School Supply Distribution & New Learning Center

Can you hear it? Our joyful children and youth in Liberia are singing their praises and thanks to you! They are so grateful to you for raising $3,500 in this year's school supply drive, from both our annual campaign and our Dimes for Dreams promotion. Through your unfailing support, we raised 50% of our goal, and this will put needed school supplies in the hands of young children. Our Liberian team worked with all three schools on how to give each one of the 700 students supplies, because no one wants a young child to go home empty handed!

Here is the schedule for the distribution of your generous gift to these children:

• October 23: Rogma International School in Paynesville will host their program for students to receive their supplies. (Photos & stories will be posted soon).
• October 29: City of Joy & Russ Wood students & parents are invited to attend UDS Learning Center Grand Opening Program In Divine Town Community to receive their supplies and learn about our programs. 

Your faith and commitment to our cause empowered our team in Liberia to complete the painting of the building and move into to our new site. One of our long-time donors provided a donation to install electricity in our new learning center. We opened to students over a week ago. While the building serves the students with their educational and vocational training needs, we will continue to solicit funds to finish the renovations, pay the remaining portion of the lease, buy needed equipment and supplies, and provide salaries.

This building has transformed since we first introduced it in our post "Reaching New Heights for Liberia's Children and Youth" to our recent one "Building Community One Star at a Time". Please enjoy the latest photos showing the exterior painting, new lights, and students utilizing our facility!

You empower youth! Roseline (left) and Princess (right) volunteered to paint the building. 

Clockwise Upper left: Josh, Kelvin Fomba (UDS Co-Founder), Patrick & Princess. 

Kelvin (right) completing the final touches of the building.

Inside the main hall with its new lights. 

The other side of the main hall. 

This leads to the door of the registration office. 

You inspire excellence! Young students receiving help with their homework.

One of our teachers providing a study class for young students. 

Another teaching holding a study class for older students.

Students learning how to use the computer.

Computers students learning the how to use basic software programs.

Your compassionate service to the children & youth in Liberia is providing them with the knowledge & supplies they need to succeed in their academic studies. We give you our whole-hearted "Thank You!" for making this all possible!

Building Community One Star at a Time

As a valued Star Supporter, your continued generosity inspires our team in Liberia to move forward with our vision and fulfill the dreams of Uniting Distant Stars children and youth. You are Uniting with Distant Stars in Denmark, Liberia, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. You are part of this growing stellar community that is educating and equipping young Liberians with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed in life. You have united with other stars to form a Constellation of Possibilities for young Liberians.

You probably have not realized this, but you are a Super Star for our children and youth in Liberia. Whether you support our learning center, school supply drive, youth exchanges or sponsor a scholarship student, you are changing the lives of young Liberians for the better. Our youth are extremely grateful for your efforts!

While our focus for the last few months was on school supplies, our team in Liberia have been busy with renovations of the new learning center. As mentioned earlier, your efforts inspires our all-volunteer team in Liberia. They wrote letters to individuals and organizations in Liberia to raise funds. They received $600 that helped complete replacing the roof. UDS co-founder and country director Kelvin Fomba has been making contributions to finish the ceiling repairs, start painting in the interior, and making furniture for students. Our volunteers have helped with the cleaning and carpentry work. The following photos show the progress from the last month:

You give UDS strength! Our volunteer completing final touches of the roof. 

You give UDS resourcefulness! Kelvin (at left) resting after making tables for young children attending our study classes.

You give UDS dedication! This room is being prepared for the library.

You give UDS focus! Young volunteers replacing the ceiling tile in the main area of  the learning center. 

You give UDS motivation! Kelvin is white washing the ceiling of the main area for the study & computer classes. 

You give UDS determination! Kelvin in the back white washing the ceiling while another volunteer rests.

You give UDS hope! Young volunteers fixing the doors. 

You give UDS encouragement! Kelvin painting the walls of the main area gold.

You give children & youth in Liberia a brighter future! 

You have helped build our community one star at a time. As you will see in the coming weeks, the UDS new learning center will open on October 29th. We will start with our computer & study classes, and library as we continue to complete the rest of the renovations, purchase needed equipment and supplies, and seek funders to employ Liberians as teachers, trainers and support staff for this center. 

Thank you for your compassionate service to children and youth in Liberia!

Read additional posts on how we acquired this new center and how invested our youth are in this venture of learning. 

• Reaching New Heights for Liberia's Children and Youth
• You received a Thank You from Liberia

You received a Thank You from Liberia

Uniting Distant Stars Liberian Co-Founder and Country Director Kelvin Fomba has a message to share to You, our valued Star Supporter.

Hello, UDS Team in the U.S. and around the world. First of all, we say, "thanks and appreciation for your wonderful support!" The Liberia Team has worked nonstop with the renovations because our old learning center can no longer accommodate the 250-plus students from around the city seeking our study classes. All schools are open right now, so the kids and youth are eager to start their study classes at our new learning center. Therefore, our volunteers and youth have joined hands to work hard at the new learning by cleaning, painting, and other finishing work in some parts of the building. 

Here are photos showing some of our scholarship students--Blessing, Deborah, Ishmael, Korlu, Korlu (yes there are two), and Rita--cleaning the floor along with one of their classmates.

Young Liberians showing their appreciation for your amazing support by cleaning the floor of our new learning center.

These young ladies are using brooms and rags to remove the white wash paint from the floor.

Your steadfast generosity give students like Rita a reason to smile while she works.

Your kindness and support provides hope to our youth that they will go the extra mile to prepare our learning center for opening.

Your compassion for Uniting Distant Stars youth empowers them to work together to clean their new learning center. 

Please stay tuned for our next update showing the slow but steady transformation of our new learning center.

You are appreciated and praised by our youth and volunteers in Liberia for making their lives better! 


Thank you for being a Super Star!

Read Reaching New Heights for Liberia's Children and Youth to learn more.