Before…

After.

Assisting Liberian refugee children and their teachers
Focus on Kidz, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, West Africa

Focus on Kidz' involvement in this Liberian refugee community became much more than an academic or educational endeavor; they found themselves involved in building the lives of these people who would otherwise have a terribly bleak future to look forward to.

When establishing a branch in the Ivory Coast, Focus on Kidz recognized the need for educational facilities for the Liberian refugee community that had settled in the Ivory Coast after years of war ravaging their own nearby country.

As families fled from the war in Liberia to the Ivory Coast, they set up little villages there, meeting with discrimination and other obstacles such as having to learn French, the main language of their new land. A group of young men, who were in college together, met in a village in the Ivory Coast and agreed that they would give their time and attention to putting together a school for the many Liberian children who can't go to the Ivorian schools. Despite not being able to complete their own education, these young men went ahead, with very little in hand, to educate the kids in their community.

Focus on Kidz began to offer seminars to these teachers, and from this developed the Rainbow Academy. After gathering the materials needed, we were able to convert an old abandoned building into a large teaching facility …These students have become a part of our lives and we continue to teach and train them.

For more on what this one project accomplished in assisting disadvantaged Liberian refugees, please click here.