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When school is a dream
Nov. 3, 2005 A school in Sierra Leone, with a thatched roof and an earthen floor. To the rhetorical question, "How much does it cost to change the life of a child?" Niagara Falls Teachers members have an answer. Twenty dollars. That's the per-member donation local leaders estimate it will take for the group to reach its $15,000 goal to build, staff and supply a cluster of schools in the poverty-stricken African nation of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Education Project began with NFT member Ken Krieger, a school psychologist. "When my wife and I learned of orphaned children in West Africa, it made sense that we should adopt," said Krieger, who eventually adopted two girls from Sierra Leone. The children inspired the family to do more for the country. "As an educator, I could see that one of the root problems was a lack of education," he said. "I wanted to help build schools and make an education accessible to kids who otherwise would not receive one." Making a difference doesn't take much — the poverty is unimaginable, he explained. "For about $100, I bought slates for 200 students," said Krieger, who contacted an organization called Compassion in Action to help cut through governmental red tape and channel donations to educational projects. Last year, union members raised $5,100, which was presented to Krieger during this year's fall opening union meeting. "Maybe we can double that to $10,000 this year," said Joe Catalano, NFT president. Krieger returns to Sierra Leone every year or so to monitor the projects. Catalano hopes Niagara Falls teachers might someday travel to Sierra Leone during summers to teach classes or act as mentors to African educators. An incident that inspired Krieger to get more involved was returning to his Sierra Leone lodging to find a young girl waiting in his living room one night. Her family, extremely poor, had forgone food to pay for her schooling. She came to his room hoping to earn tuition. "I asked how much she needed and it equaled $60 in U.S. funds, which I simply gave her — she was so grateful she got down on all fours and bowed to me," said Krieger. "I later learned that hiring prostitutes for out-of-town businessmen was routine." To learn more about the Sierra Leone Education Project, e-mail NFT@nfschools.net. — Kara E. Smith |
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