Damiefa School

High-quality, low-cost education

Damiefa School was founded in 1982. It remained operational as much as possible even during the civil war but was severely damaged. Mineke Foundation is renovating the school with the support of our partner, Pharus Foundation, so that we can once again provide high quality affordable education.

Construction of Damiefa School took place between 1982 and 1989. At its peak, over 300 students attended the school. There was also a waiting list. In addition to the regular curriculum, the private school offered a complementary programme of language skills and agriculture. In less than seven years, Damiefa School grew to become one of the top schools outside central Monrovia.

We are renovating the school in stages.

Phase 1 (2021/2022): Partial restart of kindergarten and primary education

This phase includes the following projects:

construction of a fence and watchman’s house
construction of new sanitary facilities
construction of a water tower
renovation of six classrooms and the office

Phase 1 was completed in 2021. Kindergarten and primary education partially resumed in the 2021/2022 school year.

Phase 2 (2022/2023): Full restart of primary education and renovation of the auditorium

This phase includes the following projects:

renovation of the remaining classrooms
renovation of the auditorium
construction of a porch to allow children and teachers to move between classrooms during the rainy season
construction of a drainage system
extension of the fence
installation of solar panels
painting of the building and fence

Renovation started in October 2022. We expect to offer full kindergarten & primary education per the 2022/2023 school year.

In this phase we will also start a small-scale pilot with scholarships for children from the poorest families. We will also launch a small school garden where children can plant flowers and fruit trees.

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Phase 3 (2023/2024): Finalise renovation

This phase includes the following projects:

refurbishment of school grounds + placement of playground equipment
renovation of the guest house for future student exchanges
upgrading of furniture & equipment

Phase 4 (from 2024 onwards): Expansion of educational programme

The current school building offers space for kindergarten and primary education. In time, we hope to be able to offer full secondary education so that children can complete their entire school career at Damiefa School.

There is sufficient space at our location to construct a new facility. There is also room to reintroduce a school farming programme.

In addition, we aim to once again make the school the centerpiece of Dabwe Town. This will include renting out the auditorium for meetings and using the classrooms - outside of school hours - for other Mineke Foundation activities.

The renovation and start-up of Damiefa School are made possible by our partner, Pharus Foundation.