Children - The Future of Liberia (Continued)
"Thousands of children across the country
are out of school due to lack of facilities, teachers and funding. CRF
sponsors 244 of the children in the school. This is a life line due
to the bad economic conditions existing in Liberia. I pray that this is the beginning
of many good things for our country. And the assistance to those children at
the university level is not a small thing in any way." -Arthur
David, missionary to Liberia
"I
write this poem to express to you that I really appreciate what you have
done and are doing for me . . ." -Togar
S. Tarpeh, Liberian student
You are the Hope of the Hopeless . . .
You give Hope to the Hopeless,
You cause the Hopeless to laugh when they wear a frown on their faces,
You feed and clothe many less fortunate children of our continent,
You take on parental responsibilities when our parents cannot bear,
How grateful I am to you for your godly task and care,
You give joy, peace, happiness and Hope to the Needy,
You by God's help, serve as an angel to lead us from Poverty to better life,
You deserve millions of praises and blessings for you will live long,
You are indeed the Hope of the Hopeless and less fortunate. -Togar S. Tarpeh, Liberian student
From another Liberian student:
" I am happy to explain to you about my community. I live in a congested
and densely populated area where there is a low standard of living. It is extremely
difficult for one to have the basic necessity of life. We do not have safe
drinking water which leads to sickness like dysentery, diarrhea, etc. We lack
basic facilities like latrines, clinics, good road network, etc.
"The 14 years of war has caused much damage. There are many criminals most of whom are ex-combatants who do not have respect for human dignity. Most of the community lacks jobs and because of this, many of the parents are not able to afford the tuition fees to send their children to school. I live in a rented house built with mat where I pay $300 per month. The house lacks a toilet, and is very dirty and unfavorable for human dwelling. Due to the conditions listed above, I have decided to write you asking for a scholarship to enable me get a sound education to better my life for the future. May the Lord be with you as you try your best to help me get the best of education. Thanks in advance for your concern." -Barrolle F. Drobia, Liberian student
First Woman Elected to Lead an African Nation . . .
On March 15, 2006, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the fourth
African head-of-state and the eighth woman to address a joint meeting of
the United States Congress. She asked for America to help her country "become
a brilliant beacon, an example to Africa and the world of what love of liberty
can achieve. . . I can only say a big thank you. The
people of Liberia and the people of the United States are bound together by
history and by values. But our ties
greatly exceed the historical connection. I stand before you today,
as the first woman elected to lead an African nation. . .
"The Liberian people have sent me here to thank you - thank
you for your vision. Our triumph over
evil is also your triumph. Our special relationship with the United
States
brought us benefits long before the autumn of 2003 . . .Thousands
of
our people, including myself, have been educated in American
missionary schools
and
gone on to higher training in this country . . ." -Ellen Sirleaf,
Liberian President
Dear Brother Arthur,
Thank you for sharing this speech with me. It is inspiring and I pray that
your country will realize every dream she describes. This
makes me all the more determined to help the six college students in our
program. If any one
of them aspired to the level of greatness of this dear lady, what a blessing
it could be to your country and the Lord's work among you. God bless
you, Arthur. I am so happy for these developments in your country and will
pray
for success and peace. In Christ,
Linda Purdy,
CRF Executive Director
To help with a student scholarship click here.