Henry's School

Meet Henry Goahgor. Henry has a compassion for children in Liberia and their families and assists them in attending school in Barnersville Palm Field Community who wouldn’t otherwise have the ways or means of achieving a better life in Liberia. He aspires to build a school and play ground where these needs can be met from preschool to adult classes. 

My love for kids, orphan children, adult illiteracy, my community, and country of Liberia moves me to open this school in my community. After the civil war, there were no qualified teachers in the Barnersville Palm Field Community from 2001-2009. Our community is highly populated and is located outside of Monrovia far off the main car road. Children cannot go far distances for schooling due to safety reasons. And there is no public school in this community. The civil war affected parents and guardians living in this community and most are unable to afford to send their children to schools outside our community.  

There are alot of challenges my school is faced with. Poor building structure, lack of good seating capacity, better sanitation, safe drinking water, feeding program, and decent salary for our teachers. Many adults in our community are asking me to open an adult school which would require a generator so we could operate our school in the evenings. I am currently operating my school with weaved mat walls, dirt floor, and bare benches for seating. I have also dug the holes for our water well and latrines. I have been busy making bricks for our school building. And I spend much of my time advocating and promoting the school for further community involvement. I do not feel that this way will allow me to complete the school on my own by school start up this fall. I have 150 students committed to attending this fall and am looking at closer to 200 students enrolling by the start of this 2013 school year.

 

The following are estimated costs for the school to open:

 7,680 dirt-bricks cost……………$ 645 USD

200 bags of cement………………$ 1,600 USD

One truck load of sand………….$ $ 200.00 USD

Zinc (28 gauge) – 1bundle=$150….12 bundles Needed= $1800 USD

 Total build costs needs= $4,245.00

Note that during your visit to the school, you met five of my teachers plus me, which equal to six teachers presently teaching. We are running from Nursery to grade 6 level, and the total students for this semester is 150. 

Salary is $ 760.00 USD per month

The curriculum we use is the Liberian National Primary Curriculum.

 BUDGET FOR BOOKS 2013 & 2014

 1.      Nursery to grade 6 reading books  

2.      Primary science – 7 books

3.      English- 7 books  

4.      Elementary math  -7 books

5.      Social Studies -7 books

6.      Teacher’s Lesson Plan – 7 books

7.      Attendance book

8.      Administrative book

9.      Teachers’ Roll Books-6

10.  School Supplies expense:

(Pen, Report car, running of Test, Ruler, Chalk & Tissue……

  Estimated funds needed: $530.00

Estimated cost for feeding of 150 Children: $140.00 pr month


Unlike your American schools, this is our only option for a school menu. It would be nice to afford to feed the students a more balanced meal.

The generator is very important for our school, in that, we will use it to open night school that will bring extra funds to our school. We will be showing phonics DVDs and other items to the children every Friday. Better still, we can give off current to some of our neighbors for monthly payment so as to help us buy fuel and cover up other expenses.

Kama 5.0 K.V.A. diesel generator: $1,200.00

300 arm chairs each cost $15.00 USD for 12 class rooms.

Cost for 300 arm chair….. $4,500 USD

 Office chairs six (6)…… $120.00 USD

 Office desk three (3) …. $150.00 USD

TOTAL CHAIRS & DESK COST …. $4,770 USD

27 Sponsored orphans in school

One year tuition for 27 orphans plus uniforms/ shoes and supplies ……  $4,050.00 USD

These children need school sponsors:

     

   

   

   

 

   

   

   



Donna’s Children Play Ground Center

          ITEM                                         COST

1.     See Saw ________________ $ 175.00

2.     Slide ___________________ $ 275.00

3.     Swing __________________ $ 250.00

4.     Mary Go-Round __________ $ 350.00

5.   Total __________________ _$ 1,050.00 USD

Current sanitary facilities for our is school is very poor, in that there is no hand pumps for water, we have a pit toilet with a mat around it, and the class room floors is very bad off with dirt flooring. I have completed the digging of the hand pump well and the latrines and I made bricks for the hand pump and well. I just need help with a hand pump and finishing work for the latrines.

Hand pump for School grounds-…. $400.00 USD 

Latrines for school- $1,000.00 USD

Fencing for around school grounds for safety-… $500.00 USD

We start with our building work now from April to August, by the help of God we will finish within the five months period. A good school facility with play ground equipment draws parent’s attention. This will help with the enrollment funds too.

“What I am doing is very real from deep down in my heart. This is why I am self sacrificing, using my time, energy, effort and my little money struggling with the kids which is my goal to help but not to rob the poor as you know my area is education.”

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
-Nelson Mandela