Provide a quality education for girls in Liberia

Germinating Every Mind-Liberia (GEM-Liberia) and the Jennifer Albee Enrichment School extend their profound gratitude to GlobalGiving and all our generous donors for their continuous support to the girls of Liberia.

GEM- Liberia is pleased to present its quarterly report. The periodic report is part of the GEM-Liberia's commitment to GlobalGiving and our donors. This period's report covers from February 2024 to May 2024. As we come to the conclusion of the fourth academic year, GEM-Liberia and the school are proud to share with you our achievements and experiences.

Huge Milestones
Visit from Our Eponym and Board Member, Ms. Jennifer Albee, and Her Sister, Christine Purka!
The week of April 22 to 26 was a special time for the Jennifer Albee Enrichment School as two of our GlobalGiving monthly donors flew from the United States to Liberia to pay a visit to the school for the first time. The girls were so excited to receive their visitors that they began preparing weeks in advance with speeches, dances, and handmade gifts to show off their skills.

The guests spent time with the students in the classroom and watched our committed teachers in action. The teachers can’t wait to use the donated instructional materials and laptop they brought to enhance the educational experience for the girls!

The guests also took advantage of the opportunity to hold a board meeting in person and meet members of the Parent Teacher Association and the community. The guests were excited to see the future site of the Jennifer Albee Enrichment School in Monrovia White Plain. The land was purchased several months ago thanks to our generous GlobalGiving donors and will provide a much needed permanent location for the school.

Official School Ceremony
Even though we are completing our fourth academic year, we never held an official ceremony to launch the school in the community. On April 24, 2024, we were able to celebrate with Ms. Jennifer Albee serving as the guest of honor. In her speech, Ms. Albee encouraged the girls to take advantage of the resources available to them and thanked the teachers for committing to such important work. Ms. Albee presented awards to each teacher and board member and thanked them for their dedicated service to the school. She wore clothes made by the girls for the special occasion.

The school and the guests enjoyed every moment of the visit. We are hoping for more opportunities to meet with more of our donors and have them see the work and progress their contributions have helped the girls achieve.

Clearing of the Future Site of Jennifer Albee Enrichment School (JAES)
The two-lot plot of land was cleared in preparation for the commencement of the school’s construction project. We are currently looking for grants to support the construction of the school but in the meantime, it is critical to clear the land and protect it from being illegally resold to another buyer.

Senior High Registration Accepted!
We are thrilled to announce that after three successive academic years in the primary and junior high divisions, and at the conclusion of our fourth year, the government of Liberia has granted us a full secondary school registration. This is a boost for the school to roll over into senior high division once our students matriculate from middle school. The school was commenced at elementary status with 25 girls in 2020. To obtain the approval for secondary status took us great commitment to our work and the support of our donors and friends.

Short Term Goal
Our short term goal is to raise enrollment from 110 students to minimum 160 students for the next academic year by creating more awareness about the school. We are also focused on beginning the gradual process of our main campus construction. ConclusionWe anticipate bigger achievements in the coming few years. All of that can only happen through the support of our wonderful donors. For that, we again close on a note of gratitude to everyone who has placed in their resources to reach our project to the level we are at. Thanks to GlobalGiving for affording us the space for such wonderful fundraising opportunity.

With gratitude,

Davidetta Togba Cassell
Executive Director & Project Lead