BONG COUNTY – Hundreds of kids in Gbeneta Town Palala District upper Bong County have all reasons to smile, as a free school and child welfare projects are ongoing in their town.
Beaming with smiles as they receive the news for the first time and received free school items, parents and kids celebrated and expressed
gratitude that their long educational nightmare has come to an end.
Gbeneta Town with over thousand inhabitants like other remote areas in Liberia lacks free schools for kids thus compelling children to abandon
their education and engage in farming activities. For those who galvanize the courage to attend school, they would have to walk for close to two
hours to reach the school’s location and this is not without risk as up to two students (girls) have met their untimely death by vehicle accidents.
To mitigate the challenges, a group under the banner, ‘His Presence International Care Ministries’ has seen education as an option to put a halt to the long misery in the town through a school and child welfare programs for children in nursery to pre-first.
The Executive Director of the NGO, Mrs. Fatu Kpa-Sarto, said the town has much to offer the world and its people; however, it also faces exceptional
challenges, particularly in the area of education for kids.
She said the county’s educational system is woefully underfunded, leaving far-flung areas severely short on schools. This means many students must make a long and dangerous trek to school if they’re able to go at all.
It’s estimated that hundreds of children work as child laborers due to the high cost of schooling and the economic desperation of families in rural
Liberia.
Mrs. Kpa-Sarto who also hails from Bong County says, she’s very passionate about the plight of kids and said they initiated the “ Go to
School Project ” in the town at the organization’s newly established school, ‘Nowai Foloquellah Scholars Paradise’ in the Gbeneta Town, Bong
County, Liberia.
She said already, her NGO is mobilizing parents and kids to enroll into the school during this 2019/2020 school year and have donated items including copy books, pens, and waterproof folders worth over hundred thousand
Liberian dollars to over a hundred and fifty kids in the town.
“We realized that these children had difficulties because they had to work instead of going to school, we leaped into action. Since then, we have been working to break the cycle of poverty in Gbeneta Town, Bong County” Said
Madam Kpa-Sarto.
She continued, “currently a resident gave us *his* unfinished house and that’s where we will open our school, Nowai Foloquellah Scholars
Paradise, this October 2019”.
Mrs. Kpa-Sarto also disclosed plans to construct a building for the school early next year in Gbeneta town, Bong County.
Appreciating the organization for their gesture, Gbeneta Town Chief Bendu, thanked “His Presence International Care Ministries” Executive Director and partners for the donation, stating it was the first of its kind in her town.
“We are grateful for these items, this is the first time for us to get free school, free copy books, pencils and materials for our kids” she
noted.
Meanwhile, The Executive Director of the NGO, Mrs. Fatu Kpa-Sarto is appealing to all well-meaning Liberians and others to assist her
organization’s gesture aimed at building a conducive learning environment
for kids who are considered future leaders.