Tag Archives: school

HLF Kids Receive Christmas Gifts

Help Liberia Foundation Community School, through the kind donations of four of its sponsors, purchased Christmas presents and distributed them among the kids in the school.

Children and parents getting ready for the start of the distribution

Children and parents getting ready for the start of the distribution

The items bought included thirteen 25-kg bags of rice, one carton of Crown Vita and three 5-gallon containers of vegetable oil.  The carton of vita contains 12 packs and each pack contains 100 vita cubes.

Distribution going on

Distribution going on

The distribution was done on Sunday, December 21. Prior to Sunday’s distribution, because the school is closed as a result of the Ebola crisis, a three-day announcement (Friday to Sunday) was made on three radio stations. Besides, the staff went in the community to personally inform the children and their parents.

Distribution in full swing

Distribution in full swing

It was a joyful day not just for the children, but also for the staff of the school and the residents of the community. The distribution was headed by the Parent-Teacher Association (P-T.A) of the school, headed by its Vice Chairman, Mr. Zogar.

Community residents in line to receive food

Community residents in line to receive food

We served more than a hundred children. For the kids who were not around, their parents came and collected their food. Then we served our teachers. After that, we called the residents of the community, especially those in close proximity with the school, and also served them. Everyone was grateful and expressed thanks to the sponsors through the school.

Waiting to receive their items

Waiting to receive their items

“We thank you and the people overseas for always doing this for our children almost every year. We will continue to remember you for what you are doing for us and our children,” remarked Mr. Zogar to the Director of the school, Mr. Paul Yeenie Harry, who also thanked the parents and the kids for being appreciative.

Measuring out the rice

Measuring out the rice

Mr. Harry: “On behalf David Turner, Mary Smith, Lena and Anders Marner, we wish to thank you all for appreciating what we are doing here today. We at the school, like those who made this possible, are happy that they can do this for our kids and all of you at this time of the year.”

Staff members happily receiving their share of the food

Staff members happily receiving their share of the food

The money for this year’s Christmas gifts was donated by four persons – David Turner, Mary Smith, Lena and Anders Marner.   We wish to thank them very much for their kindness, which has put Christmas smiles on the faces of our kids.

(click on any of the pictures below to see larger versions)

Update on Christmas Gifts Fundraising Appeal

Yesterday made it exactly 15 days since we launched the Christmas Gifts for HLF Children Fundraising Campaign on November 16.  Besides, yesterday was the end of the month.

Students taking test

Students in class

Therefore, we wish to inform you, especially those of you who have donated toward the effort to put smiles on the faces of the children in our school, that so far only $250 has been collected from two persons – David Turner and Mary Smith of the United Kingdom.

David donated $150 from which $6.15 was deducted as service charge, leaving a balance of $143.85. Mary donated $100 from which $4.20 was deducted as service charge, leaving a balance of $95.80.

In short, we now have $239.65; meaning, we are still in need of $610.35, since the total amount for the exercise is $850. And December 5 is the deadline for the campaign.

Can you help us raise this amount?

The easiest way to donate is through the PayPal account. If you prefer, you can also send money directly to the school’s bank account, or through Western Union or MoneyGram.

Christmas Gifts for Our Children – Can You Help?

We would like to put smiles on the faces of the children at our school this Christmas. Can you help us raise US$ 850 by 5 December?

The outbreak of the Ebola virus has caused children to be out of school for months, and these include children of our school. But it also has to be remembered that this outbreak has not only caused children to be out of school; it has also increased the economic hardship parents face in this country, as many of them are without jobs and some of them who have jobs are forced to stay at home without being paid or given any special incentives.

Children singing at last year's Chrstmas event

Children singing at last year’s Chrstmas event

This reality/situation will, of course, adversely affect many children, including children in our school, during this Christmas holiday. And this is why we want to come in to help these children, and we want to do it for three (3) main reasons.

First, it is our usual year-end practice to purchase Christmas gifts for the children in our school and distribute these gifts among them.  We want to continue this tradition, especially during this Ebola time.

Second, we want to put some smiles on the faces of our children. We want them to know that there are people who care for them and want to make them happy this Christmas holiday.

Finally, we want to use the distribution of the Christmas gifts to encourage the children, the staff, the parents and the community, and to call their attention back to the school before the actual re-opening of school, especially considering the fact that the school has been closed for months and the fact that we will be adding the junior high division.

In view of the foregoing, we are launching an $850 fundraising campaign to purchase Christmas gifts for the children, and the gifts will include two (2) bales of clothes and five (5) bags of rice. More than 100 children, as well as several staffers and parents, stand to benefit from the exercise.

Breakdown of Cost

  1. 2 bales of clothes @$300 = $600
  2. 5 bags of rice @$40 = $200
  3. Transportation and related costs = $50

We appeal to everyone, especially our regular sponsors and donors, to please help us raise this amount before December 5, so that we can put smiles of the faces of the children during this Christmas holiday.

The easiest way to donate is through the PayPal account controlled by Lena and Anders in Sweden. If you prefer not to use PayPal, you can also send money directly to the school’s bank account, or through Western Union or MoneyGram.

