Roland and Kerstin Donate Special Gifts to HLF Kids

After having made individual donations to staff and kids through the school in full view of parents and community residents, two of our seven Swedish guests – Roland and his sister Kerstin – made an additional donation of gifts to the children in the school.

Students standing in line before the distribution

This second special donation was made about one week after the general donations were made on April 10, 2014, at the school in Buchanan. Roland and Kerstin had originally planned to donate the items to a school they had heard was existing in Nimba County in northern Liberia.

However, upon their return to Monrovia, after their interactions with the staff and kids in our school, they called Lena and said, “We realized that Help Liberia Foundation Community School is a very good school. The students and the staff are wonderful people. Besides, we are not sure of the status of the northern Liberian school that we are planning to take these gifts to. Therefore, we have decided to give them to your school (referring to HFL Community School).”

Distributing the gifts

We at the Help Liberia Foundation Community School consider this donation a special one in that it was made after serious reflections about the school and its activities. The fact that Roland and Kerstin kept it for a different school, but later decided to donate it to the kids in our school makes it even more special.

Because the items were given to Lena in Monrovia after everyone had already left Buchanan, Lena brought them to Paul on the campus of the University of Liberia, where he teaches and also studies law, and relayed Roland and Kerstin’s message, saying: “Roland and Kerstin gave me these items and told me to give them to you so that you can distribute them among the kids so that each child in the school can have at least one of the items. This is their (Roland and Kerstin’s) wish and instruction. Please do as they have recommended.”

Students receiving more gifts

Paul received the items on behalf of the school and the kids and thanked the donors, through Lena, promising to take the items to Buchanan. And, so, as agreed upon, the items were taken to Buchanan and distributed as indicated by the Roland and Kerstin.

The items included toy cars, caps, eye glasses, marker pens, toy basketballs and nets, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, rules, soap bubble jars, stickers, hand bags of varying types and sizes, teddy bears of varying types and sizes, etc.

Students with some of their gifts

We are grateful to Roland and his sister Kerstin for their humanitarian gesture toward the kids. The gifts were enough to cover all the children present; every kid received at least three items and they were happy to have them.

Click on pictures below to see a larger version.