By Lori, Director of OC Ministries
Members of the first graduating class from the Richard Ormsby School, Baiwalla, Sierra Leone (several students missing from the photo)
Why Invest in the Richard Ormsby School in Baiwalla, Sierra Leone?
Education changes EVERYTHING!
For the hundreds of students educated at the Ormsby School, a high school diploma means a future bright with the possibility for meaningful employment and a life breaking free from the cycle of poverty currently affecting them.
Five Fast Facts about the Richard Ormsby Secondary School
- Regional Uniqueness: The Richard Ormsby School is the only secondary school in the Kailahun region of Sierra Leone, with the next closest school fifty miles away.
- Built Through Generosity: Constructed between 2016-2019, thanks to donations from individuals and churches connected to OC Ministries Minnesota, and officially opened in 2019.
- Comprehensive Education: Offers grades 1-12 with 479 students enrolled for the 2023-2024 school year, supported by twenty-five teachers and three staff members.
- Graduating Class of 2024: The first graduating class comprises seventeen students.
- State-of-the-Art Facilities: Unlike many schools in Sierra Leone, Ormsby boasts a computer lab, science lab, home economics lab, library, farm, and hands-on teaching materials.
Five Farm Facts
- Expansive Land: The school owns approximately forty acres of land surrounding the campus.
- Triple Purpose: The farm helps feed students, teaches farming skills, and generates income through the sale of farm products.
- First Crop Success: The initial crop of oil palm trees, planted six years ago, was harvested in September 2023.
- Diverse Agriculture: The farm also grows swamp rice, vegetables, and raises goats and pigs.
- Manual Labor: All planting, weeding, and harvesting are done by hand, without mechanized equipment.
What’s Important to Know About Sierra Leone and Baiwalla
- Economic Hardship: Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries globally, with most people living as subsistence farmers on $2.00 per day.
- Community Overview: Baiwalla is a small town with approximately 10,000 residents in the Eastern part of the country.
- Educational Challenges: About 40% of adults are illiterate due to scarce and expensive schools. Families often choose to send only one or two children to school, leaving others uneducated.
- Underfunded Education: Education is grossly underfunded, with insufficient books, materials, and poorly paid, under-educated teachers.
- Nutritional Needs: Most children eat only one meal a day at home, making the nutritious daily meal provided by Ormsby School critical for student learning.
How Can You Help? Donate Today!
- $150: Helps provide daily lunch for Ormsby School students.
- $350: Provides necessary supplies and study materials for one student.
- $2400: Supports a teacher’s salary for a FULL YEAR.
Any size gift will change the future for hundreds of students and their families in Baiwalla. We and they thank you for your incredible generosity.
Donate online through our website: ocministriesmn.org
Donate by check payable to “Minnesota Annual Conference” and send to OC Ministries c/o Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, 122 West Franklin Avenue, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55404. Use the memo line for directing your donation to the chosen project.
Ormsby Students Enjoying a Fun Time Made Possible by YOU!