Empowering grandmothers for children's education

In the past 3 months a total of 394 education activities have taken place in Vélingara.  Involving over 7,000 people in various community-based education and training activities with teachers and grandmothers, Grandmother Project’s education program works to improve educational outcomes for the children of Vélingara – especially girls. 

Passing on positive cultural values and traditions is important to families, but schools rarely teach them.  With the help of grandmothers, teachers are able to integrate community history, cultural values and traditions into lessons so that schools reflect the local community and are no longer viewed as foreign institutions.  During the past few months, 511 grandmothers have participated in 385 school visits to support teachers and educate children of their culture and traditions.

GMP's innovative strategy promotes teaching of positive cultural values in schools using empowered grandmothers as "teaching assistants". In order to do this, GMP has developed Grandmother-Teacher training workshops to support the integration and instruction of traditional knowledge and cultural history in schools.  In the past few months, 2 Grandmother-Teacher training workshops were attended by 60 grandmothers and 50 teachers.

Teachers are also instrumental to the integration of additional materials that more closely reflect the culture and traditions of the local community.  6 Teacher Training Workshops have been held recently, in which 120 teachers learned how to use 5 reading books on cultural values and integrate traditional values education into classroom lessons.

Additionally, during recent school vacations, 5,178 schoolchildren benefitted from educational and cultural activities organized by Grandmother Project, which also brought together 638 grandmothers, 406 mothers, 322 fathers and a further 276 community members and leaders. 

One of the barriers for children – particularly girls – to attending school is that often families do not feel that the school reflects nor promotes their values.  The school is seen as a foreign institution that neither understands nor respects the local culture and traditions.  Grandmothers serve as a bridge between the school and families in the community.  They impart traditional wisdom and knowledge and support children’s well-being and development.

“Elders have a very important role to play in the transmission of values in the family, in communities and in school. They witness everything that goes on in children’s lives today and are repositories of many experiences. Because of this, they are like teachers who deserve to be listened to by the younger generations.”

 Saydou, Teacher in Velingara

Grandmothers are committed to working together with teachers to improve school-community relations, but also to ensure that children are connected with their culture and their traditions.  Grandmothers see their investment in children’s lives as their responsibility to children and the community as a whole.

“A woman gives birth to a child but the child belongs to the whole community. If the child hasn’t received a good education it’s not only a loss for the community, but also a failure of the same community.”

 Aissatou, Grandmother

Your continued support of Grandmother Project – Change through Culture ensures that children not only go to school, but that they are connected to their culture, their identity.  Grandmothers are not only the guardians of tradition, but they are also champions of children’s education.  Thank you for supporting our work with grandmothers and teachers for children’s education and development.