Education has consistently been recognized as the key ingredient for nation building. This is a universal tenet of modern socio-economic and political development, and one which is enshrined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). All nations have an obligation to boost public and private sector investments in their Education and Knowledge sub-economies to achieve optimum potentials, even as they must also continue to invest in other key areas like healthcare, housing, feeding and infrastructure. Africa which has some of the fastest growing and poorest nations in the world is certainly not insulated from this global challenge to invest in its education sector.
Liberia’s status as one of Africa’s poorest economies makes its case even more painful, as the good people and government of the West African nation also continue to grapple with scarce resources and capabilities to deal with its numerous human development issues.
Quality Education has been identified as a key priority for the government of Liberia. Recognizing the role of education as a catalyst for cultural, economic and social development, I thought it would be expedient at a time like this to focus on how to improve Liberia’s academic and teacher training capabilities, with specific emphasis on identifying and supporting selected institutions with the requisite tools needed for academic progression and scholastic achievement.
They say a journey of a thousand miles begin with a step. So, I began by visiting schools in my community in Monrovia, and after visiting a few schools I realized that one primary school, the Jackie G. Ladwien Institute, had a major challenge of providing textbooks and basic stationery for its staff and students. This is what gave birth to my “Books4Schools” initiative, a community-driven and public-private sector partnership scheme which seeks to make textbooks and other educational materials available for teachers, school administrators and students alike.
By Josephine Monger
About JosephineMonger #Books4Schools Campaigner
Josephine Monger- is a social worker, Founder of Elections & Us Project, a 2017 Humphrey Fellowship finalist, a YALI RLC Nigeria N2 Cohort participant, a YALI Elections TechCamp Ghana 2016 participant and campaigner for #Books4Schools
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