Ms. Catherine Gill-Jamieson, a British citizen who with her husband currently resides in Liberia, was on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, the guest of our school, Help Liberia Foundation Community School.
Catherine (the kids and the staff now affectionately call her “Sis Catherine”), who had earlier communicated with Paul and Mary and had expressed her interest to work with the school a few weeks earlier, was welcomed by the kids and the staff.
Before her arrival on the school campus, a few of the students and the staff had already assembled outside to await and welcome her. When she came down from her car and saw the group, she said, “No, no, Paul. I didn’t expect this.”
“Yeah, I know, but now that it is like this, you just have to brace yourself for it,” Paul joking told her. She laughed.
A little girl named Patricia Chea officially welcomed Catherine and presented her some flowers on behalf of the school, saying: “Sis Catherine, you are welcome to our school, the Help Liberia Foundation Community School. We are your friends, and you are our friends. Once again, we say that you are welcome.”
In response, Catherine, who was thrilled to have seen the kids and the staff, remarked, “I am overwhelmed by the great welcome. Thank you for warmly receiving me.”
From there, Catherine was taken on a tour of the school building, viewing the classes, one office and one storeroom. She also had a meeting with the staff. At the start of the meeting, Paul introduced her and also introduced the staff.
“You guys are doing wonderful work here for the kids, especially considering the limited resources you have to work with. I can’t promise to do this and do that, but I will definitely do my best to help where I can. We all will work together to help these wonderful kids.”
Help Liberia Foundation Community School 