We would also appreciate it if you are able to share this fundraising appeal with your friends and family, and on your social media pages.

We thank you in advance for your support!

Third Ebola Update and Other News

Although we are aware that you our friends, sponsors, supporters, well-wishers, etc., read and see a lot about the Ebola virus disease (EVD) on various international media outlets, we have come to the conclusion that it is still our duty to update you because of your interest and involvement in the work we all are doing in Buchanan. And so we will continue to fill you in from time to time.

Our Ebola awareness group

Our Ebola awareness group

In this update, I wish to focus on Grand Bassa County. Liberia has fifteen counties, and one of the counties is called Grand Bassa. Its capital city is Buchanan – the place where our school is located. As many of you may have already read, Buchanan is about 113km from Monrovia. Ebola is in the county, and it is definitely in Buchanan; however, the county – and by extension, Buchanan – is not as gravely affected as other counties such as Montserrado, Lofa and Nimba. This is good news. Another good news is that, although our school is closed for now because of the Ebola crisis, we have received no news about any of our students, staff or parents contracting the virus or dying of it.

My colleagues and I at the ELWA Junction

My colleagues and I at the ELWA Junction

Statistics on Infection

On the Ebola statistics of the county, as released by the Ministry of Health on October 2, the total confirmed, probable and suspected cases was 132: 38 suspected cases, 47 probable cases, and 47 confirmed cases. The statistics summarize what is happening in each county; they do not indicate what is happening in each city. This is why I am unable to indicate the number of Ebola cases in Buchanan. Grand Bassa County has a population of 224,839, while Buchanan’s population is about 34,000 (2008 census).

My colleague carrying out Ebola awareness

My colleague carrying out Ebola awareness

Statistics on Deaths

Total number of deaths among confirmed cases was 21; total number of deaths among probable cases was 9 and the total number of deaths among suspected cases was 8. This means the total number of persons that had died of Ebola (including probable, suspected and confirmed cases) since the outbreak in March was 38 as of October 2. Compared with other counties, the total number of deaths for Bong County was 114; for Lofa County, it was 438; for Margibi County, it was 250; for Montserrado County, it was 1,050; and for Nimba County, it was 136.

My colleagues and I in the Jacob Town Community

My colleagues and I in the Jacob Town Community

My Participation in Law Students Ebola Awareness Campaign

In a related development, as some of you may be aware, I am a student at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia. I am also a part-time English instructor at the same university. However, because all schools, including colleges and universities, are closed as a result of the Ebola crisis and most of us have nothing doing for now, we students of the Law School came together and formed ourselves into a group which visits various places – communities, market places, shops, entertainment centers, etc – to carry out awareness about the Ebola virus disease.

My colleagues talking to a group of people in a makeshift barber shop

My colleagues talking to a group of people in a makeshift barber shop

We bought our own t-shirts and paid an artist to print on it for us. We use the t-shirts for our outreach. We are not being paid by anyone, nor do we receive donations from the government or any NGO. It is a completely volunteer work to help our fellow citizens observe the safety measures announced by health workers and experts. Our goal is to help prevent people from contracting the virus.

One of my colleagues talking with a household around the St. Francis Junction

One of my colleagues talking with a household around the St. Francis Junction

I am the Coordinator of outreach. We started Phase One on September 2 and ended it on September 14. We went out three times a week – Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays. We spoke to 3,285 persons. We launched Phase Two on September 25 and we are still on it. It is for three weeks, but we go out two times a week – Thursdays and Saturdays. It will end this Saturday. Written by Paul Yeenie Harry, Director of HLFCS

A colleague of mine talking with people at the Duport Road Market

A colleague of mine talking with people at the Duport Road Market

Fundraising Target Reached and Passed

Dear friends, sponsors, donors, supporters and well-wishers of our school, we wish to joyously inform you that we have successfully reached the target of the annex construction fundraising campaign we launched at the end of July. We’ve made it!

Kids in jubilant mood

Happy Children

As you will recall, our original plan was to raise about $1,500; however, by September 1, we had raised a total of $1,825. From this amount, $68.40 was deducted as service fees. This means, the total amount on hand for the annex is $1756.60.

Those who contributed to the fundraising exercise are Taumo Silander (Norway), Lena Marner (Sweden), Mary Smith (United Kingdom), Fredrik Hulten (Sweden), Anders Marner (Sweden), Pepperadventure AB (Sweden), Maria Nilsson (Sweden), Elizabeth Thorne (Sweden), David Turner (United Kingdom), and Per-Olof Thorne (Sweden).

We say a very BIG THANK YOU to the ten persons who made the sacrifice in contributing to this cause. We very much appreciate their humanitarian gestures and generous donations. They are some of our true friends and partners who are helping to provide education and a future to needy kids in Liberia, especially in Buchanan.

We also wish to inform you that the money raised is still with our Swedish contact persons (Lena and Anders) who are also in charge of our PayPal account. It will be sent to Liberia later. Anders has promised to pay all the fees connected with transferring the money to Liberia, including paying the Liberian bank’s service charges.

Once again, many thanks to all those who, one way or another, participated in the fundraising exercise. Thank you! Thank you! Thank You!