students served

teachers trained

total community members engaged

Luminos in Liberia

Since 2016, Luminos has worked with community-based organizations and the government of Liberia to scale our catch-up education program, reaching more than 17,660 out-of-school children.

Meet Jessica, a Luminos student in Liberia:

Liberia at a Glance

Even before COVID-19, Liberia’s education sector was badly damaged by legacies of Ebola and civil war. While the government has taken many important steps to improve the quality of teaching and learning, there are more than 336,000 children missing out on an education.

Poverty in Liberia remains a considerable barrier to learning, with more than half of the population, 50.9 percent, living below the national poverty line.

Map showing the country of Liberia, located in West Africa.

Luminos students practice writing the alphabet in notebooks. (Photo: John Healey for the Luminos Fund)

A Luminos student uses finger tracking to follow along in a story as she reads during a weekly reading fluency test. (Photo: Mara Chan/Luminos Fund)

Students complete a group project together, creating a poster to share with the class. (Photo: Mara Chan/Luminos Fund)

“I like coming to learn!” says Luminos student Martu. “I like everything in school!” (Photo: Mara Chan/Luminos Fund)

Students take a break to play outside with their teacher. (Photo: Ahmed Jallanzo for the Luminos Fund)

Like many of his students, Luminos teacher Mohammed was forced to drop out of school to help support his family as a child, and often shares his story of going back to school as an older student with his students to encourage them. (Photo: Mara Chan/Luminos Fund)

Luminos teacher Mohammed helps a student during class. (Photo: Mara Chan/Luminos Fund)

Chanting, singing, and dancing are woven into lessons to help students learn and retain new information. (Photo: John Healey for the Luminos Fund)

Luminos student Stephen’s favorite thing about school is learning to read because “when you are able to read you can do many things in life.” When he grows up, Stephen wants to build homes for a living and eventually help his mother move into the city. (Photo: Ahmed Jallanzo for the Luminos Fund)

What We Do in Liberia

Through our partnerships with community-based organizations, Luminos is weaving together our global best practices with local insights and experience. This ensures both high impact and high ownership of our work.

We have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Education, representing our joint commitment to ensuring all children can catch up to grade level, reintegrate into government schools, and prepare for lifelong learning.

Our classes of 30 students run five days a week for 10 months, covering the first three grades of school. We work with local publishers to incorporate Liberian stories into the curriculum, and we provide a much-needed school lunch for each student.

Previous external results show that Luminos students progress from not knowing the alphabet to reading short stories within just 10 months.

“The rate at which Luminos students are performing is exceptional… I want to applaud Luminos Fund for the tremendous work being done in improving results in education in Liberia.”

Minister Tarnue Marwolo Bongolee
Assistant Minister for Student Personnel Services, Liberia

The 2022-2023 School Year

classrooms

students

counties

community partners

Recent Reports & Evaluations

2022 Luminos Liberia Endline Evaluation Report

(Q&A Services)

2021 Second Chance Liberia Endline Evaluation Report

(Q&A Services)

2019 Liberia Teaching & Learning Quality Evaluation 

(University of Sussex)

2019 Liberia Endline Evaluation Report

(Q&A Services)

All Work, All Play

(Childhood Education: Innovations)

In the 2021-22 school year, Luminos students went from being able to an average of just 1 word in one minute to 29!

Meet our Liberia Team

Senior Director of Programs

Donnalee Donaldson

Program Manager, Liberia

Abba G. Karnga Jr.

Country Manager, Liberia

James Earl Kiawoin

Data & Finance Officer, Liberia

Mohammed B. Kiawu

Program Associate, Liberia

Emmanuel Massaley

Program Coordinator, Liberia

G. Alphanso Menyon

Program Associate, Liberia

Alex Debrown Seh

Program Associate, Liberia

Folley J. Toe

Senior Program Manager, Liberia

Corina Wornee

Senior Director of Programs

Donnalee Donaldson

Donnalee Donaldson is a Senior Director of Programs at the Luminos Fund where she helps lead large-scale government advisory projects and oversees the adaptation of various Luminos program elements to serve specific populations. She has expertise in collaborating with governments on the design and implementation of national education reforms, and integrating technology into education. Prior to joining Luminos, Donnalee served as the Rwanda Country Director at Educate! where she co-designed and scaled a national skills-based secondary education reform program. She was also a founding team member at Kepler, where she played a key role in designing blended learning courses for multilingual learners and managed the launch of Rwanda’s first university in a refugee camp. She has been recognized as an education sector changemaker by UNESCO, Ashoka, and UNLEASH. 

Donnalee is also an attorney and began her career as a litigator for the New York City Law Department. She holds a BA from Seton Hall University, a JD from the Emory University School of Law, and a certificate in Higher Education in Emergencies from the University of Geneva. Donnalee is proudly Jamaican and passionate about contributing to the advancement of the African diaspora. 

