Hannah Benka-Coker

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Hannah Benka-Coker
MBE
Born
Hannah R Luke

1903 (1903)
British Sierra Leone
Died17 June 1952(1952-06-17) (aged 48–49)
Alma materPortway Institute in England
Known forA founder of the Freetown Secondary School for Girls
SpouseS A Benka-Coker
Children2

Hannah Benka-Coker, MBE, née Luke (1903 – 17 June 1952)[1] was an educator from Sierra Leone. She was one of the founders of the Freetown Secondary School for Girls (FSSG) which was established in 1926.[2]

Personal life and education

Born Hannah R Luke to Creole parents in British Sierra Leone, she was educated at the Annie Walsh Memorial School in Sierra Leone and Portway Institute in England.[3] She married Justice S A Benka-Coker from the Gambia.[4] She died in June 1952,[5] aged 49.[6]

Freetown Secondary School for Girls

She organized a group of close family members and friends to plan a school that would offer a comprehensive, world-class education program for girls.[3] One of her friends was Maisie Osora, the British wife of a Sierra Leonean clergyman, who was a teacher at the Annie Walsh Memorial School.[3]

On 20 January 1926, the Freetown Secondary School for Girls opened at Garrison and Gloucester Streets with a student body of twenty girls.[3] Osora was principal and Benka-Coker was as vice-principal.[3]

The Freetown School for Girls was the only school that had classes from Kindergarten through Secondary School.[3]

Eventually, Hannah became the school principal.[3] During her tenure she accepted students from all over West Africa regardless of creed or tribe.[3] The school moved to Tower Hill in Freetown and became a boarding school.[3] Students flocked from The Gambia, The Gold Coast and Nigeria.[3]

In 1944, Benka-Coker was awarded an MBE for her services to education.[7]

Girl Guides

Benka-Coker was a member of the Girl Guide movement for over twenty years. Roles included commissioner for Sierra Leone Girl Guides and the first Africa Colony commissioner.[8]

Other

Benka-Coker was president of both the Sierra Leone Women's Movement and the Annie Walsh Old Girls Association.[9]

Legacy

Her contributions to the education of girls and women were lauded in Sierra Leone and internationally.[10]

Benka-Coker has since had a statue erected in her honour.[11]

See also

References

  1. "Our History" Archived 2015-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, FSSG Ex-Pupils Association UK.
  2. "Federal Aid said needed in South for education". Daily Press. Virginia, USA. 1950-11-10. p. 20.
  3. "The History of Our School". 2013-12-03. Archived from the original on 2014-12-03. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  4. "Noted African lady passes". Atlanta Daily World. Georgia, USA. 1952-07-30. p. 4.
  5. Constance Agatha Cummings-John (1995). Memoirs of a Krio Leader. Sam Bookman for Humanities Research Centre. p. 95. ISBN 978-978-2165-51-0. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  6. "Noted African Lady Passes" Archived 2015-06-24 at the Wayback Machine, Memphis World, 25 July 1952.
  7. Hadi Bah, "Once out of sight, Sierra Leone’s heroes, historical figures, are out of mind too", Sierra Leone 365.
  8. "In memoriam". The Guider (Vol. XXXIX No. 9 ed.). London, UK: Girl Guides Association. September 1952. p. 195.
  9. "Noted African lady passes". Atlanta Daily World. Georgia, USA. 1952-07-30. p. 4.
  10. Johnson, Alex C. (8 November 2005). Mac Dixon-Fyle, Gibril Raschid Cole (ed.). New perspectives on the Sierra Leone Krio. Peter Lang. p. 271. ISBN 978-0820479378.
  11. Hafkin, Nancy Jane (30 June 1976). Edna G. Bay (ed.). Women in Africa: Studies in Social and Economic Change. Stanford University Press. p. 218. ISBN 978-0804710114.