August 2020 Update

Learning. When does someone start to learn? Why does someone want to learn? What starts the process? What stops it? Is it ever completed? It seems need is at the heart of learning.
Education. How to define education? How about guided learning, or learning with purpose. 
Less-developed parts of Africa lack an industrial base that could allow the people to rise above a subsistence-level existence. Developing an industrial base is no small undertaking! Africa has plenty of material resources. If Africans can develop a means of adding value to them, Africans can manufacture consumer goods for domestic and export purposes, contributing greatly to building widespread economic prosperity. A crucial element in building an industrial base is the availability of a workforce attuned to manufacturing needs. Vocational Education is a crucial element in developing such a manufacturing workforce.
Vocational Education Support Africa (VESA; vay-sah) is a relatively new nonprofit that seeks to help African high schools integrate vocational education into their curricula, and to develop and guide a cohort of local African vocational educators. VESA has posted our vision and mission on our website: www.vesaschools.com. Please spend a few minutes exploring this site. 

Here is a synopsis of VESA’s history to date:

  • November 2016 (Liberia)—Trial teacher institute at Betty Memorial Institute (BMI) 

  • 2017—Explored means of integrating vocational education into BMI curricula with Varney Freeman (BMI Executive Director) through phone and email conversations 

  • November 2017—Varney Freeman visits USA, expands vision of vocational education; initial VESA cohort of five established

  • August 2018—First Betty Memorial Institute Vocational Education (BMIVE) Teacher Institute delivered (Rainy Season)

  • October-November 2018—Need for independent organization realized: VESA is born

  • 2019—VESA Board of Directors formed; VESA Incorporated in the State of Michigan; applied for 501(c)(3) status for U.S. tax purposes

  • January 2019—Second Teacher Institute (Dry Season) delivered to BMIVE teachers

  • November 2019—Team introduced Reading/Phonics system; Organized BMI Library under Dewey Decimal System and trained BMI librarians; delivered the third BMIVE Teacher Institute

  • April 2020—VESA granted official nonprofit 501(c)(3) status

  • April 2020—Planned BMIVE Teacher Institute for Welding cancelled due to COVID-19

  • Current—Working remotely with BMIVE Teachers in developing new course outlines and lesson plans as well as conducting teacher institutes over video-chat

 

  • Planned:

    • July 2020/2021—Install Solar Power Station with generator backup on the BMI campus

    • Jan/Feb 2021—Tentative travel to BMI; Deliver Smartbox computer laboratory and welding instruction

    • Late Rainy Season 2021—Anticipated first BMI Secondary School graduating class 


If you are a person who prays, we ask that you would pray for the following:

  • The design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the Solar Power Station at BMI sufficient to support vocational education with generator backup, with capacity for the next three to five years

  • Sufficient funds for Solar Power Station

  • The continued remote collaboration between BMIVE Teachers and VESA Mentors during COVID travel restrictions

  • The end of the present COVID-19 Pandemic with its travel and work restrictions

  • That the next VESA team could visit BMI Jan/Feb 2021 to deliver computer laboratory (SmartBox) and welding training to BMIVE Teachers 

  • VESA volunteer positions to fill:

    • Electrical Mentor; This person guides the development of curricula, training of vocational teachers, and acquisition of materials and equipment required of electrical education in Africa

    • Fundraiser/Developer; A person gifted in cultivating relationships that help with the financial needs of VESA


Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter, VESA’s first. We look forward to the unfolding of the VESA mission at BMI in Liberia, West Africa, and beyond. If God should move you to support VESA financially, please give via our website or by check to our mailing address below.


For the King and His Kingdom,


Bruce Gregory

President, Agriculture Mentor
Vocational Education Support Africa

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