Program Manager, Liberia

Abba G. Karnga Jr.

Abba is Program Manager for the Luminos Fund in Liberia where he oversees all Luminos Second Chance classrooms and training for teachers and supervisors, and coordinates with the Ministry of Education and community partners. Previously, Abba worked in the World Wide Mission School System as a principal, developing an educational work plan for the school and overseeing all administrative activities. During the Ebola crisis, Abba served as Director of the Stop the Spread of Ebola Campaign. In partnership with the Country Health Team, he created an Ebola Emergency Response program responsible for social mobilization, case identification, and distribution of emergency supplies to affected homes. Abba has dedicated his career to advancing educational opportunities in his country, working with organizations such as World Education, the International Organization for Migration, USAID, and the Nyonblee Cares Foundation. Abba holds a BS in Secondary Education from the Cuttington University and lives in Buchanan City with his wife and four children.

Country Manager, Liberia

James Earl Kiawoin

James Earl Kiawoin is the Country Manager for the Luminos Fund in Liberia where he manages day-to-day operations, overall program delivery, government and stakeholder engagement, and supports staff development. Previously, James worked as a Strategy Consultant at Dalberg Advisors in Rwanda where he completed projects on higher education financing and digital ecosystem development including e-government services. 

James began his career at Last Mile Health in a strategic advisory role with the Liberian Ministry of Health. There, he worked to develop, finance, and scale a national community health workers program that delivered health care to 1.2 million people in rural, hard-to-reach areas. James has vast experience leading initiatives in Liberia and previously held leadership roles at the Khana group, LEAD Monrovia Football Academy, and SMART Liberia, which he co-founded. 

James holds an MPA with a focus on international development from the school of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a BA in Political Science from Colorado College. 

Data & Finance Officer, Liberia

Mohammed B. Kiawu

Mohammed B. Kiawu is the Data and Finance Officer for the Luminos Fund in Liberia. He works with the Luminos program team and partner organizations to drive data collection, ensure data integrity, and execute data cleaning and processing. Mohammed also supports the accounting and bookkeeping for the Liberia office. 

Mohammed began his professional career as a Program Assistant at the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN-Liberia) where he provided advice to project stakeholders on administrative procedure and implementation. He was later promoted to Finance Officer where he handled budgeting, banking, financial reporting, payroll preparation, and vendor management. Mohammed has also worked for the Khana Group as a Data Collector and Analyst, and as Mapper Assistant for the Liberian Institute of Statistics and Geoinformation Services.

Mohammed holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the African Methodist Episcopal University in Liberia. 

Program Associate, Liberia

Emmanuel Massaley

Emmanuel is a Program Associate for the Luminos Fund in Liberia, ensuring the smooth operation of our Second Chance program. Alongside our Liberia team, Emmanuel works to ensure classrooms have a positive impact on students and collaborates with our partners on the ground. Prior to becoming a Program Associate, Emmanuel served as a classroom teacher for Luminos and has years of direct experience working with children in Luminos classrooms and creating an atmosphere of joyful learning. Emmanuel’s passion for education stems from his experience as a child during Liberia’s civil war, a 14-year conflict which prevented him from attending school. As a result of the war, Emmanuel experienced the difficulty of being an over-aged student first-hand.

Program Coordinator, Liberia

G. Alphanso Menyon

G. Alphanso Menyon is a Program Coordinator for Luminos in Liberia where he leads teacher trainings on phonics and best practices for teaching reading and comprehension. Alphanso also coaches program supervisors and teachers. An experienced educator, Alphanso served for five years at the Heritage Early Learning Center as the principal. Previously, he taught at Spiritan Academy – A Catholic Demonstration School, Stella Maris Polytechnic, and in the World Wide Missions School System. He also tutored at the American International School of Monrovia (AIMS). Alphanso serves as the Chief Learning Officer of Logic, a network of teachers that developed a phonics and reading program for students and teachers who still struggle to read. Alphanso holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and lives in Monrovia with his wife and son. In his free time, Alphanso enjoys singing gospel music with his family.

Program Associate, Liberia

Alex Debrown Seh

Alex Debrown Seh is a Program Associate for the Luminos Fund in Liberia, where he monitors classes and provides coaching to teachers. From 2016 to 2021, he served as Parent Engagement Group lead and Project Supervisor for the Liberia Institute for the Promotion of Academic Excellence (LIPACE), a Luminos community partner. Previously, Alex worked as Team Supervisor at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) during the Ebola crisis. Alex began his career as a Sales and People Relations Agent at Orange Liberia, a mobile network operator. He later transitioned to Liberia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports as a Project Supervisor on the Liberian Youth Empowerment Program (LYEP).  

