Zondo Visit 2009: Reflections

Family of Hope board members Barrett and Amy Fisher spent three day in Zondo at the beginning of July. Here they reflect on Zondo, its school, and the words of speakers at the end-of-the-year ceremony. Please visit the photos page for pictures and and brief captions from their trip.

Different Journeys, Familiar Faces

When we visited Zondo in 2007, our journey included a car, a canoe, and a five- mile jungle hike. This time our trip to Zondo from the Liberian capital of Monrovia required only a car; thanks to the road cleared by the local rubber plantation, we drove straight into the schoolyard!

Many improvements have been made to the school building since our previous visit. Family of Hope support has ensured that the walls are plastered, ceilings are installed, and floors and outdoor hallways are finished with concrete. A local organization has donated a generator so that the school can resume evening literacy classes for women this fall. Two donated water tanks/filters await installation so that the school can have safe, running water. LAC has leveled a full-sized football (soccer) field next to the school that serves both schoolchildren and older teams. The Zondo school building has become a gathering spot that builds community.

Our transportation to this “community center” was different than in 2007, but the raucous welcome was familiar. We recognized parents and children, and were prepared for the tremendous celebration when we pulled into the school. An even larger end-of-the year closing ceremony was held on the third and final day of our visit. Teachers, students, parents, and local dignitaries crowded into the sweltering assembly hall to celebrate Zondo’s ninth-grade graduates and the accomplishments of all 400 students and 19 staff members.

Education: The Only Solution

As we spoke to Zondo residents and participated in the closing ceremony, we heard about the extreme value placed on Christian education. Daniel Chea was Charles Taylor’s defense minister and is now the community-relations officer for LAC, the rubber plantation that lies adjacent to Zondo. He spoke from personal experience when he declared, “We thought that by shooting each other we would solve the problem. We were wrong. We were all wrong. The only solution is to acquire an education.” Mr. Chea has supported the school by personally donating bags of cement.

Another speaker at the ceremony was Reverend Henry Goeh, who attended the mission school in Zondo well before the civil war. He stated his belief that “In this land there is no one who is fair and honest.” Yet he has hope for the future; through Christian education that builds moral character as well as head-knowledge, “in 25-50 years, all of government will be honest people and there will be no more corruption.” Rev. Goeh announced that he and his wife would provide a scholarship for the “most honest” student to continue his or her education in high school. Estella Kilby, who works with the Concerned Bassa Citizens, also announced that she would fund a high-school scholarship for the neediest student.

Education that Is Good

Reverend Doctor Abba Karngar, the keynote speaker, exemplifies the idea that it is never too late to obtain an education. Abba Karngar did not begin his formal schooling until he was 18. He started at the mission school in Zondo. He now holds not one but two Ph.D.s! Abba Karngar praised the current Zondo school and reminded listeners that, “Education that is good teaches the difference between what is good and what is right.”

The Zondo teachers and administrators strive to provide just that kind of good education, and the students are committed to learn no matter what the obstacles. One student, Mercy, just graduated from the ninth grade. Mercy was one of six students who walked two hours—each way, every day—in order to attend the Zondo school this year. Another student just completed his first year. He walks 45 minutes each way to school—on his crutches. He had childhood polio that left one of his legs withered.

Sometimes We Feel Discouraged: Challenges

Unfortunately distance is not the only challenge that students face. Many students arrive at school hungry and return home still hungry. If students become sick, there is no clinic or doctor to visit. Evening homework is usually impossible because there is no electricity and there are no candles to produce light. Older girls experience family pressure to leave school in order to marry or help with family chores. Those students who overcome these obstacles and finish ninth grade in Zondo must then move to Buchanan or Monrovia to continue their education. Even more problematic, they must pay high-school fees.

Even the Angels Wonder: Hope

These challenges don’t dissuade students from attending school, nor do poor living conditions dissuade teachers and administrators from devoting themselves to good education in Zondo. Principal Arthur Crusoe recalled that his father often sang the spiritual “Sometimes We Feel Discouraged.” During the Liberian civil war, this song was a constant refrain. Now the Zondo school is “the salt of Liberia,” and “even the angels look down and wonder” at the hope that is represented there. Arthur dreams of providing extra support to female students, so that in the future Zondo can boast of men and women with Ph.D.s.

We share the angels’ wonder and Arthur’s dream. We share Rev. Goeh’s vision of godly Liberian leaders and a lasting peace for the country. We share Daniel Chea’s and Estella Kilby’s desire to materially support Liberian Christian education. Finally, we share the thanks that each of these speakers expressed vigorously and repeatedly to every Family of Hope supporter. As Arthur Crusoe exclaimed, “You are helping to preserve that which is good.”