Liberia_Mijae Lee 2024
AfricaSilontown, one of the rural villages in Liberia, a country ranked among the poorest in Africa. This village faces harsh conditions where school-aged children are often denied access to education. Many families struggle to provide even one meal a day to their offspring, making it essential to support regular quality meals and provide kindergarten and elementary education for the children in this area.
Two years ago, we began operating a modern school while building relationships with the local community. However, it was initially challenging to earn their trust. The turning point came with the introduction of the Global Children Foundation (GCF)’s free meal program. This initiative brought significant changes: 161 children now receive regular meals due to this support, leading to noticeable improvements to their health and physical development. Their participation in learning has also greatly increased, and this has helped us gain the trust of their parents. On May 25th of this year, a sudden typhoon caused severe damage to the school, tearing off the roof and scattering debris across nearby roads and yards. Fortunately, a funeral tent’s support poles held up a mud house, preventing any loss of life in what could have been a tragic incident. The near-daily rains that followed this incident rendered the classrooms unusable. Thanks to GCF’s swift response, however, we were able to have the roof repairs completed quickly, restoring the facility in time. Moved by GCF’s dedication, many residents began sending their children to the school starting from the new semester in September. Currently, 82 children are attending classes in the rebuilt, safe classrooms—a pivotal moment that has brought hope to the entire community.