Reflections from Joan Jemison

Last March I went with a group from Hennepin Church and Good Samaritan UMC on a mission trip to Baiwalla, Sierra Leone. I had never been to a Third World Country but I thought I knew a little bit about what it would be like. But I had no idea!!! Oxford and Webster’s dictionaries define Third World Countries as “underdeveloped or developing countries of Africa, Asia, or Latin America.” Google named three characteristics of Third World Countries” (1) high rates of poverty and disease; (2) Economic and/or political instability; (3) High mortality rates. These characteristics, of course, result in poor or no infrastructure such as having no electricity, a weak economy, limited health care, poor or no education ( especially for girls) and poor sanitation. That was certainly true about Baiwalla!

Another statistic I found interesting: As of 2018, a country must have a Gross National Income per capita of less than US $1,025 to be on the list and over US $1,230 to graduate from the list. In Sierra Leone, the per capita income for 2022 was $600. As you can see, Sierra Leone is one of 45 countries on the UN list of least developed countries!

I went to Baiwalla to work with their music teacher to teach the children music. Children around the world respond much the same way when a music teacher comes into the room and has them sing “He’s got the whole world in his hands”, or “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands!!” All classes are taught in English so we sang several songs with repetitive phrases, used some rhythm instruments, did a lot of echo clapping, stomping, patting snapping tapping and echo speaking. This was excellent practice for the students to speak English. Unfortunately, the classes were very crowded, so moving around was not an option. For example, the first grade room had about 40 students, 5th grade room had about 50 students so there was no room for storing books, games, teaching and learning materials, play equipment, or moving around.

I was an elementary music teacher for 40 years, 30 years in North Minneapolis. It was shocking to me to see such small classrooms and no posters or educational materials on the walls. We four missioners took lots of posters, maps and teaching materials in big suitcases. Picture this: four retired women with 6 huge suitcases and two boxes that held printers. We did two teacher workshops. The mostly male teachers got so excited to find famous world cities on the maps we brought! We hope they are letting their students experience that same excitement. We also emphasized the use of learning games to enhance the children’s learning process. Throughout Sierra Leone, the teaching/learning style teachers use is lecture with students copying from the blackboard, We stressed that games are used to boost skills such as motivation, memory, concentration, taking turns, problem-solving, class cooperation and language development. We also stressed that kids learn best when they are having fun.

We missioners are getting ready to send our contributions into the OC Ministries/Baiwalla school project which is a program of the Minnesota Annual Conference. During the month of July, Hennepin Church is conducting a campaign to encourage Hennepin People to donate money to support children to go to school. We certainly hope that the children we met in March can continue their education through the support of the missioners and people from Hennepin Church. I’ve made an ongoing commitment to support the Baiwalla Children’s education at the Ormsby School. We encourage anyone reading this blog to make or renew their donation to send a child to school. We do this fundraising every July so that OC Ministries can send the money before the school year starts and the children can be notified to come to school. So think hard and act fast to send a child to school for the upcoming year!

Will you join us and support students to attend the Ormsby School in Baiwalla?

Pay tuition and fees for a year- $350
Pay for lunch for a year- $150

How to pay:

1. Online: Go to the OC Ministries website: www.ocministriesmn.org and click on the red “Donate “ button. Scroll down to Sierra Leone: Richard Ormsby School. Make your donation in any amount. Every dollar will support a child’s schooling at the Ormsby School.
2. Check: Make a check out to OC Ministries. On the memo line write Ormsby School. Send to Minnesota Annual Conference, 122 W. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis Mn. 55404

Thanks so much for your continued or new support to enable a Baiwalla child to attend school.