VAN Community Outreach plans to start the development of a community center in Betu, Grand Kru County, Liberia.
Betu is a small town in Southeast Liberia that is hard to access due to the physical barriers that one must overcome in order to reach the town. After driving 3 days from the border town of Sasstown, one must take a canoe to cross the Gbatu River before they can enter the town of Betu. VANCO has been visiting and aiding Betu since our initial outreach trip in 2020. Since then, we have provided the town a new, 8-seat canoe with life jackets, and established the Betu Library. As thanks, Betu offered 17 acres of land to VANCO in 2024. With this land, VANCO plans to develop the Betu Community Center!
The Betu Community Center will become the new home to the VANCO Betu Library which is currently held at Betu Elementary and Junior High School. Unfortunately, the spare room the school offered to house the library is too small to even place a table for the students to sit and read. Despite this limitation, the library is still in high demand and frequently used by over 300 students. The land for the community center is across from the Betu Elementary and Junior High for easy access to the students. The library within the center will have a seating area, computer lab, check-in counter, and bathrooms. The center will also have a large hall to house indoor activities for use by the 
students during the tropical rainy season which runs from April thru October. The hall will also be rented out to host community events and meetings.
In total, the development of the Betu Community Center will cost $53,000. We are currently soliciting for Phase 1, the laying of the foundation, which will cost $6000. Phase 2 will be raising the building. Phase 3 will be raising the roof. Phase 4 will be the installation of windows, doors, a water tower, and solar panels. The people of Betu will assist with the labor.
Kindly join us in making a difference in the lives of the children of Betu. We solicit your donation which will enable the students to have a library where they can sit, read, and conduct research in a spacious room with plenty of desks and chairs. All donors will be honored in the library.
Please review the rest of the website to see the projects and accomplishments we’ve made since our start in 2020. VANCO currently has 5 libraries in 5 underserved communities in Liberia: Barclayville, Betu, Grandcess, Kanweaken, and Sasstown. These libraries serve 36 schools and over 7000 students.
We accept donations via:
CashApp – $VANCOFred
Check/Money Order paid to VAN Community Outreach, Mail: P.O. Box 192, Frederick, MD 21705
Telephone: 301-401-9190
