By Yvonne Capehart Weah | Project Leader, Co-Director WE-CARE Foundation
The Family Literacy Initiative Home Visiting program has completed 31-weeks of implementation in the field, that includes a backed-up week for delay families. The program operates in five economically challenged communities: West Point, Nyemah Town, Dauzon, Caldwell, and Neezoe. Presently, the Coordinators & Supervisors are completing end of year curriculum activities that include the following:
The curriculum assessment will cover curriculum activities from week 20-30. It includes the different domains and concepts like:
The Bracken School Readiness Assessment consist of five sub-tests that includes:
199 families (24 males, 175 female) are on track while 11 families are delayed.
84 other children (22 males, 62 female) (sibling, nieces, nephew) are benefiting from the program up to this period within the five FLI communities.
FLI graduate tracking
Completed logging in the 1st & 2nd visits data of the teacher survey.
Collected 70% of the children report cards from the four tracking communities.
Prepared the spread sheet for the comparison students’ data, and data entry is ongoing.
Received part of the comparison student’s report cards.
Progress
The 25 Home visitors visited, role play, share experiences and give feedback on the completion of week-30 Backed up week -1 curriculum activities successfully
147 (79 girls - 68 boys) out of 219 children are enrolled in formal school for academic year 2025-2026 accounting for 68% of FLI children. Remaining in school is crucial for them to complete kindergarten at the appropriate age.
Completed week 20 assessment data, WE-CARE M & E team is working on the report
Regular monitoring and supervising of FLI families
Challenges
Families’ migration due to school reopening (relatives promising to send FLI children to school if the parents send them to live with them)
Encouraging all parents to send their children to school, this academic year and keep them in school during and after the program
Collection of the comparison students report cards from schools’ administrators & non FLI families
Next Steps
Adult Literacy Program Update for October 2025
A total of LD $57,780.00 has been collected as of October 24, 2025.
The beneficiaries were given copybooks to keep simple business records on their markets (track their capital, expenses and sales; loan repayment and savings).
Did an analysis on learners’ attendance and dropout for the year 2025:
From four communities 32 learners dropped and one death. Reasons for dropout include:
- Relocation from the communities
- sickness and
- others inconsistent in attendance.
Conducted learners phone ownership and usage survey.
47 owned phones (less are with smart phones, majority button phone)
- The usage of phones varies base on location and phone type. Less than ten of them use their phones on social media. Majority used their phones for calling, Mobile Money and Orange Money, text message (mostly urban areas) calculator, playing music, games, and watching movies. Those using Mobile and Orange Moneys knows their pin code/password.
The suggested agreed upon date from the meeting from closing are; Monrovia-November 28 and Nyemah December 5, 2025. The date is tentative because we want to have a combined graduation for this year. Once finalized, a new date will be issued.
Progress
Collection of interest free loan with no default
Preparing for OLA Endline administration
Improvement of learners in the skills areas, soap and bad and slippers making
Preparing for closing
Challenges
Distances of learners from ALP sites in communities where FLI has been for ten years.
Nyemah Town is disrupted again due to the death of one permanent and influential citizen’s wife.
Next Step
Adult Literacy Learners Use of Mobile Phone
In the month of October, 2025 based on inquiry from a member of FOL’s Education Committee and survey was done on the use of phone by the participants of the ALP component of FLI.
The adult literacy program team held a meeting on October 13th for the gathering of information on:
The ALP teachers in each community gathered the following information. All ALP learners with phone can make and receive calls.
Duazon, Margibi County
12 active learners (including 3 FLI parents)
7 learners have cell phones
- 4 learners can reply to text messages
- 4 use their phone on social media (Facebook & WhatsApp )
- 7 use their phones for local mobile money
- 7 use the calculator on their phones
- 7 can play music and game on their mobile phone
Neezoe, Montserrado County
14 learners (including 3 FLI parents)
10 learners have cell phones.
- 5 can reply to text messages
- 5 can use calculator
- 2 can use the internet notably
- 10 can use their phones for local mobile money
- 10 play music, games on their phones
Caldwell, Montserrado County
15 active learners (with 6 FLI parents)
15 have cellphones
2 has smart phone they use the internet
- 10 can reply to text messages.
