Friends of John William Education Center
History 2002
Benefit Dinner, November 17, 2002
In November of 2002, Friends of John William Education Center (FJWEC) sponsored a benefit dinner in Yonkers, New York and raised enough money to buy and ship to the school a newer, well-equipped machine that will be a server to which perhaps 20 other machines can be connected.
Computers at John William Montessori School
FJWEC continued to provide Internet access for the school via the Internet Service provider AfricaOnLine. The cost was $1030 for the year, plus the cost of telephone services.
FJWEC also provided computers and related peripherals and software for the school. Computers have been received from Butler Larsen Pierce and Company, Incorporated, The World Association of Former United Nations Interns and Fellows, Incorporated (WAFUNIF), the Hempstead Long Island School District and Fabkom, Incorporated. Some of the donated machines may be seen as obsolete in the US, but are put to good use at the school.
FJWEC was able to ship to the school materials which were either purchased or donated to us: twenty-one computers, fourteen monitors, eighteen keyboards, one Universal power supply, one 16-port Ethernet hub, and two suitcases full of computer books, software, floppy disks, modems and various cables. The cost of shipping was $1972.
The school web site was maintained at a cost of $220 for the year.
The plan for the future is to install a satellite dish so that the Internet communication speed will not be limited by the quality of the local telephone lines and there will be no need to pay the telephone connection charges or depend upon the telephone functioning when using the Internet. This will allow for an expansion of International exchange programs via computer in which the students take part and allow for further training of staff through on-line courses.
Conflict resolution training
It was necessary to reconsider offering a program in the summer for several reasons.
The programs proved to be more costly than was expected. Although the program in 2000 ended with a surplus, it was not until early in 2003 that sufficient donations were received to pay the expenses for the program in 2001. Another problem is that some people who took part in the training became interested in Conflict Resolution Training as a method of putting money in their own pockets.
The plan from the beginning was to seed AVP in Ghana in such a manner that it might thrive indigenously, not always depending upon external funding. It was felt that the program needed to be reconsidered and redirected.
The current emphasis of FJWEC is to help integrate Conflict Resolution training into the curricula of the John William Montessori School.
HIV/Aids Awareness
Monica Westin, a Swedish nurse resident in the US with substantial experience helping children in Ghana, directs the HIV / AIDS awareness program at JWMS. She is also the Chairperson of the Friends of the John William Education Center.
She has conducted workshops for parents and teachers of the school and seen that a full curriculum was introduced. Posters and brochures were created for Ghanaian readers and handed out to parents and other participants at the workshops. A room serves as a clinic.
Volunteer nurses from Switzerland (provided by The International Christian Youth Exchange ICYE) live at the school and handle the health care of the students and HIV / AIDS education.
The school serves as an education center for the population in the surrounding area. This has proven to be unexpectedly costly, as many people have taken to coming to the school for HIV / AIDS Awareness Education and then asking for health care and medicines in the clinic that the school provides for its students and staff.
Building Construction at John William Montessori School
Two more floors of the school’s third building, with more classrooms and living quarters for staff and volunteers were completed in the fall.
At extra expense, the roof of the new building is concrete. A reinforced section is intended for the installation of a satellite dish.
$11,800 was donated.
Future plans call for finishing the exterior. The material is concrete and rather than paint, the plan is to cover it with pebble dashing
, an initially method expensive which requires minimal maintenance.
Poems for the Future: Voices of African Children
In May 2000, Monica Westin working with the World Association of Former United Nations Interns and Fellows, Incorporated (WAFUNIF) began a project whose purpose is to increase awareness of our school, and the role of the United Nations in helping to build a better world for the young generations.
Poems written by children in the school were compiled into a book: Poems for the Future: Voices of African Children. The book has now been printed and published.
The entire cost of the publication has been taken care of by WAFUNIF). All proceeds benefit the school and its academic programs.
2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006
FJWEC is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization
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