To Feed + Educate 1 Child is Only $25 a Month

If you believe you could make a significant difference in the life of a child for a small investment, you might be interested. If you understood the current situation in Liberia, you might want to give a “hand up” to a child. If you believe that all people deserve a chance to reach their God-given potential, then you might invest. If you believe that you can afford to make the investment, you might be interested.  If you believe that having a nourished and educated child gives the country of Liberia and the world a better chance at a brighter future, you might invest.

The founder, Pastor Sylvester Johnson, has been working and praying tirelessly since 2016 to start the school.  He has been to the U.S. and could have stayed but chose to return to Liberia to serve the people and especially the children of his homeland.  The school is registered as an official tax exempt organization in Liberia and has been through the rigorous process of obtaining an “equivalency declaration” so that donations are tax deductible for U.S. Donors. The teaching materials used in the school meet the government curriculum requirements and the teachers meet government standards.  There have been personal visits to the school by representatives from Feed My Starving Children and Feed the Hungry, who also have provided meals to Light of the World Chapel and Academy.  Since the founding in 2016 several shipments have been sent to Light of the World Chapel and Academy, including Bibles, School T-Shirts, band instruments, and donated wireless microphones.  Pastor Johnson has been a good and reliable partner – working through the details of communicating details about the needs (for example, what cables are needed for the wireless mics to plug into the sound board…), and provides photos and feedback on how the materials are used at the school.  None of your donation is spent in the U.S. on fundraising or any other expenses (including this website).  Donated funds are directly deposited into a fund in the name of Light of the World and then periodically  transferred to Light of the World Chapel and Academy in Liberia. Electricity runs in the evenings only to save money, Meals are prepared in a 3 sided “lean-to” structure using charcoal for fuel.   Light of the World Chapel and Academy is  a very “lean” operation.

Yes!  These children will have a much better chance to lead a joyful and fulfilling life if they receive proper nourishment and an education.  They may not have schedule conflicts between soccer, gymnastics, and lacrosse, but neither did our grandparents. They will be making forward progress.  Parents and the community will be joyful to see their children have a better life than they had, just as parents and communities everywhere are.

It is difficult to understand the challenges in a financially distressed country. There is no free public education.  There is no food shelf or SNAP (food stamps).  There is no electric grid. (power is generated by a local person with a gas powered backup generator). In order to build the “kitchen” it took multiple trips to the bank on multiple days to withdraw funds because it was only possible to withdraw $50 per day because the government was concerned about a run on the banks. Actually what the leadership and staff at Light of the World Chapel and Academy is doing themselves amazing.  Because they are doing so much we take for granted “themselves”. 

The government does not have the funding for public education.  Liberia has had two civil wars and an Ebola crisis in the recent past.  What little infrastructure that existed previously has not been rebuilt.  There are goals to provide an electrical grid and provide some other infrastructure, but rebuilding a country with meager funds does not happen overnight.  In addition, there are rumors and allegations of corruption regarding past and current administrations. One of the more bizarre is of an entire shipping container of newly printed bank notes (currency) that went missing.  The children need support.  The government is not in a position to provide it.  

In many countries, World Vision, Compassion International and other large service organizations provide an opportunity to “sponsor” a child.  Unfortunately, none of these organizations operate in Liberia, which is a “smallish” country on the west side of Africa.  It is about the size of Ohio and has a population of 4.8 million, similar to Minnesota (5.6 million).  It is expensive for a multi-national service organization to set up operations in a country, so it is unlikely to happen.  The best option for helping Liberia is for individuals and organizations (churches, schools, and service organizations) to work directly with trustworthy organizations in Liberia.