- 15 use the calculator
15 can use their phones for local mobile money
15 use their phones to play music, games
Nyemah Town, Montserrado County
8 active learners (including 1 FLI parent)
5 learners have phone
5 can use their phones for local mobile money
5 Use phone to play music
5 Use phone to calculate
Marchee Town, Montserrado County
5 active learners active (2 FLI parents)
5 have cell phones
5 Can read text, but cannot reply. They tell the teacher about receiving the text messages
5 Use calculator functions on phones
5 can use their phones for local mobile mone
Gankalashue Town, Montserrado County
11 active learners (including 2 FLI parents)
- 4 have cell phone
- 4 can use their phones for local mobile money
- 4 Use their phone to play music
Summary
65 active ALP learners
46 ALP learners have mobile phone
The use of the phone includes the following:
- 46 can use their phones for local mobile money
- 41 Use their phone to play music
- 19 can reply to text messages.
- 37 Use calculator functions on phones
- 5 can read text, but cannot reply. They tell the teacher about receiving the text messages
- 2 have smart phones and they use the internet
Women Empowerment Activity Pilot 1st Report October 2025
1. Background
The Family Literacy Initiative (FLI) in its tenth year is serving 232 families (205 females, 27 males) and 233 children (119 girls, 114 boys) across three curriculum levels: Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 divided as follow:
The program operates in five economically challenged communities: West Point, Nyemah Town, Dauzon, Caldwell, and Neezoe.
Adult Literacy Component
Four years into implementation, FLI introduced an Adult Literacy Program (ALP) in response to parents expressed interest in improving their literacy skills. The objective of the ALP component is to improve non or low-literacy parents literacy skills to better teacher their children at home. This component is now in its sixth year of implementation and currently supports 95 families.
Purpose for Including women empowerment in FLI Program
More than 85% of home instructors and caregivers of FLI participants are women, serving as both primary caregivers and income earners. These parents are living on less than US$1.25 per day. After eight years of FLI program implementation, the program started tracking FLI graduates to determine the effectiveness of the program in preparing children for school. The other purpose of the study was to show evidence of the FLI children enrollment and learning outcomes in formal school. Findings from more than three years of tracking revealed that:
Introduction of the Women Empowerment Component
To address these barriers, the FLI Women Empowerment Component was launched as a pilot in the FLI program’s tenth year. This initiative focuses on providing interest fee loan, building financial and entrepreneurial skills to help women increase household income and have money to enroll and retain their children in formal school.
The pilot for the Women Empowerment is being implemented in the five communities and a sub-community:
2. Pilot Launch and Activities
The Women Empowerment pilot was officially launched July, 2025 in the five FLI communities. There are 67 women directly benefiting from the interest free loan, financial literacy, small business training, and income-generating skills.
The loan was given generally after initial financial literacy and basic business management lessons. Training sessions in small business management and financial literacy lessons were:
- Doing business, the right way
- Preparing for Business
- Business Capital and Expenses
- Market Research.
- Skills training:
- Soap making (liquid and iron soap)
- Bag and slippers design/production
The second phase was based on the participants desired area to use the loan fund. One area is skills training and the other area is cash to do small business.
Loan beneficiaries per community
Number of Beneficiaries
West Point had six (6) families Cash for business
Nyemah Town had nine (9) families Cash for business
Marchee Town had twelve (12) families Cash for business
Neezoe had fourteen (14) families Soap making (liquid & cake)
Duazon had twelve (12 families Soap making (liquid & cake)
Caldwell had fourteen (14) families Bag & slippers making
Total 67 families (women) involved in this first Women Empowerment Project
3. Cash Disbursement and Training Details
Cash Disbursement
Cash was provided to women in three communities for business establishment or growth. The disbursement details include:
- Nyemah Town: 9 individual families
- Marchee Town: 12-member ALP class (group loan)
- West Point: 6 individual families
Total disbursed: LRD $151,680.00 (USD $842.66)
Each woman received USD$50.00, the equivalent of LD $9,500.00 at US rate $1.00 to LD$190.00 at the time of the disbursement.