Alex holds an associate’s degree in Education from the Liberia Corporative Standard School System (LICOSESS) Mobile Training College. 

Program Associate, Liberia

Folley J. Toe

Folley is a Program Associate for the Luminos Fund in Liberia, where he ensures the smooth operation of the Second Chance program. Alongside our Liberia team, Folley works to ensure classrooms have a positive impact on students and collaborates with our partners on the ground. 

Folley previously served as classroom teacher for Luminos and assisted with the distribution of food supplies for Second Chance classes. Folley has years of direct experience working with students and creating an atmosphere of joyful learning in the classroom. Folley worked extensively with his fellow teachers, providing ideas to strengthen their teaching and support students. 

Having witnessed Liberia’s high poverty rate prevent many children from going to school, Folley is passionate about the need for education, particularly literacy. He believes strongly in Luminos’ mission of helping children get a second chance at education in Liberia.

Senior Program Manager, Liberia

Corina Wornee

Corina Wornee is a Senior Program Manager for the Luminos Fund in Liberia where she plays a key leadership role in program planning, training, coaching, curriculum development, and stakeholder engagement. Corina ensures quality teaching and learning across Luminos classes and supports the Liberia Country Manager and Luminos community partners on all project-related activities.

Corina is a Nurse Educator with deep experience working in development in Liberia on major reforms and initiatives in the health and education sectors. Prior to joining Luminos, Corina worked at Last Mile Health and, most recently, served as a Director of Schools for Bridge Liberia.

Corina holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the Mother Patern College of Health Sciences in Liberia. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Public Health and an additional bachelor’s degree in Education.

“My favorite part of my role is visiting classes. You get to see the progress of students over time. If you visited a class five weeks ago and you come back, you see visible improvement in students’ reading ability. Everyone is just so happy! The teachers have this laser-focus approach to improving student learning outcomes.”

James Earl Kiawoin, Liberia Country Manager

Our Community Partners

Frontline community-based organizations (CBOs) are fundamental to Luminos’ model. These CBOs help select the communities we work in based on local needs, lead community engagement and delivery of the Luminos program, and monitor the program on an ongoing basis. In Liberia, Luminos works with the Ministry of Education and the following CBOs to co-create and deliver our country-specific programs:

“Working with Luminos defines the true essence of collaboration and partnership. Our context-driven knowledge of the issues is always valued by the Luminos team. The openness and strong commitment to integrating feedback makes this partnership so worthwhile.

The impact of the Luminos project cannot be quantified. It is beyond the number of students that transitioned to public schools. For us at LIPACE, the real impact is in the families and community of people that appreciates the value of education as a key to improving their livelihoods. There’s nothing more transformative than watching a child holding a pencil for the first time at age 12 only to complete primary school four years later. It’s been an inspiring journey.”

Benjamin M. Freeman Jr.
Executive Director, Liberia Institute for the Promotion of Academic Excellence (LIPACE)

“Working with Luminos defines the true essence of collaboration and partnership. Our context-driven knowledge of the issues is always valued by the Luminos team. The openness and strong commitment to integrating feedback makes this partnership so worthwhile.

The impact of the Luminos project cannot be quantified. It is beyond the number of students that transitioned to public schools. For us at LIPACE, the real impact is in the families and community of people that appreciates the value of education as a key to improving their livelihoods. There’s nothing more transformative than watching a child holding a pencil for the first time at age 12 only to complete primary school four years later. It’s been an inspiring journey.”

Benjamin M. Freeman Jr.
Executive Director, Liberia Institute for the Promotion of Academic Excellence (LIPACE)

Kids’ Educational Engagement Project (KEEP)

Close-up of Luminos Liberia student writing

Restoring Our Children’s Hope (ROCH)

Liberia Institute for the Promotion of Academic Excellence (LIPACE)

Special Emergency Activity to Restore Children’s Hope (SEARCH)

Latest news & stories from Liberia

Cracking the Code: Phonics 101

Cracking the Code: Phonics 101

by | Mar 29, 2023

In Luminos classrooms, we use a systematic and explicit phonics-based approach to teach children to read. But what is phonics and why do we use it? Phonics is a step-by-step way of teaching children to decode and recognize new words rather than just memorizing words...

What the Average Hides

What the Average Hides

by | Oct 18, 2022

At the Luminos Fund, our work is driven by a commitment to help children learn an incredible amount in a short time: three years of school in just 10 months. As the Country Manager for our Liberia program, my team and I set ambitious targets to ensure all our students build foundational learning skills — and we measure their progress along the way, in real-time, often using data averages to gain quick insights.

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+1 781 333 8317   info@luminosfund.org

The Luminos Fund is a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt charitable organization registered in the United States (EIN 36-4817073).

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