Yak Jones Foundation Brings Sierra Leonean Places and Culture Into Children’s Learning

The Yak Jones Foundation has created a set of African-inspired alphabet flashcards and puzzles featuring notable places in Sierra Leone, giving children learning materials that reflect their surroundings and culture.

The materials are intended to support learning through play and introduce young learners to Africa, Sierra Leonean places, people, food, animals and cultural identity. The foundation said the resources were created with Sierra Leonean children in mind, while also seeing potential for them to reach children elsewhere in Africa and beyond.

Learning through familiar places and ideas

Dr. Yakama Manty Jones, who leads the foundation, said the project was designed to make early learning more recognisable to children.

“We want children to see themselves in learning,” she said.

Describing the alphabet cards, Jones said children should encounter “Africa, our food, animals, places, people and culture” as they learn. She added that the aim was for learning the alphabet to feel “colourful, joyful and familiar.”

The Sierra Leone puzzle collection uses photographs provided by the Centre for Memory and Reparations. The foundation said the puzzles are intended to encourage children to discover the country through play and to build a sense of curiosity and pride in where they come from.

“We want a child putting together a puzzle to discover Sierra Leone, piece by piece,” Jones said.

Building on literacy work

The new resources extend the Yak Jones Foundation’s work in reading and early learning. The foundation was launched in 2016 and has supported schools and early childhood centres through books, learning materials, teacher and learning-coach support, reading activities and examination preparation.

In 2022, it donated learning materials to three early childhood development centres in Freetown, Moyamba and Kambia. More than 200 early learners from low-income communities were reported to have benefited from that support.

The foundation has also worked with pupils at SM Broderick Municipal School through learning coaches, after-school reading clubs and additional preparation for the National Primary School Examination.

Jones said literacy was important not only for examination results but also for children’s long-term opportunities. “If we want citizens to reach their full potential, it starts with ensuring they have functional literacy skills,” she said.

Availability in Sierra Leone

The African-inspired alphabet flashcards are currently available in Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone landmark puzzles are being offered on a pre-order basis.

The foundation said the materials represent more than conventional classroom resources by combining play, discovery and cultural recognition. “These may look like simple cards and puzzles, but indeed they represent something much bigger,” Jones said.

She added: “These cards represent children learning through play. They represent curiosity and pride in where we come from.”

People seeking information about the learning pack can contact the foundation on +232 791 21480.