After psychology studies and training in education, my spiritual research brought me to join the Unification movement and I did a lot of community work. Then I married a missionary; arrived in Senegal in 1982 and finally in Cote d’Ivoire in 1984. Working with the mission, I taught French to the missionaries and at the Alliance Française until I was asked to visit JIN-A school in New Jersey in order to start the project in Cote d’Ivoire.

Our educational system is aiming at helping each child to fulfill his/her curriculum at his/her own pace. A brilliant child will go forward without being held back by others, a slow learner will be able to go forward filling his/her weaknesses gradually. This individualized system demands a lot of attention from the teacher, it is team work. Getting to today’s teacher staff has been a long process which is now very stable due to the sincerity and dedication of every teacher. I am so grateful to work with every one of them.

The objectives of our programs are:

– To give good moral standards to our children

– To allow children the opportunity to love learning

– To teach them how to organize their work

– To make sure that the children have assimilated all the essential knowledge with no lacks

– To give them confidence that they can succeed

– To promote cooperation among teachers and parents

– To promote cooperation among students

– To teach intellectually as well as practically including sports and arts

Living for others being one of my mottos I invested in managing the school while providing an atmosphere of peace and joy in our institution. Jin-A school is like an extension of home. All the staff and students form a small community, like a big family.

Since the political situation is better, more children came to our institution. Now our school is full and space is our problem. We need to find solutions on short and longer terms. We need to extend and build, but since we are a non-profitable institution and do not receive any support except the tuitions, we need help from the community. We are glad to receive support from parents of the school, leaders of churches and investors in order to find solutions.

A school for peace, teaching the universality of religious teaching, tolerance in differences, bringing up leaders for the future who will be able to work with others and be a link among people, with a good level of education, this is a project we will like to see realized on a larger scale with the help of people who share our vision. Bringing efficient education right here in Africa could be just a small contribution but one that could make a difference for Cote d’Ivoire as well as for Africa.