Transitioning from Makeshift Mat-Covered Classrooms

How a simple conversation turned into a community effort.

This effort not only helps the students prepare for high school and higher education but also relieve economic stress on the families.

The Power of Community

GVA Founder Veronica Garley describes how her community of Garyah Town (pronounced Gah-yah), located in Liberia, West Africa, came together to build a makeshift school made out of mats for the neighborhood children who had nowhere else to go. Community members and families volunteer to teach our K-6th graders and cook for a small stipend.

Now, however, the school has expanded from its original 60 students to 150+ and is no longer feasible to fund out-of-pocket from the Garley Family and Friends.

So we are looking for funders to help develop a concrete structure to accommodate not just the students but also educational facilities such as a science lab and a library. This effort not only helps the students prepare for high school and higher education but also relieves economic stress on the families.

The new school building made from concrete will house 14 rooms (including classrooms, labs, multi-purpose rooms and cafeteria) to accommodate 150 students and faculty. Funds for this project goes toward:

-- constructing the school building (foundation, walls and roof)

-- installing windows and doors

-- plumbing and electrical

-- painting

-- landscaping

If you would like to partake in our journey to improve the educational system, one neighborhood at a time, you can donate and follow the progress on our website. At this moment we are taking monetary donations but in the future we will be opening other ways to volunteer time and/or expertise.