Monrovia – My Heart’s Appeal (MHA), a group that is taking care of people living with Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities has opened Liberia’s first center.
By J.H. Webster Clayeh (0886729972)[email protected]
My Heart’s Appeal (MHA) is a non-profit organization adopted as a charity by the Grand Lodge of Masons Liberia. The home opened its doors to individuals with Down-syndrome and other intellectual disabilities.
The goal is to provide quality training and career opportunities for disabled teenagers and adults in Liberia.
In 2011, My Heart’s Appeal executive director Lovetie Major came to Liberia in search of individuals with special needs. Since then, she has been taking care of hundreds of individuals, mostly children.
After the official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for My Heart’s Appeal Center, the center that serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, many parents expressed joys. For them, the My Heart’s Appeal Center has wiped their tears.
Since 2011, the home has been a haven for these individuals, caring for them and giving them a sense of belonging.
“My daughter had always wanted to go to school like normal children and MHA to make that happen,” Mary Gessior, one of the parents said.
Gessior’s daughter is one of the program’s oldest students. She stated, “At 26 years old, my daughter was unable to accomplish anything on her own, which affected me. I had to put my company on hold to care for her, her friends teased her, and she was even turned down by other schools until one day sis Lovetie came into our town and accepted her into the program, and there has been a significant change.”
Gessior’s daughter is not the only child benefiting from the program; over the past 14 years, MHA has enrolled 150 children with comparable illnesses for free.
“My son was born in 2012 but he does things that other Down syndrome children cannot do and that is because of this organization,” Samuel Benedict Yorwue, father of a 13-year-old boy in the program said.
He stated that it is disheartening to learn that there is no program at MOE for children with disabilities. He said, “We have disability institutions, but how is the Ministry of Education assisting those institutions.”
The charity is run on five pillars. A vocational training hub, an early childhood development program for 5-7 years, a special aid program, and a commercial hub are currently operational. In a completed 15-room facility that houses the youngsters.
MHA had been able to get 10 acres on Roberts Field the hard way, where it planned to develop a leisure, teacher training, and residential hub for children in the program to live safely for the rest of their lives.
“I don’t have a daughter, but I have a sister with special needs; I take time off to do what I am doing for our children what if I am not around what happens to our children,” Madam Lovetie Major, Executive Director of the charity.
However, there is a significant hindrance to the MHA work. Facilitating the children’s moments is a significant task for the institution and facility daily, and they are asking for the cooperation of the government, people, embassies, and other interested parties.
“We charter taxi every day to bring the children from their home here and take them back and take them back it’s a tough one. Anthony Dozine, MHA board member said.
He continues: “We want to start working on purchasing a bus for the kids where we can have them assigned in different locations across Montserrado to bring and take the kids back because they cannot get here like regular students.”
Dozine emphasizes the Grand Lodge’s dedication to the institution, saying, “When you give your money through this kind of initiative and come to see something like this, you feel happy and want to do more.”