In its present situation, the MBHS faces many problems, including, but not limited to, security around the school, encroachment on school property, overcrowding, an outdated curriculum, dilapidated furniture, non-existent laboratory equipment, poor infrastructure, and lack of teaching materials. Various attempts have been made in the past to address these problems. Perhaps because the efforts were uncoordinated, they have not been very successful. Currently, every aspect of running the school cries out for attention, the most important of which is the school’s inability to pay competitive salaries to attract and keep good teachers. In an era when the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) is unable to properly support the school and the Methodist Mission is unable to play its customary role as financial and spiritual underwriter, it is incumbent upon all of us to pay more attention to the needs of the school through a structured global effort.
John Davies at the new wall
In November 2010, Mr. Wilfred Morgan from the UK chapter visited the school and reported the school’s infrastructure to be in ruins. In his anguish, he decided to do something about it. Mr. Morgan will return to Freetown in May 2011 to carry out a Needs Assessment Survey (NAS). This document will be used to institute a new approach to support and sustain the school. We will shortly provide a timeline for this effort. This document will also allow us to plan short, medium, and long term initiatives, including taking immediate steps to stop the downward spiral of the school. In the meantime, this site and proposed ICT access at the school premises will be used to facilitate open discussion and exchange of ideas with all stakeholders, including current pupils.
The new wall
We propose that the GNI include representatives from all stakeholder groups identified above and it will be managed by a Global Board. This board will establish subcommittees as it sees fit, and it will be solely responsible to approval all projects and disburse funds to carry out approved projects. A project management committee will control the investigation, design, implementation and management of all Global Network Initiative projects. These practitioners will be professionals or have appropriate qualifications in administering social and educational programs, including donor funds, and in evaluating, monitoring and reporting of every aspect of the project in a timely manner. The committee will also be responsible to communicate with all stakeholders, including the GoSL and the donor community at home and abroad. To achieve the objectives of this initiative, stakeholders or the GNI global board submit funding proposals/requests to various institutions/funding sources. Individual project proposals should base their requests on the Needs Assessment Survey. While we await the Needs Assessment Survey (NAS), some of the areas of grave concern for the school and stakeholders are
- Support the salaries and benefits of teachers
- Assist in the recovering of encroached land
- Facilitate privatizing the school – an entrepreneurial approach.
- Expand the curriculum to reflect current trends of workforce and skills development
- Find access to capital through organizations like USAID, Millennium Promise Organization and others.
