The Village Link has been busy with Project Golu programs: Radio Education Program, Community Center Revenue Streams, Library Applications, Ebola Innovation Summit and Grant Proposal. Learn about the progress we've made.
UPDATE: Radio Education & Tutoring Program In Golu Is Off To A Great Start!
The Radio Education & Tutoring Program has only been launched in Golu for just over a week and we're so pleased with the progress and participation so far! The community has really come together and made this program into something special.
Since 85% of the adults in Golu are uneducated, the resource center committee held a meeting with the parents to discuss sending the children to the village school building, along with their radios. This way the village can provide a classroom setting to aid in the learning process. The parents and resource center committee unanimously agreed that this would be the best approach to set the children up for success and get the most out of the program. In addition, the committee confirmed volunteer participation from the teachers in the community to spend daily time with the children, providing guidance during broadcasted class lectures. During the meeting they also agreed that the children should have a schedule, which will be to attend school Monday to Friday.
Even though school is not officially back in session, in the traditional sense, the community has really stepped up and come together to utilize the radios and supplies TVL provided. They have created a structured school environment, giving the children a chance to continue their education and succeed in this program. TVL is so proud of the people of Golu and how well the community has worked together on taking advantage of the tools and resources we provided. Take a look at our most recent photos of the program below.
UPDATE: Emergency Operating Center Pilot in Golu
For those of you following the Emergency Operating Center (EOC) Pilot Project, that we have been working, below is a quick update. From a health standpoint, Ebola has finally started to make a decline in daily reported cases. Schools in Sierra Leone are talking about re-opening and in the meantime the radio program will stay in effect. So things are headed in a much more positive direction than before the new year. With that said, there is still a ways to go to get Sierra Leone back to where it was before this devastating setback.
TVL's long time trusted partner, SBTS Group, will be sending an employee up to Golu this week to assess the situation and from there, we will jointly discuss the best strategy to launch the EOC pilot. This is a project that we both believe the CDC would like to see to help with today's crisis and tomorrows. There are long term plans to roll the same EOC template out across the country in various rural communities, if this pilot can prove to be a success in Golu. The goal of this project is to decentralize the response and reduce response times for emergency health reports. Currently, there is one response center in Freetown which feeds information out to the rest of the country. A faster response time is needed in order to get ahead of a major health crisis such as the Ebola outbreak. By installing EOC's across the country the response time should be able to be reduced.
In addition to SBTS Group leading the charge on the EOC pilot project, they have also graciously offered to provide Golu with a software that will track student illness reports per school. With schools re-opening and groups of people starting to gather again, before Ebola is completely gone, it will help give parents and educators peace of mind knowing that this type of information is being tracked.
As more updates come up we will continue to update you on this project.
UPDATE: Radio Education Tutoring Program
The Village Link has been raising funds over the past few months to help cover the cost of implementing a support program for the Ministry of Education's radio education program. Recently, we traveled to Golu to meet with the committee members to explain our plans and to get their feedback. Our plan is to provide and distribute radios and school supplies to students in the village. This plan was positively received. We will also be looking to hire local teachers to tutor and keep track of the student's homework assignments. The resource center will be used as a meeting point for students and teachers to meet one on one to go over the class material and homework. Below are some pictures from our latest meetings in Golu. If you are interested in contributing to this program or other similar programs you can do so by visiting our donation page.
TVL Meeting in Bundobu: Looking Towards The Future
This week TVL had a meeting in Bundobu to discuss future plan's for Golu and TVL. Our resource center volunteer in Golu, John Try met up with Mike O'Neill, Director, Global Safety and Security for Save The Children and long time Golu resident and friend of TVL's founder, Mr. Fillie.
Currently Mike is busy in Sierra Leone helping to set up an Ebola Hospital for the rest of the month. During his off time, he was able to meet with us to help strategize current and future opportunities for Golu and TVL.
TVL is currently working on raising funds to purchase and distribute radio's to families in Golu with school aged children so they can take part in the Ministry of Education's radio education program. This is a very affordable program and will provide the opportunity for children to catch up on their studies since schools are closed due to the Ebola crisis. You can make a contribution to this program here. Just $25 will get 1 radio and 2 batteries for a family in Golu.
Below are some more photo's from the meeting.
