Luminos Celebrates Historic Literacy Gains Across Liberia | News

The Luminos Fund’s decade-long literacy intervention in Liberia is recording what the organization describes as historic gains in foundational learning, with children’s reading fluency rising sharply and more than 60,000 children benefiting from its second-chance education programs since 2016.

The achievements were highlighted during a 10th-anniversary dinner reception hosted by Luminos Fund Chief Executive Officer Caitlin Baron, bringing together government officials, education leaders, community organizations, implementing partners, parents and program graduates.

Since launching its Liberia program in November 2016, Luminos has developed an accelerated learning model designed to help children who have missed substantial periods of schooling because of poverty, conflict and the Ebola crisis catch up through one year of intensive instruction.

The results have been significant.

A landmark randomized controlled trial in Liberia found that children’s reading fluency increased from an average of four words per minute to 29 words per minute after one year in the program.

Luminos said reading performance has continued to improve among subsequent cohorts. Reading fluency reached 40 words per minute among the 2022–24 cohort, increased to 52 words per minute in 2024–25 and climbed to 63 words per minute among students in the latest cohort.

According to the organization, the latest figure represents the highest reading fluency rate it has documented on the African continent.

Assistant Minister of Education Abba G. Karnga Jr. said more than 60,000 students have moved from reading fewer than two words per minute to more than 60 words per minute after approximately 10 months in the program.

He also said more than 90 percent of Luminos graduates transition into mainstream schools, giving children who had fallen behind an opportunity to continue their education alongside their peers.

Baron said Luminos has expanded to five African countries and reached nearly half a million children globally. In Liberia, she said the organization has reached more than 60,000 children and mobilized approximately US$14 million in philanthropic support over the past decade.

Board member George K. Werner, who served at Liberia’s Ministry of Education during the Ebola crisis, recalled the difficult circumstances that helped shape the partnership.

He said schools were closed for roughly half of the 2015 academic year, while some school buildings were reportedly repurposed as livestock shelters.

Werner said education officials subsequently conducted a nationwide listening exercise involving students, parents and teachers. Communities, he said, consistently called for a different approach to education, contributing to a national strategy centered on foundational learning and the belief that every child deserves an opportunity to catch up.

Youth and Sports Minister Cornelia Wonkerleh Kruah said she witnessed the impact of the Luminos approach during a county tour in Sanniquellie, Nimba County.

She recalled seeing young people who might otherwise hide their inability to read because of stigma participating enthusiastically in literacy lessons while also learning practical skills such as baking and soap-making.

Kruah described Luminos as a trusted partner and disclosed that government recently reallocated funds to expand its reach into underserved counties facing funding constraints.

Karnga, a former Luminos program manager, said the program’s success also resulted from continuous adaptation. He recalled early curriculum challenges, including students memorizing passages instead of developing genuine reading skills.

The program adopted a phonics-based curriculum in 2017 and strengthened teacher retraining, classroom monitoring and child protection measures.

James Earl Kiawoin, Country Manager of Luminos Liberia, said the program’s achievements resulted from the combined efforts of an entire community.

He credited community teachers, supervisors, parents, implementing partners LIPACE, KEEP and SEARCH, as well as cooks, drivers, data collectors and other workers whose contributions often go unnoticed.

Kiawoin noted that reading fluency rose from 29 to 63 words per minute during his five-year tenure, representing a 117 percent increase.

As Luminos enters its second decade, the organization is expanding beyond accelerated learning into youth vocational literacy, support for overage students and broader teacher training for Grades 1 through 3.

The anniversary also featured graduate testimonials, including Agnes, who entered the program nine years ago without prior schooling and is now preparing to graduate from high school.