Our gracious and lovely hosts, John and Mary Loeks, are the founders of a charity intended to bring education and community to the children of Sierra Leone. In lieu of a wedding gift, we encourage you to donate to this meaningful cause. Mission Statement: The mission of Schools for Sierra Leone is to build schools and develop a Christian presence in Sierra Leone in the form of primary and secondary schools. How This Mission is Pursued: National and international efforts for post war reconstruction in Sierra Leone recognized the critical role education plays in helping citizens develop democracy and transparent government. Schools for Sierra Leone seeks to respond to that need in a small northern community. The community desires to have education that will develop children as instruments of peace-making, healing, leadership and community service. Schools for Sierra Leone is a new organization building its first Junior Secondary School addition to a Primary School. The primary school, which graduated its first grade 6 class in June 2010, has been a very successful school. All grade 6 students passed the Sierra Leone national standardized test, an outstanding achievement in this country. The Need Is Great: Children in Sierra Leone are failing their national school exit exams in ever increasing numbers. In recent testing, just 72% passed their primary school national exams and 40% passed Junior Secondary School standardized examinations. These statistics are ominous as they indicate the potential capacity for Sierra Leoneans to participate effectively in their own development. For more information, please visit: http://www.schoolsforsierraleone.com

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