on time, jump to 2'14" and you will see that she definitely needs to be in the classroom.)
Let me introduce you to Evalinda, who is teaching at the nursery school at St. Michael’s in Njongon, not far from the northwestern border with Senegal, and who thanks to GambiaRising’s donors, is now in the ECD program at Gambia College. She was in the Kombo for classes when I was there in January, and I recorded part of my conversation with her which you can see at http://is.gd/Evalinda. (If you are short on time, jump to 2'14" and you will see that she definitely needs to be in the classroom.)
GambiaRising's focus is keeping Gambian students in school, when their families can’t afford to. Especially girls. And especially girls of marrying age.
Inflation is a serious problem in The Gambia, with the Gambian dalasi having fallen in value more than 10% per year in recent years. This has sharply driven up the cost of imported items such as fuel, cement, and… rice, the staple of most diets. The other side of this is coin, however, is that GambiaRising’s funds are buying 10% more dalasis this year than last.
Our commitment to our donors is that 100% of their donations will be used directly to support students, and so when a strong exchange rate or small donations provide a little extra funds, we put them in an emergency fund for mid-term appeals. And this year for the first time, we did one more thing: we gave scholarships to seven “unqualified” teachers to enter the Gambia College teacher training program. Teachers without degrees earn less than $30 per month in The Gambia. With a teacher’s certificate they will earn twice as much. While studying, they continue to teach, and they go to college during summers and every school vacation. But here’s the problem: the cost of the program is half a year’s pay. There is some government assistance for primary school teachers, but not enough, and none for nursery school teachers studying for the Early Childhood Development (ECD) certificate. And so there is a vicious cycle: because you can’t afford to pay for the training, your pay remains too low to support yourself.
Inflation is a serious problem in The Gambia, with the Gambian dalasi having fallen in value more than 10% per year in recent years. This has sharply driven up the cost of imported items such as fuel, cement, and… rice, the staple of most diets. The other side of this is coin, however, is that GambiaRising’s funds are buying 10% more dalasis this year than last.
Our commitment to our donors is that 100% of their donations will be used directly to support students, and so when a strong exchange rate or small donations provide a little extra funds, we put them in an emergency fund for mid-term appeals. And this year for the first time, we did one more thing: we gave scholarships to seven “unqualified” teachers to enter the Gambia College teacher training program. Teachers without degrees earn less than $30 per month in The Gambia. With a teacher’s certificate they will earn twice as much. While studying, they continue to teach, and they go to college during summers and every school vacation. But here’s the problem: the cost of the program is half a year’s pay. There is some government assistance for primary school teachers, but not enough, and none for nursery school teachers studying for the Early Childhood Development (ECD) certificate. And so there is a vicious cycle: because you can’t afford to pay for the training, your pay remains too low to support yourself.