Classes have just resumed at the Bitame Lucia Nursery and Primary School in Nkolfoulou, Cameroon.  Thanks to you many of the children started the school year with school supplies. 

The older children are eagerly learning how to tie the tie on their uniforms and proudly showing off their uniforms and supplies. The younger children are also proudly dressed in their uniforms with their new school supplies. 

Last week, we read an illuminating article discussing the eradication of malaria. The article reminds us that malaria is still a deadly disease, deserving of our attention:

Malaria, a mosquito-borne illness, is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases. More than two hundred million people contract the disease each year, and more than four hundred thousand die from it. Once transmitted in nearly every country on earth, today the vast majority of infections occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly 70 percent of malaria deaths are in children under five.

Many kids in Sierra Leone are the first kids in their family history / generation to go to school.  These kids do not receive any educational support (with homework, educational counseling etc.) from their parents. 

The UNDP summary of Sierra Leone states that ... "illiteracy remains a persistent challenge and youth that lack that skills and education find it extremely difficult to compete for the limited jobs available".  The article estimates the adult illiteracy rate at 41%.

Sylvester returned August 6th from a 2 week visit to Sierra Leone.  While there, he visited the tailoring school that we support.  This school is located at the Develop Africa Empowerment and Training Institute, in Wellington, a suburb of Freetown.  

We are so very excited about the opportunity that solar power and technology brings.  Technology holds a vital key in that it can be used positively to open doors of opportunity. Technology can solve or alleviate real life and everyday problems. 

For many thousands in the developing world, power cuts and "black outs" are part of life - happening every week. Many thousands of other homes are not connected to the electrical grid. These homes do not have any power at all and they depend on fossil fuels and consumable energy sources to light their homes. 

Schools are currently closed and will reopen in september, but please watch Jeminatu, who is in class 4 (or 4th grade) explain some of the skills she has learned this past school year- formatting text and insering a table.

You can watch the video of Jeminatu here- https://youtu.be/TppmuGnyTXU

"Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world." -Nelson Mandela

Schools are now closed for the academic year and will reopen in September.  

With 84% of the population living under the international poverty line, our support is needed more than ever.  About 1.5 million children are enrolled in primary school in Liberia, but the government said only 20 percent of the children complete 12th grade. Years of civil war have also taken their toll on the nation’s education system. In 2013, nearly 25,000 students failed the University of Liberia entrance exams.

The Dream Home children range from 2-17 years old and we had no medical records for any of them or any idea what immunizations they had or what they needed.  

Thanks to your contributions we have been able to start providing the needed immunizations. We have created medical records for each of the 22 children that live in the Dream Home. Having documented accurate medical records will help these children to grow up healthy and strong.