Library Initiative – 2024

VAN Community Outreach (VANCO) is proud to announce a successful trip to Liberia for our 2024 Library Initiative, from February 17, 2024 to March 21, 2024.  Our three-person team arrived in Monrovia, Liberia on February 21, 2024 and stayed in Liberia for 4 weeks to accomplish the following:

1. 1. 1. A 5th Library was opened at St. Kizito Elementary School in Kanweaken, River Gee County. In total, VANCO’s 5 libraries house over 16,000 books, servicing 7000 students and 36 schools across Grand Kru County and River Gee County.
      2. Purchased two full sets of West African Examination Council (WAEC), West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), and Liberian standardized textbooks for Betu and Grandcess.
      3. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the construction of a Community Center in Betu. The people of Betu donated 17.5 acres to the VANCO, which we chose to build a new center to house our library in Betu.
      4. The “VANCO Library” of P.G. Wollor High School in Grandcess was renamed to the “Philip Wreh and Beatrice Munah Nimpson Library” in the dedication to the parents of Dr. Matthew N Nimpson, VANCO Chairman of the Board, who were born and supported Grandcess throughout their lives.
      5. 6 barrels of clothes, shoes, and school supplies were distributed to the students and teachers in all of the 5 areas VANCO serve: Barclayville, Betu, Grandcess, Sasstown, and River Gee.
      6. 80 elderly receive a gift of toiletries.
      7. Some medical supplies were given to the Rally Time Hospital, Grand Kru County only referral hospital which service over 65,000 persons.

VANCO initially established four libraries throughout Grand Kru County in 2022 to aid the 20 schools, 4000 students, and more than 100 teachers within the County. These libraries are located at Betu Elementary and Jr. High School (Betu), P.G. Wollor High School (Grandcess), St. Paul Elementary and Jr. High School (Sasstown), St. Peter Claver Elementary and Jr. High School (Barclayville). However, since the opening of these libraries in 2022, our team has not come back to Grand Kru to see the libraries in operation. Therefore, VANCO planned to return in 2024 the review the functionality of our libraries and supplement the staff and students with additional resources.

VANCO purchased 16 computers for our libraries to begin a Computer Literacy program in each of our 5 libraries. VANCO also purchased 5 sets of West African Examination Council (WAEC) standardized textbooks to meet the direct needs of the students. Liberian students undergo nationwide standardized testing based on the content of the WAEC standardized textbooks. However, access to these textbooks for the students is limited outside of class due to the high cost of these textbooks. On top of school fees, families would have to pay $680 over the course of their child’s education to own the full Aki-Ola textbook series. Having these textbooks available in the libraries removes that economic barrier which allows them to review and practice material at their own pace, learn concepts ahead of class, and ask deeper questions during lecture to ultimately have a more enriching learning experience.

Our team initially scheduled the 4-week trip to Liberia spending the first 2 weeks in Monrovia coordinating with staff and organizing our supplies. The final 3 weeks would be spent interview distributing our supplies to the five communities in Grand Kru and River Gee County. However, due complications with our shipper in Liberia, our supplies arrived to Grand Kru County 2.5 weeks late, leaving us only 3 days to drop off supplies. During this delay, our team met with Grand Kru schools and our library staff to assess the successes and shortcomings of our library’s effectiveness, the VANCO Book Club, and our 2023 Summer Reading Program.

Once the supplies arrived, our team raced through Grandcess, Betu, Sasstown, Barclayville, and Kanweaken to drop off supplies and meet with staff. The “VANCO Library” of P.G. Wollor High School in Grandcess was renamed to the “Philip Wreh and Beatrice Munah Nimpson Library” in the dedication to the parents of Dr. Matthew N Nimpson, VANCO Chairman of the Board, who were born and supported Grandcess throughout their lives. VANCO established its fifth library, “The St. Kizito Library” at Kizito Elementary and Junior High School in Kanweaken, River Gee County. This library will be available to the 16 schools within River Gee County. The St. Kizito Library is VANCO’s first library outside of Grand Kru County and indicates our plan extend our outreach to the underserved communities throughout Liberia. VANCO also held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction the VANCO Multipurpose Community Center in Betu. The people of Betu granted 17.5 acres of land to VANCO in 2023 to support the city and its educational efforts!

Moving forward, we plan to compete Phase II of the Library Initiative by providing our 16 computers to our 5 libraries. These computers were shipped from Frederick, MD in November 2023 and set to reach Monrovia, Liberia in January 2024. Unfortunately, due to issues with our international shipper, the computers had yet to reach the country by the time we our team left Liberia on March 22, 2024. We also plan to continue to our Annual Summer Reading Program starting July 24, 2024.

We want to thank all of our donors, the VANCO Board of Directors, Library staff, the teachers and students and general community who are contributing to the success of this Library Initiative. Together, we are empowering the students to learn, read about the world and other cultures. One cannot go wrong with education, because this is the only thing no one can take away from you once obtained. Thanks for your time and support!