Here is a short version of Isaac’s story: There was no local school for him. After leaving home three times to be educated in different parts of Liberia, he was in the sixth grade at age 18. At 12, he voluntarily dropped out of school in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, and returned to Grand Gedeh because he believed his presence was putting too much of an economic strain on his uncle’s family (His uncle later died in the war.).
After being forced to leave Liberia, Isaac got jobs in Ivory Coast studying deer, and later tracking monkeys, and finally managed to graduate from high school in Ghana. He came to the United States with the help of Scott McGraw, an Ohio State anthropology professor who worked with Isaac on several research projects in Africa.
In July 2007, he went home, and found that the children of Grand Gedeh face the same situation he faced in the 1980s. He believes that education is the key to opportunity for those children and greater prosperity for the region. He is determined to make that happen and has gathered a group of people who share his dream and his determination.
Momentum is building. The school will be called the Dougbe River Presbyterian School because the river belongs to all of the people in that region – not just to one town – and Isaac wants them to understand that the school does, too.
The school and its affiliated church will be built on 150 acres of land donated to us by local leaders. Noble Road Presbyterian Church will handle finances for the school and oversee the school’s General Board, which is chaired by Isaac and includes church colleagues, other Liberians living in America, and Prof. McGraw.
There will also be a Local Board in Liberia, with representatives from each of the 12 towns in the area, that will handle day-to-day operations.
We have begun to raise money, and broke ground on the project in October 2010. Our educated guess is that it will coast about $235,000 – perhaps less – to drive the project through its first year. That includes construction costs and staff salaries. Isaac has plans to generate revenue in the future, through a school farm and tuition, but he believes the school must offer a free education in the short term to build goodwill and a track record.