Extra Mile Updates July 2019

As we come to the academic year 2018-2019 it is right that we look both backwards and to the future.

Trustees would like to thank and congratulate three stalwarts of the charity who have completed at least 10 years service with Extra Mile. The three individuals are Mike Fielding, Director; Moses Conteh, Country Manager and Ishmael Bockerie, General Assistant. The charity and the staff and students of the school owe them a great deal.

Trustees would like to thank all the staff and the governors in Sierra Leone for their considerable efforts this year to support the academic and personal development of all our 108 students but especially those who will be taking their BECE exams ( the Sierra Leone equivalent of GCSE) this summer.

Students in our top class will be camped at the school for the period of the lead up to and the BECE examinations. This will enable staff to provide additional support and to monitor their welfare during the exam period. As it is the rainy season staff will be able to aid the students travelling to the examination centre, particularly at times of extremely heavy rain.

Trustees note with pleasure the continuing good attendance of the students and congratulate the school on maintaining an attendance record in excess of 95% in the first two terms of the year.

Despite the earlier beginning of the rainy season work has continued on Phase 2 of the building work and trustees committed further funds to ensure the completion of the concrete roof on the second floor which will help protect the integrity of the building during building work and help secure the safety of the students and staff on site.

The trustees held their regular summer meeting on July 13th. Important decisions were taken in respect of building work, safeguarding policies and training, staffing and fundraising.

Mike Fielding, the Director, is pleased to announce that the charity’s latest volunteer to Sierra Leone will be based in the school from the end of July to mid August 2019. Lauran Trumper’s work will be focused on developing an effective reading scheme, training staff and using the scheme to introduce a buddy scheme for students who need additional support. We wish her well and hope that she thrives in Goderich and puts her considerable talents to excellent use.

Trustees would like to thank all our supporters; individuals, families, schools, churches and corporate organisations for their continuing commitment to Extra Mile which has enabled us since September 2018 to embark on an ambitious building programme whilst continuing to provide an excellent education to some of the most deprived and vulnerable young adults in Goderich.

As we take stock at the end of this academic year we may reflect on the words of Archbishop Oscar Romero.

“It helps now and then, to step back and take a long view.

This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realising that.

It may be incomplete but it is a beginning, a step along the way.

We may never see the end results.

We are prophets of a future not our own.