During the last week of March 2026, Rachel Welch O’Connor, CODE Board member, Janice Ciavaglia, CODE CEO, and myself travelled to Monrovia, Liberia. The purpose of our trip was to meet with our key partner, the We-Care Foundation, other partners and stakeholders and look at the progress made in two of our projects. Even though, I have travelled a fair bit in Africa, this was my first time in Liberia, exciting!
CODE and the We-Care Foundation have worked together for close to 20 years, focusing on advancing literacy and education. On our first day in Monrovia, we had the pleasure of meeting the whole Foundation team and learn about all the work they do in Liberia beside their partnership with us. Whether teacher training, family literacy and early childhood education programs, nurturing care, or running a library, it was impressive and inspiring to see how engaged the Foundation team is with their community to ensure that children become well-informed citizens.
Our visits in the field included school visits and meetings with students, teachers, and administrators in institutions that are involved in two of our projects. One, the Girls’ Accelerated Literacy Initiative (GALI) which is funded by 60 million Girls Foundation, the RJL Braydon Foundation, the Peter Gilgan Foundation and CODE. GALI, an after-school program, empowers overage girls in grades 1-6 to progress twice yearly, bridging the education gap.
We met girls and young women proud of their accomplishments and all that they have learned since joining GALI. They talked about becoming doctors, lawyers, teachers and even president. The program has given them confidence and self-esteem to take their place in society. My colleagues even took part in the making of menstrual pads with students, teachers, mothers and fathers to enable the students not to miss schools during their periods.
Teaching and Learning in Fragile Contexts (TLFC), funded by Global Affairs Canada, is an initiative that takes place in both Liberia and Sierra Leone where the aim is to support sustained improvements to the quality of classroom instruction, focusing on active learning, gender-responsive pedagogy, and foundational literacy. The teachers mentioned how they now see teaching in a new light, more interactive, more challenging for both them and students, and with a better understanding of the importance of supporting the achievement of both girls and boys. Some of the experiences and learnings from teachers were moving.
At the end of our week, we had a wonderful time participating in the graduation ceremony of 118 teachers who came from both the GALI and TLFC programs. New teachers, and their parents, were so proud of their achievements, knowing they will be playing a key role in the building of their country.
Meetings with other partners such as the Minister for Basic Education, UNICEF, and the Liberia Firestone leadership allowed us to discuss progress and identify potential opportunities for future collaboration.
With projects ending, it was difficult to meet with stakeholders and discuss the end of these partnerships, particularly seeing the enthusiasm and commitment of all involved. But, CODE is committed to supporting our Liberian partners and we will continue to do so in other ways.