Photo courtesy Harrisburg Keystone Rotary Club

“We believe that every child has the right to an education without having to risk their life to get it,” states YESLiberia’s mission with its “Hop on the Bus” project.

YESLiberia provides school tuition to Liberian students and has developed a serendipitous partnership with the Harrisburg Keystone Rotary Club.

“I randomly reached out to Meg through LinkedIn looking for people who are interested in service and education,” said Z.J. Jallah, YESLiberia’s founder.

Meg Ramey, Harrisburg Keystone Rotary Club secretary, found herself intrigued by the request and, after much research, decided to serve on the board.

“I was impressed the most because the organization was run by people from the culture and country,” Ramey said.

She was also impressed with Jallah. He wanted to better understand the students the organization was helping, so he went and stayed with 10 of those families.

“He wanted to literally walk a mile in their shoes,” Ramey said.

What he found was the catalyst for the Hop on the Bus project. “Undercover Boss” style, Jallah told the families he was a volunteer, not actually the founder of the organization paying their child’s tuition.

“It was eye-opening,” he said.

Children faced mosquitos, 90-minute walks to school and harassment.

“Men would whistle at the girls 12 to 13 years old,” said Jallah.

Sexual assault or kidnapping of young girls is an unfortunate reality.

Vehicles also may bring danger. Children weave between cars and people, on frenetic streets with no sidewalks. Astoundingly, the leading cause of death worldwide for children between the ages of 10 and 19 years is vehicle accidents. Those accidents are concentrated in developing countries.

Families, who rely on their children for farm help, would be without them for as long as three hours, just due to getting to and from school. So, some parents decide not to send them at all.

“My mother would do anything so I didn’t have so much work to do,” Jallah said.

But not all families feel that way, he added.

A native Liberian now living in Oklahoma, Jallah knows the struggle to pay the $60 to $300 per semester, buy books, purchase a uniform and special shoes, in a place where $300 per month is very good pay. Most people bring home well below that.

If YesLiberia paid tuition, a bus could address the other issues connected with getting to school. Thus, the Hop on the Bus project began. The Harrisburg Keystone Rotary Club, which describes itself as “a drinking club with a service problem,” is a partner in this endeavor.

Through Rotary International, the local chapter received a $5,000 grant toward the project. Other clubs are helping, too.

“Ten clubs in our district have participated,” Ramey said.

The Harrisburg Keystone Rotary Club is hosting the Capital City Corn Hole Classic on March 26 at Appalachian Brewing Co. in Harrisburg, to raise money for the project.

“It’s kind of like a backyard picnic inside during the last gloomy days of winter,” said Rotary member Joe Hoover.

He likes that the project will be self-sustaining.

“It’s not like we’re going to give them a bus and say good luck,” he said. “We need to complete the circle.”

Part of connecting that circle goes beyond getting students to school. Students will learn soft skills while on the bus, such as leadership, service and confidence. Also, the bus will be rented during school breaks so the income can be used to pay for gas, drivers and repairs.

Jallah even did a dry run with a rented bus to see how a route could work. When he did this, one of the parents exclaimed, “I haven’t ever seen a school bus in Liberia,” said Jallah. There is no school bus system in the country.

“It is difficult to explain… how powerful the bus can be from a motivational standpoint,” Jallah said.

It takes away the fear of injury, harassment or assault, and gives time back to the families.

Jallah, a Rotarian himself, is thrilled to be working with other clubs.

“It’s amazing to serve alongside them,” he said.

The project is moving along, but the pandemic has meant one huge hurdle: shipping. Due to a lack of roll-on, roll-off shipping—crafts that carry cargo with wheels—traditional container shipping will need to be used, at three times the initial $8,000 cost.

“What we need now is our shipping costs, or someone who can ship, cheaper,” Jallah said.

Despite the obstacles in this now two-year-old project, Jallah and Harrisburg Keystone Rotary Club continue to move forward to make this bus a reality for the nearly 100 students that it will transport. The hope is that, by enjoying some food, imbibing, and throwing corn-filled bags through a hole in a board for an enjoyable afternoon, local folks can help get children to school safely.

The third annual Capital City Corn Hole Classic takes place Saturday, March 26, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Appalachian Brewing Co., 50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg.

Learn more about:

The Capital City Corn Hole Classic at THROW DOWN. – Home (capitalcitycornhole.org)

YESLiberia’s Hop on the Bus project School Bus (yesliberia.org)

Harrisburg Keystone Rotary Club Harrisburg Keystone Rotary Club – Home (hbgkeystonerotary.org)

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