Yarkpawolo Groundbreaking Celebration

press release: This event is a celebration of the groundbreaking of a proposed four-classroom school with office and bathroom facilities that will provide primary education to over 80 children in Gormue and surrounding villages that are located in one of the remotest parts of Liberia where children have no access to school. The school is a community-driven initiative that was started by Emmanuel Urey, a candidate for PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Emmanuel grew up in Gormue and did not have access to education until he was 13 years. His primary education started in a refugee camp in Guinea. Emmanuel started a GoFundMe campaign (gf.me/u/fmtyv2) to raise $10,000. After raising just little over $3,000, community volunteers in Gormue have already handmade more than 3,000 bricks and have cleared the site for the construction. It is the perfect time and opportunity for individuals wanting to make a difference to literally get in on the ground floor of an impactful cause.

A group of volunteers in Madison are helping to organize this event--a lively celebration featuring: a talk with Emmanuel and Dr. Gregg Mitman, a silent auction, free prizes, and free food (kindly donated by Willy Street Co-op). Excitingly, board members of the Liberian Assistance Program (LAP)--another fantastic local non-profit supporting education initiatives in Liberia--approved a dollar for dollar matching donation up to $1,000. Any dollar donated during the event will be matched by LAP. This means your dollar contribution will have twice the impact! The actual groundbreaking in Gormue is taking place on Feb. 9, 2018. We in Madison are hosting this event to celebrate this great initiative and to foster community by bridging the miles between Madison and Gormue. We invite you to help "raise the roof", both literally and figuratively, on what is quickly becoming Yarkwapolo Public School.