WHO WE ARE

Liberian Children's Rescue Orphanage Update: We support thirty-six children and eleven staff members at the orphanage. The children who live at the orphanage home are enrolled in a private K-12 school or are exploring higher education opportunities. Our recent 12th grade graduates look forward to attending vocational school for nursing and satellite installation. The vocational program we began a few years ago for orphanage high school graduates is starting to bear fruit. Five of our older vocational school students have successfully transitioned to full-time work. Three are working as nurses (Alexander is at the The Good Samaritans Clinic, Venus works at JFK hospital, and Famatta serves at the Redemption Hospital). Jartu currently works at the Monoprix supermarket, and Moses has a scholarship to the United Methodist University while also working at a radio station called Big FM in Monrovia. Seven other young adults have completed their vocational programs in a variety of concentrations, including nursing, cosmetology, diesel repair, and electricity. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to find full time employment in Liberia, even with an advanced degree. Although they no longer live at the orphanage home, we provide these former students with food stipends to help them transition to adulthood while they are actively looking for work. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to complete a large number of necessary improvements to the orphanage building in 2022, including construction of a perimeter fence, installation of a new gate, tiling the full house, installation of new windows, and an electrical upgrade. Despite these blessings, it has been a tumultuous year for Bindu Nimley, our orphanage directress. We were overjoyed to celebrate her wedding in the spring of this year, but overcome with grief when her new husband unexpectedly passed away in October. Please keep Bindu in your thoughts in prayers in the year ahead. Due to the volume of project work we were able to complete this year at the orphanage home, we will be focused on optimizing our ongoing operations in 2023 vs. spending on additional capital improvements. Though ongoing operational costs will be higher due to inflationary impacts, we are projecting a smaller total orphanage budget of $65,000 for 2023, down from $70,000 in 2022. Mercy Night School Update: 220 adult learners regularly attend the Mercy Night School, spanning grades K-12. Thirty of our 12th grade students (pictured above) took the Western African Education Council High School equivalency exam with 100% pass rate! Mary Karlor is a current 11th grade student, and wanted to share this testimony with SFJ Donors, “This School has made me realize that no matter your age (Mary is 58), you can accomplish your dreams. At my job site, elevation has been a problem for me because of my low credentials, but the night school has reawakened my desire for learning. My reading ability has improved tremendously, and I can’t believe that I am solving Chemistry and Physics problems again on my own.” We maintain a strong relationship with the Methodist church that owns the night school building, and negotiated the use of additional office space for our school administrators starting in January 2023. Due to the difficulty of finding full time work, even with a high school diploma, we’re planning on piloting two vocational programs - tailoring and home economics - to equip our students with more career opportunities in 2023. While Mercy Night School will remain tuition free for all adult learners, we continually evaluate options for ensuring students remain invested in their own educational journeys. The WAEC council offers a standardized exam in the 9th grade that few of our students have historically taken. We will be offering a stipend in 2023 for these students to encourage participation, while the 12th grade exam will remain free of charge. We are projecting a slightly higher total night school budget of $35,000 for 2023, up from $30,000 in 2022. Unsurprisingly, inflation is greatly impacting our amazing Orphanage and Night School staff, with no signs of abatement. The majority of increased operational costs for the orphanage and night school will go towards higher staff salaries in 2023. Fortunately, we are able to keep costs down in other areas, and are projecting a budget of $100,000 for 2023, which is equal to our 2022 budget. We are always eager to discuss the amazing mission by which your generosity allows us to serve, so please reach out if you’d like further information!