Jamadianle School

Jamadianle began in May 2002 as a nursery school with 11 children in a one-room schoolhouse. Since its inception by Diane van Nestleroy and Leslie Fox, the school has grown considerably: in 2006-2007, 465 students were registered and 16 classrooms were being utilized. Every year the school adds another class and will continue to do so until the oldest students reach class 6.

Whereas government-run schools in Cameroon focus primarily on memorization and repetition, United Action for Children’s (UAC’s) nursery and primary school is unique because it values child-centred education. This means that class sizes are small (no more than 25 students per class), corporal punishment is forbidden, and teachers give individual attention. By focusing on these areas, Jamadianle is attempting to embrace new pedagogical methods that encourage a deeper understanding of the material. As a result of this approach, Jamadianle students are able to learn more advanced material than their peers in the public system.

Jamadianle distinguishes itself by providing food for its students. Teachers realized that in order to learn effectively, children need to have enough energy. Since some children did not take breakfast before coming to school, a proper lunch has been part of the educational program since its establishment in September 2002.

Because of the school’s yearly growth and the limits imposed by its current rented site, Jamadianle desperately needs a new permanent schoolhouse. For information on the new project and how you can help, see the Star project page.

Apart from a radically different educational approach, Jamadianle also offers a number of innovative additional programmes to facilitate its pupils in learning and personal development. Among these are the availability of the Corner Room, special learning days, the yearly Christmas celebration, a nursery to primary graduation ceremony, the summer holiday programme, the remedial reading programme, the one child, one chicken project and a prestigious school bus system.

The Corner Room

The Corner Room was created to give Jamadianle students an opportunity to learn in a more informal setting through games and other stimulating educational materials. Teachers select students to go to the Corner Room where they work with volunteers (usually 4 children for every volunteer) who guide them through a range of different activities. This program is run solely by volunteers and is always in need of new, motivated people to help out during the school year (September-June).

Special Days

As a way of encouraging the holistic development of children, United Action for Children (UAC) sets aside annual days for sports; music and arts; and AIDS. Sports Day is held annually in late October and is an inter-class sports competition. Music and Art Day (Open Day) is held annually in early February and allows students to make and then exhibit art projects for visiting parents. This is also an opportunity for UAC to give the community information about its various programmes, such as the vocational, computer, and HIV/AIDS units. In addition, Cameroonian musicians are invited to perform music for the children, who sing and dance. UAC also celebrates World AIDS Day, December 1st.

Graduation

Graduation Day for Jamadianle students is held in June each year and involves performances by the students including drama, dance, music, rhymes and debate. All five-year-old nursery 2 students receive a diploma as they graduate into primary class 2. The administration awards prizes to the most improved, most punctual, and cleanest student for each class. Awards are also given to students ranking in the first three positions of each class.

Holiday Programme

In addition to their work during the school year, Jamadianle teachers offer summer classes to interested students during July and August every day from 8am to 12pm. During this time, students practice reading, writing, and play educational games. The cost of the program is kept at a minimum, usually between 3000 and 4000 Central African Francs (6 - 8 US$).

Remedial Reading Programme

Individual attention is not common in Cameroonian classrooms. A typical government- run class can consist of 80 students or more to one teacher. Unlike in public schools, individual attention is a core principle of United Action for Children’s teaching philosophy. A concrete example of its child-centred focus is the Remedial Reading Program (RRP), which was created in 2003 by Dutch volunteer Marike Wiseman.

During the past school year (2006-2007), a selection of students from class 3 and 4 met with a Jamadianle teacher every Thursday afternoon, during which they worked on a range of exercises including alphabet and word recognition, pronunciation and sentence construction. Presently, UAC is able to offer this program and the required materials free of charge thanks to generous donations. If you would like to help ensure the sustainability of the RPP, please see our Support UAC Page.

One child, One Chicken/Tree Programme

As part of its practical education program, Jamadianle provides the children from a number of classes with a chicken or a tree to take care of for a few months. After this period, the children sell their chicken at a special market or plant and nurse a tree up to maturity. This unique approach teaches them to take care of livestock, familiarizes them with practical life skills and learn how to protect and respect nature.

Jamadianle School Bus

Thanks to the generous donations of MIVA Netherlands and MIVA Switzerland, UAC has obtained two minibuses which are used to safely transport the children from the old school in Molyko and surrounding villages to the new site in Buitingi. Additionally, the buses are used for educational trips, for instance the zoo and botanical gardens in Limbe, museum visits, the police station and the local hospital.

School on wheels project

As part of its outreaching activities, UAC goes into the local villages to help children who do not have access to basic education. Thanks to the generous donations of MIVA Netherlands and MIVA Switzerland, UAC can employ its minibuses to reach the most remote villages. During afternoon educational sessions, children and youth are gradually taught how to read, and through several multimedia tools (among others role play cassettes), important information about social issues and HIV/AIDS is passed on.