Nehemiah’s Story
The need to invest in the academic empowerment of Liberian youth can not be over emphasized with little Nehemiah being no exception. January 2021 our team visited a school in the Iron Factory community, Liberia as part of OPI’S annual “ Back to school PLUS “event. At the event, the organization distribute backpacks, toys, personal care items and other school supplies. Due to the limitation of supplies, the organization strategically selected the honor-roll students, individuals who out performed their peers despite the global pandemic. The 3rd and 5th grade classes were randomly selected and added to the list of recipients.
To the amazement of the visiting team, six years old Nehemiah of the kindergarten class was on his knees being subjected to a week long punishment, according to the Principal of the school “ Nehemiah was undergoing punishment for not paying his tuition and continuously returning to school without supplies (bookbag, stationery, etc)”.
OPI provided the needed supplies and subsequently reached out to Nehemiah’s parents only to discover that his Dad was unemployed and dealing with health issues. The story of Nehemiah is one of the many stories that students in the impoverished West African state of Liberia faced.
As the team traveled throughout Montserrado and Margibi Counties serving the under privilege and impacting lives we found several version of the “Nehemiah’s experience” it became clear that unless there is a coordinated effort by ‘goodwill’ individuals and philanthropic organizations to sponsor a child, provide some form of scholarships to school going kids and teenagers in Liberia, the fate of the country’s future leaders remains under dark cloud.
Truly, 6-year old Nehemiah who is desperate for education did not deserve to be punished, he is a “CHILD”.
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