VAN Community Outreach is proud to announce the successful launch of our Grand Kru County Library Initiative with the establishment of four libraries in Liberia from March 10th – 13th, 2022. The schools we collaborated with include: Betu Elementary and Jr. High School (Betu), P.G. Wolor High School (Grandcess), St. Paul Elementary and Jr. High School (Sasstown), St. Peter Claver Elementary and Jr. High School (Barclayville). These libraries will supplement the education of the 19 schools within the surrounding areas which consists of over 4000 students and more than 100 teachers.
The Grand Kru County Library Initiative began in September 2019 when we were given an overwhelming donation of books from City Gate, Inc of Washington, D.C. through one of our board members. We had hoped to share these resources to the schools of Grand Kru County, however during our 2020 Outreach Trip we found that there were no school libraries to house the books in the County. Upon this discovery, our organization made a concerted effort to establish the first public libraries in Grand Kru County to enhance the educational opportunities available to the students of these underserved communities. Over the next two years, VAN Community Outreach was able to amass over five hundred cases of books and resource materials, ten barrels of educational supplies, nine barrels of clothes, four computers and laptops, and a six-foot box of medical supplies and equipment for Rally Time Hospital (Grandcess). This was only possible through the support of our friends, family, and the public organizations that believed in our cause. After filling a forty-foot container, our supplies were shipped from the Port of Baltimore, MD on December 10th, 2021.
Our two-person team arrived in Monrovia, Liberia on January 28th, 2022 and ultimately stayed for eight weeks to complete this project. During this time, our team had to navigate Liberian customs to clear our supplies from the port; coordinate with the County Education Officer, Education Secretariat, and principals of each of these four schools, to develop their respective library; and worked with Liberian artisans to develop high-quality bookshelves, posters, and t-shirts. After sorting out the supplies, our team took a four-day trip to transport our books from Monrovia to Grand Kru County by cargo truck. The county roads were not easy to say the least. Our cargo truck actually got stuck in a puddle of mud for two days! Despite all the challenges along the way, we finally arrived in Betu on March 10th, 2022 to establish the Dr. Sean and Nancy Hunt Library in Betu Elementary and Jr. High School. Over the next three days we would travel to Sasstown, Barclayville, and Grandcess to establish the John Wilmot Wleh Nimene Library, the Rev. Fr. Thomas Dominic Donohue Library, and the VAN Community Outreach Library, respectively.
The name of each library was given with intention. The Dr. Sean and Nancy Hunt Library of Betu is dedicated to the Hunt’s, a couple whose timely and extremely generous donation defrayed the majority of our international freight costs. Their gift allowed our supplies to be shipped to Liberia on schedule. The Rev. Fr. Thomas Dominic Donohue Library is dedicated to the late Fr. Donohue who served the Barclayville Community as a Society of African Missions (SMA) Missionary priest until the time of his passing. Click this link to learn more about his story. Finally, the John Wilmot Wleh Nimene Library of Sasstown is dedicated to our founder’s late father, who served Sasstown Territory as Superintendent over ten years, developing roads, airstrips, as well as facilities for education, administration, electricity, and telecommunications. It was during his tenure as Superintendent that our founder lived in Sasstown, Grand Kru County, which berthed her passion for this community and matriculated into the establishment of VAN Community Outreach and its dedication to Grand Kru County.
We would like to give a huge thank you to our Executive Director, Veronica Nimpson, for spearheading this project with unwavering fortitude. Thank you to our Board of Directors for their assistance in coordinating this initiative and offering financial support. Thank you to all of our donors for providing the books, resources, and funds needed to cover our freight expenses and furnish the libraries with bookshelves and magazine/newspaper racks. Finally, thank you to everyone on the ground in Liberia who supported us throughout our trip!
Together, we can continue to make a difference in the lives of the children, youth, and elderly of Liberia!
