Friends of the Elizabeth Blunt School, Monrovia

Motto: Education - the Soundest Investment

A lot of people who have heard about the school have asked how they can help. The BBC journalists who visited it have now created the 'Friends of the Elizabeth Blunt School'.

The proprietor, James Mamulu, has an ambitious building programme which is beyond our scope as individuals. We are trying to link them up with potential funding organisations for this. But we should be able to help other, perhaps more urgent problems.

1. Paying the teachers: At the moment there is no money to pay them on a regular basis, since more than half the children are too poor to pay any kind of fees. Primary teachers' salaries in Liberia are very low, $20 a month, but even this would make a huge difference to the staff. If we can raise £100 a month on a regular basis this would be enough to pay the eight teachers $20 each, including the cost of getting the money to Monrovia..

2. Upgrading the kitchen: The kitchen, a small bamboo and tarpaulin shack in the garden, doesn't at the moment meet World Food Programme standards, and the WFP is threatening to take them off the school feeding programme. This supplies bulgar wheat, beans and cooking oil, and these, with greens from the vegetable plot, enable Esther Mamulu to cook a hot lunch for 250 children a day. So this seems a priority.

3. Building a toilet: There isn't a toilet at the moment, but we think we have got the Irish Army working on this one. There is an Irish contingent with the UN peacekeepers in Liberia, and they have a community outreach programme.

4.Getting some classroom furniture: At present children bring their own stools, if they have them. If not, they perch on piles of bamboo. There are no desks, and this will make it more difficult for them to learn to write well. Benches and desks, made locally, should not be too expensive.

So even a small amount of money can make a big difference. You are invited to sponsor a teacher, make cash donation, or just take an interest in the school. If you give us your contact details we will keep you up to date with the latest news, and invite you to any events we organise.

If you are a friend or colleague of Elizabeth Blunt, Mark Doyle, and Dan McMillan at Bush House, John Curran at Television Centre or Ofeibea Quist-Arcton in Dakar, please feel free to contact them directly. Otherwise email elizabethblunt@hotmail.com