The Marchee Town ALP class received USD $54.00
The interest-free revolving loan pilot is scheduled to be repaid over three months, September to December 2025.
Note: West Point does not currently have an adult literacy class, but was included in this pilot due to need.
Disbursement Process
Beneficiaries were organized into self-selected small groups of three members.
Each member received individual loans, but in a co-guarantor group (guaranteeing each other).
Group leaders are responsible for collecting and submitting repayments. Five small groups were created (Nyemah Town 3 and West Point 2).
Loan Repayment Schedules were developed to track payments.
4. Loan Repayment Progress
Repayment commenced on September 25 & 26, 2025. It will continue until December 18, 2025.
All women in Nyemah Town and West Point made their first and second repayments respectively. To date, four repayments have been completed, and there is no default so far.
Total repayment collected as of October 17, 2025: LRD $46,020.00
To support financial literacy and promote record keeping among participants, each participant received a notebook to track daily expenses, sales, savings and repayment of loan.
5. Skills Training Activities
Neezoe and Duazon: Soap Making
Training duration: 3 months (began September 2025)
Participants are taught how to produce perfume liquid and local washing cake soap. The liquid soap is produced in different colors and scent. They produce and sell the soap weekly, save profits and reinvest the capital into raw materials. In these two communities, the learners have reproduced the liquid soap twice all by themselves. Each of these communities have more than $5,000.00LD in saving as profit. We are hoping that the profits generated will be sufficient for each member to have start-up capital prior to closing by the end of December 2025.
Caldwell: Bags & Slippers Making
Training started: September 2025
Skills include producing and designing bags and slippers with African fabric and beans. Out of the 15 active learners, 10 are better at making their own bags with designs now, while 5 still need help to be good at making the bags independently. These 5 are among the delinquent or those who come very late to class. The learners use strong cartons or ceiling and lappas plus other materials like glue, special line for rope, buttons, etc. to make a bag. They use tape rule for measurement.
They will start fully learning to design slippers by the last week in October 2025. Some of the learners have started earning from their new skills. Every bag or slipper the class produces, they sell the produce to replenish the capital. They have bought their second set of materials (glue, slippers, lines, etc).
Each community with the skill training has a volunteer trainer that is compensated USD $20.00 per month.
6. Observations
The team observed the followings:
7. Challenges
8. Recommendations
9. Next Steps
Conclusion
The pilot of the Women Empowerment Activity under the Family Literacy Initiative is making significant strides in enhancing women’s economic empowerment, and access to education for children. With continuous support, strong monitoring, and scaling, this initiative holds a promising long-term community transformation and poverty reduction which is one of the Sustainable Development Goals or Poverty Reduction Strategy pillars.
Adult Literacy Program Update for 2025
A total of LD $57,780.00 has been collected as of October 24, 2025.
The beneficiaries were given copybooks to keep simple business records on their markets (track their capital, expenses and sales; loan repayment and savings).
Did an analysis on learners’ attendance and dropout for the year 2025:
From four communities 32 learners dropped and one death. Reasons for dropout include:
- Relocation from the communities
- sickness and
- others inconsistent in attendance.
Conducted learners phone ownership and usage survey.
47 owned phones (less are with smart phones, majority button phone)
The usage of phones varies base on location and phone type. Less than ten of them use their phones on social media. Majority used their phones for calling, Mobile Money and Orange Money, text message (mostly urban areas) calculator, playing music, games, and watching movies. Those using Mobile and Orange Moneys know their pin code/password.
The suggested agreed upon date from the meeting for closing are; Monrovia-November 28 and Nyemah December 5, 2025. The date is tentative because we want to have combine graduation for this year. Once finalized, new date will be issued
Progress
Collection of interest free loan with no default
Preparing for OLA Endline administration
Improvement of learners in the skills areas, soap and bad and slippers making
Preparing for closing
Challenges
Distances of learners from ALP sites in communities where FLI has been for ten years.
Nyemah Town is disrupted again due to the death of one permanent and influential citizen’s wife.
Next Steps
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By Yvonne Capehart Weah | Project Leader, Co-Director WE-CARE Foundation
By Yvonne Capehart Weah | Project Leader, Co-Director WE-CARE Foundation
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