Back in July, we shared with you the initial plans for a sanitation program benefiting the surrounding community of Hope International. It was made possible by a generous grant given from Jim and Sally Olson in honor of the employees at Olson Laboratories. We are excited to share over the last several months we have been working in partnership with Gabriel Nyarko, a Liberian change-maker passionate about waste management and environmental sustainability, to formalize the program.

While Hope International and educational opportunities for the 1,500+ students remain the heart of all we do, the surrounding community is an integral part of all that happens at Hope. We had a long-held dream to provide the community with sanitation services.

Liberia’s infrastructure, decimated in the civil war, has been slow to recover, leaving most of the country without access to clean water and waste collection. Without waste collection, community members burn or dump garbage in the streets and water ways. This burning, including plastics, is creating significant present-day and future health concerns for students and community members.

Since receiving the grant, groundwork has been significant. Community meetings and public education, fee establishment to ensure program can become self-sustaining, and equipment procured.

On December 12th, the first neighborhood garbage collection was led and completed by Gabriel and his team. As a gift to the school and community, they also cleaned out years of debris in the water way directly behind Hope International.

I will be traveling to Liberia in February, and I can’t wait to report back to you the direct impact and quality of life improvement for students, staff, and surrounding community.

Hope in the New Year,

Jackie Frazier