Guest Blog: LET Allows Girls and Women to Soar

by Anna Myles-Primakoff

One of the great things about the summer has been the opportunity to find out about the work of other interns in Liberia. So this week I have invited the fabulous Anna Myles-Primakoff, working in the Ministry of Education, to post an article she has written about the Liberia Education Trust.

“All the children I meet, when I ask what they want most, say, ‘I want an education.’ We must not betray their trust.”

- President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Restoring the education system of Liberia and providing education to more children is essential to Liberia’s recovery. Furthermore, it is clear without immediate action and innovative strategies, the children of Liberia will continue to be denied the education they want and need. The Liberian Education Trust (LET), a Liberian NGO that works closely with both local NGOs and the Government of Liberia, seeks to provide strategies and action to rapidly and effectively rebuild the Liberian education system.

Inspired by President Johnson Sirleaf’s call to increase outside support for the education sector, LET was established in December 2005. Its unique structure and strong leadership has led to its rapid recognition as a leading Liberian NGO. LET has two branches, LET-USA, based in Washington, D.C., and LET-Monrovia, based in Liberia’s capital. Dr. Evelyn Kandakai, chair of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and the former Minister of Education, leads LET-Monrovia. LET-USA is primarily responsible for fundraising, and provides resources for LET-Monrovia to administer LET’s grants and scholarships. LET currently operates in all 15 Liberian counties, with a recently expanded presence in the southeastern region made possible by a grant from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

LET began with three clear goals: construct or rehabilitate at least 50 schools; train at least 500 new teachers; and provide at least 5,000 scholarships to those most in need. So far, LET has constructed or rehabilitated 21 schools, provided over 5,000 scholarships, and provided numeracy and literacy courses for 1,200 market women.

At the heart of LET’s operations are the girls’ scholarship programs, which have inspired girls to dream of exciting futures. Many of LET’s scholarship recipients are old for their grade, due to their schooling being interrupted by the war, and a LET scholarship is a way for them to regain some of what was lost. A good example is 19-year-old Bettina Yain, a tenth grade student at Gray D. Allison School in Monrovia. “Because we don’t have many doctors in the country, I choose to be a medical doctor to help my country, relatives and friends,” Yain explains. She receives a scholarship from LET that covers her school and exam fees, and pays for her uniforms and books. Without LET, she would not have been able to continue with school at all, as no one in her family could afford to send her.

Yain’s story is similar to that of many girls receiving scholarships from LET. Asking each student her future plans reveals extraordinary motivation and desire to achieve, even in professions traditionally held by men. According to Pehmie Gbonah, another tenth grade scholarship student, “LET is educating us to be good leaders for our country.” Gbonah cites the lack of female engineers in Liberia when describing her desire to study engineering at university after she graduates.

Providing girls with female teachers and role models is also crucial for girls’ education. For women studying to become teachers, LET provides scholarships to cover all costs associated with schooling. According to Professor Euphemia K. Abdullah, Dean of the William V.S. Tubman Teachers College at the University of Liberia (UL), where 101 undergraduates studying to become teachers and eleven students studying education in graduate school at the University of Liberia receive funding from LET, the scholarships also boost the morale of the students training to become teachers. This is especially important as strong morale prepares teachers to leave for rural areas to teach under challenging conditions.

In addition to scholarships, LET provides grants to programs that teach basic literacy and numeracy skills to market women. By better equipping these women to conduct trade, LET enables them to provide for their families. LET also provides grants for school construction to the Liberian Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE), whose activities are concentrated in rural areas, particularly those most affected by the war. Committees to supervise construction projects are drawn from surrounding communities, which also contribute land, labor and some construction materials, fostering a sense of ownership and care.

Ultimately, LET can be viewed as a model for how to channel funds to ensure that they reach those who need them most while simultaneously boosting national capacity. Dr. Kandakai stresses the importance of LET’s mission, not just for the individuals it seeks to help, but also for the country’s development. “If girls and women are going to get out of a rut, in a large way it will be education that empowers them. It is important not only for them, it will also change the development story of Liberia.”