Girls' Hostel 2009/2010

Thanks to a new program, the Zondo Girls' Hostel, twenty female students are able to stay in school. In rural Liberia, girls as young as six face economic pressure to work full-time on family farms. Now the Zondo community has committed to support a new program to encourage girls to continue their education.

Participants in the Girls' Hostel live in local homes or at the school, and community members provide food for the girls. Under the care of a trained social worker, these girls receive the support they need to stay in school. School principal Arthur Crusoe hopes that they will serve as role models for future female students.

School staff and community members have combined compassion with flexibility to make the Girls' hostel possible. Principal Arthur Crusoe writes, "Some villagers are bringing in food and with that we hope to be able to feed a child on $10 U.S. per month. The girls and Alexander Paye are now in charge of keeping the school clean and so the $50 allocated monthly for janitorial services will go toward their upkeep. We also plan to have a team of concerned parents take the security service and that will add another $50 to the welfare of the girls. We believe that girls' education should now be given more attention and we are ready to go about it as the Lord leads."