Family Legacy: Help support Gbiso Public School

Hello, My name is McIsiah Kendema, but my friends call me Mac. This is a story about the legacy of my family, and the mission of my mother, Sarah, to continue the journey of providing education to others. Our legacy started in Liberia, and we need your support in order to allow others to stand on the same stage as their global neighbors. Help support Gbiso Public School(K-8).

Her story takes place in Maryland County, Liberia in the 1960s, her childhood home. At the time, my grandfather did not have the money to send his own children to school. Even if he did, the nearest school was two hours away by foot. He thought of a way to lead his children to knowledge, but he knew it would not be easy for either himself or for them. He made the decision to send his kids off as live-in help, and in exchange, the employers would send them to school while they worked.

“I left my parents at a young age and did not see them until I was 20 years old. There are times when children as young as 10 years old have been sent. I never want other children to go through what I did.”

[Photo from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liberia,_administrative_divisions_-_de_-_colored.svg]

We have four objectives for this fundraiser, and we hope that you can support us:

#1

Making connections:

If you are doing work in education, tech, gaming, Africa Diaspora, or any activities with SDGs, we would like to partner and collaborate with you. We want to create a pipeline for success for our students and their families.

#2

Basic Repairs:

The buildings in the village are built from a combination of mud, bamboo, and metal zing for the roofing. They last for about 3 years and must be rebuilt each time.

The total is $500 per building.

[Gbiso Village video]

[How to build mud huts]

#3

Building a computer room:

We want to give our students a fighting chance on the global stage by lessening the digital divide as much as possible. To do this, we want to teach the students basic computer literacy and the ability to create games. Game creation is a fun and creative way to learn programming. It gives them the ability to either work for themselves or other game companies within this billion-dollar industry.

We found a remote teacher that would be willing to teach the students game programming, and now we need to create the facility. The teacher has also uploaded his lessons for anyone to view.

YouMeWe Earth School (Lesson1 boxes)

Total: $2500

-Computers, WIFI, and basic utilities

Unfortunately, since the Gbiso Village is in a remote area, internet connectivity is not reliable, and even mobile hotspots have issues. So, we are planning to create an annex for the school in Pleebo, one of the major cities in Maryland County that has reliable internet connectivity. Currently, scouting locations and on-site teachers. We will provide transportation for the students.

#4

[Dormitory + High school addition]

Our number one mission is to provide the students a place to maximize their learning potential with a good and safe environment. Being one of the only villages with a public school, many students travel far in order to get an education. We want a place where they can eat, rest, and learn without having to worry about basic necessities.

We started the process of blueprinting the dormitory with an engineer, and we estimate that the price will be about $10,000.

[Future dormitory]

Due to covid19, we have been having a lot of setbacks with labor and resources, but we push on forward slowly but surely.

Africa has talent and is growing fast by the second, but these resources are not reaching remote villages like Gbiso. Help us give them a fighting chance.

Thank you for listening, and don't forget to donate!

Are you interested in learning more about Liberia and Gbiso village? Each week I will update the gofundme page with interesting facts and stories until the end of May. So, please keep coming back! If you have any questions please let us know! Thank you!