Seven Swedish Guests Visit HLF School

About five months after a three-person Swedish delegation visited Help Liberia Foundation Community School at the end of October 2013, a seven-person team visited the school last week.

Students at the program

Those who made the trip were Lena and Anders (they are the school’s current contact persons abroad), P-O, Elias (P-O’s fifteen-year-old son), Roger, Kerstin and Roland.

Although our visitors arrived in Buchanan on Wednesday, April 9, it was really on Thursday, April 10, that they spent almost the whole day with the kids, staff and parents of the school.

Lena preparing the kids for a Swedish play

A special welcoming program was held in our visitors’ honor on that day. During the program, the director of the school, Mr. Paul Yeenie Harry, welcomed the guests and introduced them, especially the four new visitors, to the audience.

It was an eventful day, not only because the kids and staff, as well as parents, were delighted and excited to have had the guests at the school, but the guests themselves were gleeful for the opportunity they had to meet and interact with the school, especially the kids.

Kids in jubilant mood

Each of our visitors, besides interacting with the kids in various ways, was given the opportunity to speak to the kids during the program. They encouraged the kids to continue go to school and have a better future and to know that they are Liberia’s future.

Of course, as usual, it was not all about making speeches, but also about presenting gifts brought by our visitors. They brought footballs, jerseys, football pumps, school supplies, clothes, etc. the school authority thanked the guests for the donation and called on them to continue to think about the school.

Guests doing a Swedish play with the kids

While speaking to the kids, Roger, considering the condition of the kids and their desire to learn and comparing it with his own childhood days’ experience and opportunities, cried in full view of everyone. It was a very moving moment.

During the ceremony, a female parent thanked the visitors, especially Lena and Anders, for their continuous concern for and support to the school and the kids.

Elias speaking to the kids

At the end of the program, journalists from various media institutions came to interview the visitors about their visit and its importance to the school in Buchanan, which was later played on various radio stations on the same day.

Permit us to stop here for now. Additional information will be provided later.

Click on pictures below to see a larger version.