2007 Bo American Corner Reports

Program Reports

American Corner Report (December 2007)

In December 2007, the AC co-coordinator organized a program titled ‘Christmas Bonanza’ for both pre-school and primary school children on the 21^st December, 2007.  The Christmas Bonanza was all about creative reading and writing.  The pupils were asked by their teachers to either write or read poems they have learnt in school or tell stories on their own.  The schools which took part were: Awarda Pre-Primary school, Sir Milton Margai, Seventh Day Adventist (SDA), United Methodist and Haikal Academy Pre-primary schools.  At the end of the program, refreshment was served while prizes in the form of pens, exercise books, story books and calendars were given to the participants by the United Nations Human Rights Section, Bo Office.  The program was chaired by the Deputy District Council Chairman and covered by both the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service FM 96.1 Radio and Radio Trinity.

American Corner Report (October 2007)

The American Corner in Bo became two years old in September 2007.  In October, the Corner organized a training program for Internet users i.e. “Basics of Internet Use”.  The main participants were Senior Secondary School (SSS) students and some business and public officials.  The secondary schools which took part were Bo Government Secondary School, St. Andrews Secondary School, Nasir Ahmadiyya Secondary School, Queen of the Rosary and Christ the King College.  Video shows were also conducted for Junior Secondary School (JSS) children.

RESULT of Oct to Dec programs

The programs were successful as the objectives, which was to market the American Corner, to develop, enhance and strengthen the creative writing and reading of Primary school children and improve the Internet skills of patrons, were met.

American Corner Report (August 2007)

On the 7th and 8th August 2007, the American Corner organised a two-day  program for Senior Secondary school students. This was done through video documentaries with the help of a educational organizarion based in the United States.  The program brings engaging professors into homes, schools and libraries through courses in audiotape, CD, videotape and DVD.  Its mission is to ignite the passion for life-long learning by offering great courses taught by great Professors.

For the American Corner and the Bo Library, the rationale behind conducting these video teaching documentaries is to bring the joy of life-long learning to schools and communities everyday.

The program which attracted many participants involved ten (10) schools.  For each day, five (5) schools were invited together with 10 participants each amounting to 50 participants every day including three (3) of their teachers and the fields of Science, History and Language.

On the 7th August 2007, the participating schools were: Christ the King College, Bo school, Commercial, Awarda International and Ahmadiyya school.   On the 8th August, 2007 the schools were: St. Andrews (UCC), Abdel Naser, Milton Comprehensive, Kakua Junior school and Queen of the Rosary school.

Two topics and/or titles were played each day. The titles of the teaching audio and video cassettes were as follows: The story of Human language: Clues to the past; Understanding the Universe: An introduction to astronomy; and the story of Human language: Language is more than words.  Each of these topics lasted for about 45 minutes and was very much educative and insightful.

At the end of each session, discussions were held between the teachers of the respective schools and students.  Questions raised by the students were answered by the teachers in their various fields, helped by the librarian.
The teachers and students appreciated the program. 

RESULTS:

With the existence of the American Corner, the Children agreed to be hosting part of their programs at the American Corner every celebration of the "Day of the African Child".  At this event, the school kids were encouraged to be respectful and responsible.

The film shows, documentaries and learning sessions were very educative as it got involved not only the students, but the community as a whole.
Most people became aware and got an insight of the story of human language, understanding the universe, some aspects of Astronomy, and the history of the United States.

American Corner Report  (June 2007)

The Bo Regional Library organised a public talk on June 16, 2007 for Primary School children at the American Corner.  The program was to commemorate the ‘Day of the African Child’ which is an annual event.  Six (6) primary school were invited to participate in this event namely:-  Awarda, Sir Milton, St Theresa, Sierra Leone Church, United Methodist Church and Florence Pre-schools.  Each pre-school was represented by (5) five participants.

The public lecture, which was delivered by Mrs. Awarda, Proprietress of the AWARDA  International Secondary school, Bo focused on racism and segregation by then in force in South Africa.  She further explained the circumstances that led to the Soweto massacre of the school kids, and the consequences thereafter. She ended her lecture by encouraging the kids to condemn violence and racism at any level and at all times, and that they should be at peace with their colleagues.  The occasion was chaired by Mrs. Khaday Bangali, a former International Visitor (IV) and a counsellor of Bo City Council.  The program, which started at 10:00 am, came to a close at about 2:20 pm with a film show titled “Sarafina,” (Episodes of the June 16 Soweto massacre), supplied by the US Embassy.  The event was covered by the SLBS –96.1 FM radio.

From the 19th-21st July 2007, video shows were conducted for both (JSS) junior secondary school pupils and senior secondary school students at the American Corner.  The titles of the film shows were: ‘A walk to freedom’ – by Nelson Mandela (a documentary on the life and times of Nelson Mandela in the days of apartheid); ‘Christmas in the City’ (An African movie); ‘I have a Dream’- The life and times of Martin Luther King Jr.

At the end of each day’s show, the librarian and American Corner Director explained to the school Children, the essence of the establishment of the American Corner and showcased the resources available.  About 50-55 people including students attended the program.

The Library Secretary gave the vote of thanks.

American Corner Report (March 2007)

On the 9th of March, 2007, the American Corner organised a program - “Happy Easter Hour For Kids.”  The program was for school-going children in primary schools from  classes V and VI and Junior Secondary Schools (JSS1). This was a reading and drawing competition between and among the categories of children mentioned.
 
Four junior secondary schools and four pre-schools both from private and government institutions participated. Twenty-four (24) pupils/students in all, three from each school attended the ceremony. These were the Dorcas pre-school-SDA, Florence Pre- school, Awarda International and Sir Milton pre-school.
Junior Secondary Schools invited were, the Kakua Junior School, Ahmadiyya, Commercial and St. Andrews Junior School (UCC).
 
The purpose of this activity was mainly to improve the reading habits, drawing and painting knowledge with the provision and learning materials of the kindergarten as well as the Junior Secondary Schools.  The children read story books (Folktales) aloud, talked about their environments and schools, and drew pictures of whatever their imaginations were and painted them.
 
Many people attended the program as it was very interesting and academic. Headmasters, headmistresses, parents, teachers and principals attended.
The program was financed by the Public Affairs Section of the American Embassy.
The principal of the Awarda International Secondary School chaired the occasion, while the guest speaker was the Regional Librarian, Eastern province. The program ended with a film show titled “Kids at School”-An African movie. Two local media houses in Bo covered the event namely: Kiss 104 FM and the SLBS FM 99.9 radio.  The kids were given pictorial books, leaflets, sweets and toys as gifts. 
 
RESULTS :

Many people including school children became aware of the existence of the American Corner (AC) and they had the opportunity to learn more about the resources available.

The students and pupils proposed to create and revive literary and debating societies as well as reading clubs in both primary and secondary schools. The AC and the Regional Librarian promised to coordinate more programs with the schools.

US Embassy Takes Black History Celebration to Bo (February 6, 2007)

As part of Black History Month celebrations, the Public Affairs Section visited the American Corner in Bo, located at Sierra Leone Library Board’s Southern Regional Branch.  The Corner hosted a discussion program on the significance of Black History month and the Civil Rights movement in the United States.  The Information Resource Center (IRC) Director James Taylor and the visiting Information Resource Officer (IRO) for Coastal West Africa Anne Johnson represented the Embassy at the program and led the discussions.  About 45 people attended the program.