While working on the ELWA sign painting project in January 2007, several young boys, including Archie and Emmanuel, came by and volunteered to help. In conversing with the boys, we found out that the reason they were "free" on a school day was because they had no money for school fees, so couldn't go to school. When the project was completed, Nancy Molenhouse went with them to their schools and paid their fees so that they could start attending school again. This was when Nancy began to realize the desperate need for scholarships for children in the ELWA community, and the idea to start the ELWA scholarship program began.
Currently we provide scholarships to 32 deserving students. It costs between $100-300 a year per student for school fees. Board members review the applications and select students, and the staff at ELWA coordinates with us to disburse the funds to the schools. As of April 2010, there are another 45 new applications, as well as many college students needing assistance. To meet our current obligations, we will need $5000 by August. If God is leading you to give to these children's education, you may donate to a general scholarship fund, or you can sponsor a child.
Ninth grader Emmanuel Blackie (nephew of Blackie, the carpenter who worked alongside Elsworth Balzer for so many years), says,
"If I did not have a scholarship for school, I will pray to God so He can get me back in school". Emmanuel wants to be a science student in college and become a medical doctor.
Mercy Peters is a 3rd grader at ELWA Academy and lives with Mary Blaine, an ELWA hospital nurse. When Mercy was a baby, she was abandoned at JFK Hospital, where Mary was working as a nurse. With no one else to care for the baby, Mary took Mercy into her home.
Mary has other children, and the cost of schooling is difficult. A couple years ago, she told Benedict Nagbe, the principal of ELWA Academy where Mercy attends, that Mercy would have to drop out of school due to the lack of funds. Benedict and his wife decided at that time to pay the school fees for Mercy.
However, this past September, when the ELWA Academy school fees doubled, Benedict and his wife could no longer pay for Mercy's fees in addition to the school fees for their own children. The ELWA scholarship fund was able to step in and provide Mercy with the money she needed to continue school.
Fatoria Harris is a third grader at ELWA Academy. When Fatoria was a baby, her mother and father became ill with cholera and died within days of each other. She is being raised by an aunt and uncle in the King Gray area, the village right next to ELWA.
The Thompson sibling group met another one of Fatoria's uncles, Zinnah, in January 2006 as he organized a group of ex-combatants to help us paint the ELWA radio entry walls. For the past few years, Zinnah has talked to us and written to us about his great concern for the education of his niece. Zinnah picked up a scholarship application in the summer of 2009, and Fatoria was accepted for the ELWA scholarship program September 2009.
Zinnah came to see us during our stay at ELWA in January 2010 and thanked us for providing the opportunity for his niece to go to ELWA Academy. He brought Fatoria to meet and talk with us. It's a real joy to meet and get to know the children who are benefiting from the scholarship program.
Lawson Wonnah is 18, and attending ELWA Academy in the 9th Grade, and loves music. He says, "I am in need of this scholarship because I live with my aunty who does not work for much money, and both my parents are dead." Lawson's goal in life is to become a medical doctor. We need your help to keep Lawson and students like him in school. Will you donate today?
Thank you for all who have donated money for these precious children. It now costs $240 per year to educate a student in Liberia. If you would like to sponsor Mercy or Emmanuel, please contact EMA+USA for more information.
February 3, 2010 Update
The funds for this semester's scholarships were sent, and Director Kedrick White sent his thanks. James Kesselly also wrote:
The funds came just in time, some of the schools have started sending students home for the fees. Benedict should be making his rounds tomorrow to make payments to the various schools.
Again thank you all for your part in helping to prepare our future leaders of Liberia. The beneficiaries could be ELWA's future work force too. This will go a long way in promoting the Ministries of ELWA and will certainly make impact for the Kingdom of God in the the spread of the gospel here in Liberia and beyond. These are means for open door to minister the gospel.
Thank you to all who contributed to this investment in the lives of precious children, the nation of Liberia, and for eternity. We will need another $2600 by August 2010 for the next semester. Please consider helping these students. If you or your Sunday School class or youth group would be interested in sponsoring a student for $300 per year, please contact us. We will match you with a student, and you will be able to develop a relationship with them through photos and letters. May God richly bless you!
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