Monrovia – It was a cloudy morning on Saturday, August 19 in Paynesville when dozens of children, most of them underprivileged, gathered at the residence of Mr. Bobby Livingstone and wife, Mrs. Nesuah M. Beyan Livingstone.
Report by Gerald C. Koinyeneh – [email protected]
The children have gathered there to receive their annual back to school kit, containing copybooks, book bags, pens and other school materials worth over US$1500 donated by the Women of Refined Destiny (WORD) through the benevolence of individuals in Liberia and the Diaspora.
According to the Executive Director of WORD, Mrs. Nesuah M. Beyan Livingstone, the initiative is her way of identifying with under privileged children who are walking in the shoes she once walked in while growing up.
Four years ago, I had this vision. Being a child while growing up, to have come from an underprivileged home, I thought of helping and giving to children who are walking in similar shoes that I walked or even worse,” she explained.
Mrs. Livingstone, speaking to a team of reporters averred that through a robust Facebook campaign, she came in contact with friends including former classmates, neighbors and other people that she has not met before and they decided to support her organization.
She noted that through these philanthropists, 155 kids, ranging from four to 18 years are benefiting from scholarships at some of the best schools in Monrovia and its environs including the St. Theresa Convent, the Seven Day Adventists School System, the St. Kizito Catholic school, William Booth Salvation Army School and now Ricks Institute.
She thanked her sponsors for the good will gesture and called on others to join her team in helping these children reach their potential.
“I just want to send out this call to Liberians who are watching me on TV and reading this story in the Newspaper that you can come in and sponsor an under privileged child. The government cannot do all,” she intoned.
She furthered that there are plans to extend the program to other parts of the country, asserting that a student from Gbarnga and Bong County are already benefiting.
Mrs. Livingstone called on parents who are able to support their children’s education to stop pretending to be less privileged people, noting that their actions may deprive a needy child the opportunity.
“You don’t know my story, but it’s God who has brought me this far. We did not eat on some days. I couldn’t because my mom did not have money to feed us. She went around selling fish just to provide for us. So I am looking for parents who are in that situation,” the WORD Executive Director intoned.
Speaking further, she disclosed that her organization has received 75 sewing machines from of its partners through its ‘Dress for a Child program’ wherein proceeds from clothes sewn will be spent towards a child’s education.