Help Liberia Foundation Community School is a primary school located in a place called Buchanan in Liberia, West Africa. Buchanan is about 112km from Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. Buchanan -- whose population is about 34,000 -- comprises several ethnic groups; however, the main group is Bassa, which is also the second largest ethnic group in the country.

Liberia experienced a fourteen-year civil war that devastated the entire country, Buchanan included. The country faces a lot of problems. Unemployment is about 70%, illiteracy rate is about 75% percent and more than 65% live on less than $1 a day.

I am a writer and certified teacher. Actually, I have an interdisciplinary background -- English, literature, accounting, business administration, etc. I strongly believe in taking initiatives that will impact others positively. Most of my friends and colleagues believe I am an organizer and mobilizer. I have either established or headed various organizations -- social, academic, intellectual, charity, etc.

Reflecting on what the war has done to the children and their families, and recognizing what should be done to change the situation around, I decided to initiate a program that would help provide educational and other opportunities to disadvantaged Liberian children. I discussed the idea with a friend, Mrs. Anna Dobrowolska, who was willing and ready to assist. Soon we started Help Liberia Foundation in October of 2003, a charity organization.

In 2004, we started donating educational and building materials to various schools, as well as school supplies and clothes to children in different schools. We made use of the little-is-much-to-the-needy orientation to render assistance to the schools and kids, which they appreciated.

Then in 2005, we decided to establish Help Liberia Foundation Foundation Community School, our first school, in Buchanan. The purpose is to help educate disadvantaged children of the community, children who are either orphans, or children who come from poor, unemployed or low-income families. We started with about 30 children. Now we have about 150 kids in the school.

The kids get their education mainly through our child sponsorship program, wherein sponsors pick children whom they want to support in school, enabling those kids to attend our school without paying tuition. Some of the sponsors also, sometimes, decide to purchase uniforms, books, clothes, school supplies, etc., for the kids them support.

The World Food Program assists our school with food ration monthly, enabling us to cook for the children daily. The staff benefit from the arrangement, too, of course.

The children used to wear ordinary clothes between 2005 to 2007. We introduced uniforms at the end of 2007, a situation that has also helped to further reduce the burden parents face. Moreover, to give the children non-academic skills, we introduced a vocational training -- a typing program -- in 2008. We started with ten typewriters. The children and their parents love it. We are planning to add a sewing program soon.

Our next project -- the biggest and most resource-intensive -- is the construction of a school building for the kids. The building will contain thirteen classrooms, two vocational-training rooms, one reading room, two offices, a teachers’ lounge, a storeroom and two toilets. The cost of the project is estimated at US$35,000. We don't have all the money, so we are seeking funding here and there. We would very appreciate any bit of assistance from any individuals or institutions out there.

In the next three years, we want to increase the number of underprivileged children we help from 150 to 500. But to be able to do that, we have to have our own building in which we can accommodate the children. The building we currently used is an unfinished residential building, and it's not ours. We are renting it from the owners. Our current lease agreement will expire in two years (2011). We are not even sure whether the owners will still want us in at the end of the agreement.

In life, some people fight to give themselves a better future. Others can't; they must be helped. Individuals or institutions of goodwill must fight for them in order to give them a better future. I want to continue to be part of the latter until what is called life is taken from me.

The fact is that there are more good people than bad people in the world. The problem, however, is that a greater part of the good people lack the resources to make a difference, although they crave to. How to deal with this incapacity is a great challenge.