As Ebola has shut down schools around Liberia, a young Liberian mother, Brenda Brewer-Moore has taken on the task of making sure that the youngest in the society are not left behind educationally.

On Sunday, September 14, Brenda and a small team of volunteers delivered 80 education packs to 50 boys and 30 girls in one Monrovia community.   Each kit contained 1 box of crayons, 2 pencils, eraser, exercise book, 1 Disney character coloring book, a So-GO-LO book, an ABC tracing book, an ABC coloring book and an assortment of math worksheets.

“I intend to compile more for distribution this weekend, as I encountered more kids than I initially estimated; however, this second batch will contain worksheets for 2nd and 3rd graders,” said an excited Moore. 

As she and her team delivered the packs into the neighborhoods, a brief discussion was held with the parents encouraging them to make time during the day to teach the kids, and check on their progress and efforts. “Our plan is to check on them after 2 weeks, to see if they indeed wrote in the books and completed the various worksheets,” she said.

According to Brenda Moore, the unprecedented Ebola outbreak crisis in Liberia has affected every aspect of the Liberian society, from health care, the economy, to education. While many people have died, many families have been affected, directly and indirectly.

“My heart has been particularly heavy with the closure of all schools as part of the government’s efforts to curb the spread of the disease,” she said.  “Though the closure is necessary,” said Moore, “our kids education is delayed, which will result in many kids being thrown behind their counterparts in other countries for about 6 months,” she estimated.

A mother of two young kids herself, Moore has had to mitigate this idle time by homeschooling her children for at least 2 hours a day in various subjects.  She noticed many kids in her community were idle, as most parents are busy trying to keep their children safe. “With mandatory leave for many civil servants, and rising prices of food and commodities on the market, many parents are struggling to make ends meet,” she said.  With that in mind, Brenda decided to purchase school supplies, out of her pocket, and distribute them to the kids. 

“The education packs are meant to keep children engaged for a few hours a week,” she said. The packs target children in the lower level, nursery through 3rd grade. 

If you would like to join Brenda in this random act of kindness, please call her on (+231) 0886510731 or 0777510731.   

Hesta Baker- Pearson