We will always remember the day we visited Help Liberia School Foundation. We came in a little bus together with other persons who had lived in Liberia as children. As we drove down to the school, we could see all the pupils waving, singing and clapping their hands with joy.
Roland and Kerstin
We could never have had a warmer welcome. It was difficult not to let our eyes get full of tears. The school had prepared for our visit and everything was very well-organized.
Unfortunately, Roland and I were not so well-prepared for our speeches, but we spoke from our hearts directly to the children, and we hope they appreciated what we said.
The school’s cook serving the kids with food (photo by Kerstin and Roland)
We talked about all the years we had been waiting and longing to go back to Liberia. We told the children that we had lived in Yekepa when we were kids and about how we loved that time. We also tried to encourage the children about the importance of education.
We were given Bassa names. Roland got the name Teedo – “one day”, and I, Kerstin, got the name Dekontee – “everything has time”. Wonderful names.
The school hosting a welcome program in honor of our Swedish guests (photo by Kerstin and Roland)
After all the speeches, we had the joy of playing and dancing with the children to a Swedish song. Then it was time for all the gifts to be distributed. Once again, Roland and I were not properly prepared.
When we left Sweden, we had the intention to give most of our gifts to some school in Yekepa; therefore, we did not have so much to give that day. But when we saw the importance of the school (HLF School), the work they do and the needs the children have, we decided to give all we had to HLF School and the children. Our things – school equipment, toys, etc. – were distributed later on and we know that everything came to the right place.
We had a fantastic day, full of emotions. We will continue to follow the work and progress of the school and try to help the best we can.
Interior view of one of the classrooms in our school (photo by Kerstin and Roland)
Note from Paul, school director:
Kerstin and Roland are two of the Swedish guests who visited our school in April this year. They came with Lena and Anders. They are the ones who gave the special gifts that we wrote about here.
We extend our profound thanks to Roland and Kerstin for taking the time to write about their experience with the kids and the staff at the school. We encourage others who have visited our school to write something for publication on our site.
Help Liberia Foundation Community School 