Projects
Current & Future Projects:
Currently, ELF is continuing its mission to raise money and establish an overseas location in Johannesburg, South Africa, where ELF plans to build more schools and create extensive learning environments and curricula. ELF also spends two days a week teaching inner-city elementary children in NYC about Africa.
Together, we can improve the development of life in Africa.
Your donation will enable ELF to...
- Fund the building of educational structures.
- Provide vocational training and employment opportunities within these structures.
- Supply FREE quality education for children in the poor townships of South Africa.
- Offer school supplies, new ideas and updated technology to underdeveloped areas.
- Contribute to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases by delivering health care initiatives and prevention methods.
- Empower communities by making them work together towards a unified goal for change.
ELF holds two annual fundraisers each year:
- The Annual Golf Outing/Dinner Banquet (sometime during May – July)
- The Annual Polar Bear Plunge (December)
These events give donors a chance to see the feats their contributions have influenced and give the community a chance to lend a hand.
ELF stands out from all the rest with the simple fact that, Jaymie Lanera, the Executive Director and Founder of ELF, goes and personally oversees and manages all projects and distribution of all funds. ELF is determined to take all donations and utilize them the way in which it was intended.
Completed Projects:
In June 2011, ELF completed the building of a Library/Learning Center at Kiddy Kare Nursery and Preparatory School in Abokobi, Ghana. The original "library" at Kiddy Kare School was a very small closet in a back room that only the teachers could access. There were many books, but no space for them to be displayed or accessible to the students.
Building this Library/Learning Center has provided the students and teachers with a separate place to store and access all books, textbooks, reference materials, and computers. ELF was able to bring the entire Learning Center/Library construction project to completion at 40% of the budgeted cost.
The benefits of this Library/Learning Center to the school, students and teachers are countless. Not only will it provide a more organized environment for storage, it will actually give the students a place to read and conduct their research for book reports, etc.
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To see more pictures of the Library/Learning Center building project Click Here.
In Ghana, ELF implemented the following programs most of which are still continued:
French Curriculum:
- The first French curriculum for the Kiddy Kare Preparatory School in Abokobi, Ghana. ELF supporters donated money for the new French textbooks and dictionaries.
Field Day:
- ELF organized a field trip between Kiddy Kare students and children from a nearby orphanage, a total of 80 kids, to participate in a "field day" with eight fun-filled events: the three-legged race, a shoe toss, wheelbarrow race, lime-on-a-spoon race crabwalk relay race, water bucket relay race and Tug-of-War.
- All 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners for each event received prizes, which had been donated and sent by ELF supporters from the U.S.
Community Service:
- ELF started a community service program for Kiddy Kare School where the children and teachers go around the village community and pick up trash for 2 hours every Wednesday morning.
- While they clean, they sing clean-up songs.
- ELF supporters donated 40 T-Shirts to the school which were printed with the school crest on the front and on the back with each students individual name on the top and then "Keep Ghana Clean" underneath in the colors of the Ghana flag.
Pen Pals:
- In collaboration with classes from Nevada & New York, a letter writing program began between students. Serving as great English grammar and writing practices, it also gives the children a chance to build long-lasting friendships and learn about a different culture from a child's perspective. The kids love it!
Physical Education:
- ELF used a "Slip 'N' Slide" during PE class to teach students about baseball, base running and how to slide from third base into home plate. ELF supporters donated baseball bats, balls and baseball mitts, which were used to teach the children baseball during P.E.
Extra Classes & Extra Help:
- For students who could not read, as well as for most classes, ELF organized and administered after school extra-help classes.
- For those students who wanted to continue learning outside of school hours, ELF organized extra classes such as computer training courses, sewing/dress making, painting, jewelry making, singing, French, letter writing and reading.
Library Books & Book Reports:
- ELF maintained the importance of reading comprehension by requiring each student to create and present book reports. Each student was given one week to read a book and one week to create the report. The reports consisted of a plot map (title, author, setting, antagonist, protagonist, summary, likes/dislikes), a list of ten vocabulary words from their book that they didn't understand along with the correct definition from the dictionary, a visual (drawing, color picture, poster, etc.), and a presentation of their book to the class.
