Presentation
Elaine Chagnon & Africa Education Partnership
Rollie Sterrett introduced Elaine Chagnon. Elaine is an educator and holds a Master's degree in Special Education. She has served as a consultative teacher in Granby in K - 12 education, and as a content area specialist for their high school. She has a passion for Nigeria and its people and serves on the Africa Education Partnership (AEP) board of directors. AEP is supported, in part, by St. Peter's Church in Windsor, where Elaine worships.. Audio-visual support is provided by Moe Lavallee.
Elaine gave an overview of Nigeria with slides indicating the country has 25 tribes, 500 languages, and 3 major religions divided as 50% Muslim, 40% Christian and 10% Animist. The country is roughly divided at the 10th parallel into the primarily Muslim north and primarily Christian south. Of 37 states in the nation, approximately 13 practice some degree of Shariah law. It is Africa's most populous country, with more than 182 million people.
The capital city, Gusau is in Zamfara state in the northwest, where education is a luxury. In this area 85% of the population is Muslim and just 15% of females get an education. Polygamy is a common practice in the area. Elaine's project is providing support, through her church and through AEP, for the Grace International School in Gusau. The philosophy of the school is "reconciliation through education" and is an interfaith initiative.
Grace International School now has three buildings, two classroom buildings and another that serves as both an examination hall upstairs and offices and science laboratories downstairs. The buildings are surrounded by an 8 foot security wall to limit encroachment, prevent theft and deter other crime. The examination hall is essential for Zamfara State accreditation, as it provides an acceptable place for students to sit for the West African Board Examinations. These examinations are a pathway to university and are shared among several west African countries. Recently, 35 Grace students took and passed the examination, with one female student achieving the highest score.
The science laboratories include those focused on biology and chemistry, as there is much interest in these sciences on the part of students. They are short of equipment however, and while many have sinks, there is no running water.
One challenge is ongoing unrest in the country. At election time, increased unrest is common and many families will take their students out of school until the election period is complete. Before the 2014 election period Grace had 350 students. During that period the number dropped to 152 and then rose again afterwards to greater than 200. There is also the concern about the terrorist group Boko Haram, though in recent years they are confined to the northeast only.
AEP provides funding for construction, equipment and supplies but does not fund operations or salaries. Books and 3 computers were recently provided. Elaine visited Grace in 2011 and again in 2016 with her primary focus being teacher training. The AEP also supports "Kateri Medical Services Inc.", another not-for-profit doing work in Nigeria. While in Nigeria Elaine spent some time working with them. Social custom required that she be accompanied by a male companion, and when that was not possible, her movement was restricted to her host's compound. Some of the teacher training was held there, for this reason.
The national language is English and most teaching is done in English. In the north, the Hausa language is also commonly used. Worldwide, Hausa has about 44 million speakers and is spoken mainly in northern Nigeria and Niger, and also in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Germany, Ghana, Sudan and Togo.
Students pay the equivalent of $100 a quarter to attend Grace school.
With so many challenges, risks and hardships associated with working in and for Nigeria, some have asked Elaine why she does it and why she goes there. She always answers that the people inspire her and she has come to care deeply for them. A simple bit of graffiti she has seen in her local area says "Never give up in life." Elaine deeply believes that the drive these families and children have to better themselves and their country is worth supporting.
Learn more about Grace International School and the Africa Education Partnership at: www.africaep.org.
Contact Elaine at: emchagnon@yahoo.com
Happy Birthday Paul!
