LIBERIA: MARDA Launches Project To Transform Kongo Public School

By Eldred Thomas | GNN Staff |

Members of Mano River Descendants Associated Liberia and USA Chapters have embarked on a vigorous campaign to ensure the transformation of the Kongo Public School, their amateur.

Kongo Public School, now Samuel R. Safiais is located in Kongo Township, Porkpa district, Grand Cape Mount County.

According to the Acting President of MARDA USA Chapter, Madam Marie NUK   Kamara, the move in intended to build latrine facility, improve safe drinking water supply for students.

Madam Kamara who is based in the United States of America said to make the project possible, MARDA USA and Liberia Chapters have launched a fundraising rally to undertake the project which is already in full swing.

She narrated that the project was considered after an assessment carryout by its Liberia Chapter which discovered that students attending the Kongo Public School lack latrine facility and improve safe drinking water posing serious health risks to them.

According to the MARDA USA Acting President, students were using the nearby bushes and outside the school building to ease themselves which is not civilize and serves as a recipe for outbreak of sicknesses.

” It pains my heart and other Mano River Descendants home and abroad to see our children to school in school in situation in the 21st century, Madam Kamara stated”.

She puts the cost of the project at 4,000 United States dollars, noting the organization has raised over 2,000 USD which been expended to take the project off the ground.

In an exclusive chat with GNN Liberia during its first membership meeting in Virginia township in Montserrado county, she pointed out that the rehabilitation of water pumps is also in motion and while at the same time disclosing plans to set up of a modern Library at the school.

Madam Kamara said the focus of MARDA is to ensure Kongo Public School return to it’s prewar status, adding a ground breaking ceremony has been held for the project coupled with the distribution of back to school materials, including used clothing to Community dwellers and some stipend for teachers as a sign of motivation and appreciation for their sacrifices to impact knowledge.

“We are very optimistic that we can work in making sure our school be promoted to Junior high and subsequently to senior high, while our teacher receive better wages, something we also have on our chest and paramount on MARDA advocacy agenda, Madam Kamara noted”.

The project according to her will coverage lobby for the renovation of the school, painting, replacement of some of the doors and windows as well as touching the ceiling.

” Those we considered the future leaders deserve better learning opportunities and the enabling environment to ensure they aquire sound and quality education like was in our case mainly during the ,70s and 80s, she explained”.

Madam Kamara boasted that KOS remains an institution of academic excellence, evident that it has and continues to produce a lot of prominent Liberians who are contributing to public and private sectors home and abroad.

She recounted that other high schools like the Lutheran, Assembly of God, and LKC all no longer exist due the civil crisis, but only Kongo Public School saying their amateur must not go down the drain.

Madam Kamara noted further that if such happen, the education of the younger generation will be undermined seriously as the school now caters to the educational needs of more than three hundred students from Porkpa district and surrounding areas.

She then used the membership meeting to extend gratitude to it’s members home and abroad for thier continuous financial and material support to MARDA.

Mano River Descendants Association is an advocacy group, a conglomeration of Liberians from different professional backgrounds who were schooled in Mano River, a mineral mining terrain in Grand Cape Mount during the operations of the defunct National Iron Ore Company of Liberia.