Gender Equality Liberia Project #48211

Provide Safe School for Girls in Monrovia, Liberia

by Hilltop Schools Inc.

Project Report | May 5, 2022
Report: Provide Safe School for Girls in Monrovia

By Gerald Hodges | Impact Officer

Dear Friend,

Despite all the adverse impacts of COVID-19 on the world, we remain grateful for your continued support towards developing a generation of female leaders here at the More Than Me Academy in Monrovia, Liberia. See our 2020-21 Annual Report here.

This Academic year, we welcomed 50 new students to the Academy. Our enrollment has grown to 280 students. We also continue to support 64 of our alumni on scholarships attending high school out of the Academy.

We are super excited to share with you that all 12th, 9th and 6th graders who sat the West African regional exams successfully passed. Although our scholarship program does not extend to college, we continue to provide mentorship and support to our recent high school graduates to access external scholarships to further their education. As for our 9th graders who passed to 10th grade, they are receiving both scholarship support and mentorship to complete high school by 2024.

We recently completed the installation of a rooftop solar array system with funding from the Honnold Foundation. The Academy has been powered by solar energy since January 13, 2022. This has enabled us to cut down on our monthly operational cost for fuel for our generator, as well as our carbon footprint, and noise pollution from the diesel generator.

Learning is ongoing smoothly. Our 4th marking period exams begin next week.

We remain grateful for your generosity and belief in our mission of developing Liberia's future leaders through education, healthcare, and safety.

Stay blessed,

Gerald D. Hodges

Impact Officer/ Hilltop Schools Inc.

Links:

2020-2021 Annual Report

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Nov 9, 2021
Almost Ready for Back To School!

By Gerald Hodges | Impact Officer

May 14, 2021
GlobalGiving Report for project #48211"Provide a Safe School for Girls in Monrovia, Liberia

By Gerald Hodges | Project Leader

Learning has been ongoing with no disruption at Hilltop Schools' all-girls Academy in Monrovia. We have continued to provide education, healthcare, safety, psychosocial support for all our students.

International Women Day 2021

In March, we joined the world to celebrate the leadership, strength, and courage of women and girls in Liberia, and around the world who dared to challenge the status quo. 2021 International Women Day’s theme was, "Choose to Challenge." The theme was a call to action to challenge gender bias and inequality.

On March 8, our students planned and hosted a program in observance of International Women’s Day, retelling the struggles and triumphs of the More Than Me Academy through a drama.

As part of the day’s celebration, students Jugbeh and Mambina performed a poem titled, “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou. The poem sends out an important message in today’s stereotypical world: as a female, empowerment comes from being confident in your own skin, whether or not you are seen as cute or fashionable by the masses.

Learning Marketable Skills through Extra-Curricular Program

The after-school program is one of our student's favorite activities. This year, students have begun learning how to make pastries and bags. They will also be learning how to make purses, slippers, sandals, wall arts among others.

In their first pastry class, students learned how to make "Pepper Kala" -- a very common Liberian food made with baking flour. Pepper Kala is usually prepared and sold in the mornings and evenings with fried peppers on the side as a sauce. Many women engage in the sale of pepper Kala in communities and markets as a source of livelihood. For students in Liberia, eating and sharing Pepper Kala is an indelible experience they cherish.

Climb to the top with us! Check out our 2019-2020 Annual Report.

Show your support for our incredible students by donating today!

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