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First Person
USAID program
helps war–affected
students complete
their elementary school
education
Beatrice Page: Spelling Bee Star
Photo: Creative Associates International
Beatrice Page (right), a participant in a
USAID accelerated learning program for
older students was the winner of the 2009
US Embassy sponsored Bong County
Spelling Bee.
Page is one of 4,400
students in Bong County and
nearly 30,000 throughout
Liberia enrolled in USAID’s
accelerated learning
program.
Beatrice Page, a student of the Nancy B. Doe Elementary
School, Bong Mines, Bong County, Liberia, is a participant in
USAID’s accelerated learning program which allows students
who missed out on schooling due to the collapse of the system
to complete six grades in three years. She entered the limelight
when she participated in the 2009 spelling bee organized by
the American Embassy in Monrovia. Page won a three–round
contest in her school, a five-round contest in Gbarnga, the
County seat, and hung with the top spellers for the first five
rounds, out of 11, at the National Spelling Bee in Monrovia.
Page is 16 years old and the second of six children. Her
parents are farmers living in Gbarnga. According to Page, her
parents could not afford to send her to school beyond the fourth
grade. She decided to move to the area near Bong Mines in
order to get a job to fund her education. Page was able to live
with a friend, whose mother was generous enough to accept
her. She then embarked on a small business venture selling
kala (a locally made doughnut eaten with pepper sauce) in order
to pay living expenses and send herself to school.
Page said she heard from her friend about the USAID program
that would help her complete elementary school more rapidly
than younger students. She is doing very well in school and has
taken the sixth grade exams. Her dream is to attend one of the
best high schools in Gbarnga, preferably St. Martins Catholic
High School.
“Spelling is my best subject,” said Page when asked why she
chose to enter the spelling bee. She described the experience
as wonderful, “If I have the chance to do it again, I’ll surely do it.”
Page is one of 4,400 students in Bong County and nearly
30,000 nationwide enrolled in USAID’s accelerated classes.
Page expressed her gratitude to USAID for supporting the
accelerated learning program, and she is determined to fulfill her
aspirations.
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