St John Finds a Partner

For five years St John has been working toward this project.  After careful consideration we have found the international NGO that can help us make this new school idea a reality.

On October 29, 2015, a team of seven staff from Change Agent Network-Liberia pay an assessment visit to Galai for the construction of a modern Elementary and Junior High School. The team arrived along with two local committee members, Mr. Charles Puo and Ms. Bendu Gono. We were indeed thrilled to have received such a traditional welcome with kola nuts in a plate, an African way of welcoming someone with peace and an open heart – Alluding to an African proverb that said “he who brings kola brings life”.

The town people especially the women, youth and elders of the town were very excited to hear the team say “we bring you greetings from your son, Jesse Matthews” and that he sent us here to build the school that he being yearning for for more than five years to build for the community. In response, the community people were full of praise to Mr. Matthews for not forgetting about them as well as his Canadian Church people for the bring hope and pride to their community.

Dorbor, the head of the assessment team, encouraged them to take the project to be their own and that they should get involved in the construction work. They committed themselves to provide all the local materials and labor of which they will be compensated for as part of our community empowering strategy.

Their message to Mr. Matthews and his kind loving supporters was very short: Our prayers are with you, may God continue to bless your hands. Thank you so so much for giving us a future for our children!

This school construction project is made available through a Liberian humanitarian, Mr. Jesse Matthews and his Canadian partners and supporters. Mr. Matthews, during his last visit to Liberia was heartbroken to see school kids sitting in dusty makeshift hut called a school. Since then, he had had an uneasiness to help relieve his people and give them a reason for hope for the future.

Mr. Eric Wowoh, the Founder and Executive Director of Change Agent Network, the implementing partner, counts it as a help to our work when people are touched by what we do and partners with us as we continue to connect under-resourced Liberian communities with global partners to launch locally sustainable schools to break the cycle of poverty in Liberia.