USDA Food for Education & Nutrition Program

Visions in Action is helping to improve both the access and quality of education in Liberia by providing agricultural commodities and funds to target schools and teachers. Much needed supplies such as classrooms, textbooks and financial assistance are provided to help improve a failing educational system.

80 primary schools are being provided with supplies, including paper, desks and chairs, and classroom materials, and six new schools are being constructed. In addition, parent-teacher associations have been formed at these primary schools. The neediest areas are being served, as determined by Liberia’s Ministry of Education, UNICEF statistics, and other research, and the students who receive aid are determined by their families’ incomes and levels of education, their risk of dropping out of school, and their academic performance. Based on this information, 8,000 junior and senior high school girls who cannot afford school fees are being given scholarships to encourage them to stay in school. Also, they are provided with rations like oil, rice, and vegetables from the school garden every two months as incentive and reward for consistent attendance.

Teachers are being trained to improve students’ classroom experiences, to receive national certification that will allow them to be paid as government employees, and to deal with issues such as health, nutrition, and HIV/AIDS prevention. Visions in Action is providing salary supplements to teachers for the Accelerated Learning Program, which allows older students to complete their primary education in half the time.