Monthly Archives: October 2017

S-O-S Call! Urgent Fundraising for School Rent

The five-year lease agreement on the building we are operating the school in will expire in just over two months – to be specific, at the end of December.

Children outside the school

Children outside the school

The current agreement was entered into at the end of December 2012, when there was an urgent need to pay the rent because the landlord was tormenting the school for the payment, with threat of eviction. 

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We are in such a situation again. As we approach the end of the current lease agreement, the landlords have already increased the rent to US$50 per mouth, and we would like to pay for at least three (3) years, which would be US$600 per year and US$1,800 for the three years.

Children in class

Children in class

We are therefore appealing to all of our friends, supporters and sponsors to please come to our aid so that the school cannot be evicted. If we fail to renew the contract in a reasonable time, the landlord will throw us out of the building, which will be a serious embarrassment for us, and will leave our kids with nowhere to learn.

As we send out this S-O-S call, any assistance anyone renders will be greatly appreciated. Please help us keep the children in school.

Donate through PayPal

The easiest way to donate to this appeal is through our PayPal account which is run by Lena and Anders Marner in Sweden who will pass all donations on to us. If you would prefer to send money directly to the school’s bank account or through Western Union or MoneyGram, please get in contact.

HLF School Gets New Principal

Help Liberia Foundation Community School, a school helping to provide basic education to underprivileged children in the City of Buchanan, started the new school year with a new Principal.

Mr. Charles D. P. Mendscole, Jr, the new Principal

Mr. Charles D. P. Mendscole, Jr, the new Principal

The new Principal’s name is Charles D. P. Mendscole, Jr. He is a twenty-seven-year-old senior student studying Mathematics as major and General Science as minor in the Department of Teachers’ Education at the Grand Bassa Community College (GBCC) in Buchanan.

Charles is a serious, determined and innovative young administrator who is helping to improve things at the school. He was the chief planner, as well as one of the facilitators, of the pre-opening teachers’ workshop conducted on the 15 & 16 of September. We are proud to have Charles as our new Principal and we wish him all the best.

Mr. Ben Harris, the new Registrar

Mr. Ben Harris, the new Registrar

In a related development, the school also has a new Registrar. His name is Ben Harris. Ben entered the school as a teacher during the last school year and has been appointed as Registrar as a result of his dedication and hard work. Ben is studying Electrical Engineering at the same GBCC.

 

Thank You, Lena & Anders

We – the administrators, teachers, support staff and students of Help Liberia Foundation Community School in Buchanan City – would like to express our heart-felt thanks and appreciation to Lena Marner and Anders Marner for their decision to contribute specific monthly amount to the school for teachers’ support.

Anders (in blue African shirt) and Lena (in Purple African dress) during one of their visits at the school in 2013

Anders (in blue African shirt) and Lena (in Purple African dress) during one of their visits at the school in 2013

This monthly contribution from Lena and Anders, like the one from Anneli Hammarstrom, is helping us with the salary payment to our teachers.

Lena and Anders presenting gifts to Paul in 2016 for the school

Lena and Anders presenting gifts to Paul in 2016 for the school

Lena and Anders who have been paying this monthly contribution since July 2017. They both mean a lot for the school in Buchanan. Lena and Anders are considered the Mother and the Father of the school. They are our main international contact persons abroad and have been helping the school since they first interacted with the kids and the staff about five years ago.

Lena and Paul on the campus of the University of Liberia in 2014 before the Ebola outbreak

Thanks, Lena and Anders, for always being there for the kids and the staff of the school. We appreciate your assistance, care and love for the school.

 

HLF School Conducts Teachers’ Workshop

Before the start of the school year, HLF School conducted a two-day teachers’ workshop in order to professionally prepare teachers for the new year.

Teachers at the workshop

The pre-opening workshop, which brought together both old and new teachers, was held on Friday and Saturday, September 15 & 16, 2017, at the school.

The facilitators at the workshop taught on Classroom Management, Lesson Planning, Curriculum Development and Testing & Evaluation. The school plans to conduct a second workshop in February before the commencement of the second semester.

Many thanks to our friends for helping us to conduct the workshop.

Liberia’s NEC Used HLF School as Voting Center

Liberia conducted its presidential and representative elections yesterday, Tuesday, October 10, 2017, all over the country, and our school in Buchanan, Help Liberia Foundation Community School, was used as one of the voting centers selected by the National Elections Commission (NEC).

Voters in line to vote on Election Day

According to statistics from the NEC, 2,183,629 Liberians registered to vote in this years’ general elections at 2,080 voting precincts/centers containing 5,390 polling places, and our school was used as one of the voting precincts/centers containing two voting places. As a result of this, our main school building was one of the voting places, while the annex was another one.

Voters in line to vote at HLF School

The elections have already ended and counting has begun. As the results stand now, it seems there will be a second round in November, and it may be between current Vice President Joseph Boakai of UP (Unity Party) and football star George Weah of CDC (Coalition for Democratic Change), which means our school could be used again.

We at the school are glad that our school was used in Liberia’s 2017 historic elections. Thanks to all those who continue to help us to run this school.