In response to a recent donation I made to UDS, I received an email with a scanned image of a letter written to me from one of the recipients of my donation: Jeremy S. Poguah. Here’s what Jeremy wrote to me: “Hi Miss Anna Bertch, I greet you with God love. I write to express my thanks to you for the computer lab you people open for us. I praise God so much for you and your family. I hope to see you one day in our country Liberia. We also express many thanks to the Uniting Distant Stars for helping us with our learning. May the Lord bless you.” This sweet letter has become a treasure to me, and a printed copy now hangs framed on my wall. As part of our 6th Annual School Supply Drive, you too will receive this joy from one of our students when you make a donation of:
$100 or more, you will receive a letter from one student.
$500 or more, you will receive three letters from three different students.
The students will receive their school supplies in September and the letters will be emailed to you during the months of September and October. Your generosity has led to immense changes in the lives of these youth, and they would love to express their gratitude to you! When both recipient and donor are lifted alike, it becomes apparent that the contributions of time, money, and prayers is worthwhile. I would like to express my own personal gratitude for these kids and for the important work Uniting Distant Stars is doing.
Many Blessings,
Anna Bertch, Uniting Distant Stars National Youth Leader
Dear Star Supporter: Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. and we want to extend our heartfelt Thanks to you! Your generous support put smiles on countless Liberian children and youth through our Backpacks for Peace training, Nobel Peace Prize Youth Forum Google Hangout, school supply distribution, learning center opening and so much more. Our Liberian volunteers, youth group, and all students are extremely grateful for your prayers and concerns for their safety and well-being with having to endure Ebola. Your love and kindness gives them hope and joy to continue to move forward with their goals.
We appreciate you more than all the stars in the universe!
Life is a daily flow of learning. Any moment provides an opportunity to instill knowledge and wisdom. This stream of insight is often blocked when facing challenging or difficult situations. These experiences teach the art of courage and humility to relinquish control and detach from outcomes. This simple act of letting go is when Miracles Happen.
Uniting Distant Stars (UDS) experienced this invaluable lesson last year. It all started on November 19, 2014, when the boxes for the 4th Annual School Supply Drive started their long journey from Minnesota to Liberia by road and sea. We expected these to arrive sometime in January or February 2015 based on past experiences with the same shipping company.
14-cubic-foot boxes filled with supplies taped and shrink wrapped to be shipped on a sea cargo container.
When the calendar turned over to January 2015, the calls started to the offices in both Minnesota and Liberia, but no one answered. As we entered into February, still no communication or delivery of the standard letter from the shipping company about our supplies. When March arrived, our investigation intensified on the whereabouts of the boxes, but produced no results after several weeks of personal inquiries and online searches of the company's status. In April, our supporters received an email about the unknown location of our boxes filled with donated supplies. By the end of May, we believed the boxes were lost and gave up any hope of seeing them again.
July rolled in and it was time to launch our next school supply drive. This year we opted to only accept financial donations to purchase the supplies in Liberia since there was no point of repeating last year's disappointment. The goal was to raise $2,000 to purchase supplies for our 250 students at Russ Wood Christian Academy, who we have served since 2012. The campaign started off slow, but gained momentum with an anonymous challenge grant offered on August 2. The grant would match the first $500 donations if received on or before August 16. This prompted both current and new donors to take advantage of this opportunity to double their impact within the first few days.
Then something unbelievable happened on August 6. An email appeared on my phone from Kelvin Fomba, UDS Co-Founder and Country Director in Liberia, stating "Photos of boxes received". In total dismay, I thought to myself "what boxes?" I opened one of the photos on my phone, but could not believe my eyes. I then viewed all the photos on the larger computer monitor and still was baffled with what I saw. How could this be? After nine months of no communication or any information about the fate of our shipment, the boxes were now being off-loaded from a truck by our team in Liberia. The boxes and supplies arrived unscathed and with everything intact.
Left to right: Boxes being off-loaded from truck and supplies unpacked and stacked at our site in Liberia.
Without a doubt this was a Miracle! The shock remained as we continued with our current campaign. Only $130 was needed to receive the challenge grant. This was unlocked the following day on August 7 by one of our sustaining supporters. Wow! Within two days, the unexpected supplies from 2014 were received and this year's campaign was halfway to goal. These blessings clearly had to be shared with more than one school.
The decision was simple. The supplies from 2014 would be given to the 250 Russ Wood students, the intended beneficiaries. The original plan for these supplies were to fill the 250 backpacks made by our youth during our 2014 pilot project. The 2015 campaign, which raised $2,035, would be shared by two schools--City of Joy and Rogma International. The combined total of these two schools is about 250 students. UDS went from supporting one primary school to three in a matter of days.
City of Joy School in Congo Town, Liberia. Kelvin visited in February 2015.
Rogma International School in Paynesville, Liberia from Kelvin's visit in February.
We are happy to announce the supply distribution will occur during the first two weeks in September. Each school will hold an opening program for the 2015/2016 academic year starting with City of Joy on September 6. Kelvin and the UDS volunteer team have been invited to share in this day and present the supplies to the students. Photos from these programs will be posted on our Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter pages as they come in. A blog post will follow highlighting the festivities and stories from each school. All three schools are overjoyed and send their blessings to all our supporters.
In closing this post, Uniting Distant Stars teams in Liberia and Minnesota are extremely grateful for the continued generosity and support from our donors! UDS is equally thankful for the important lesson learned of letting go and receiving what is meant to be. We now know with certainty that Miracles do happen!
Uniting Distant Stars had a transformative year in 2013. You are invited to read our 2013 Annual Report. This report will share what we accomplished and learned in our second year as an organization serving Liberian youth. In this edition, we have spotlighted some of our sustaining donors, and shared thoughts from our beneficiaries and country director in Liberia.
Our success is measured by all the support of our generous donors and dedicated volunteers and board members. We are extremely grateful to our growing community that are committed to uplifting the spirits and lives of the Liberian youth! Thank you from everyone at Uniting Distant Stars!
January has been busy preparing for yet another exciting year. As we look ahead to our plans for 2014, we also reflect back on what we accomplished since our beginnings in 2012. It was reassuring to see that our humble organization is making progress that is small-small (an expression used in Liberia).
This post highlights some project milestones and features photographs taken by Heather during her first year of residency in Liberia, a beautiful tropical nation along the coast of West Africa.
This image was created in 2007, filling the map outline of Liberia with photos of Coconut trees in Bong County and the pre-sunset ocean view along beach in Congo Town.
What compelled us to start Uniting Distant Stars? The co-founders Heather Cannon-Winkelman and Kelvin Fomba had an idea to start a vocational training center that balanced the job skills with the job-keeping skills. The latter component is often lacking in training programs to where many of the graduates emerged ill-prepared for such workplace expectations as punctuality and appropriate behavior. In our attempt to make this dream a reality we applied for a fellowship in 2010 and 2011 for start-up funding.
June 2007 - Kpatawee ("K" is silent) Waterfall in Bong County.
Both attempts failed to move us to the next level. As we reassessed the application process and the finalists, we noticed a pattern. Those making through each "gate' had projects or programs that were producing results. This is when we realized that we needed to start a program that showed we were walking our talk.
November 2007 - Heading east through Grand Bassa County.
By July 2012, we transformed the essence of Uniting Distant Stars. Besides being a blog it was a bona fide organization serving disadvantaged youth through education. We provided primary and secondary school scholarships, vocational training tuition assistance, and a school supply drive for Russ Wood Christian Academy.
November 2007 - Nature's funny way to ask "Why" - Grand Bassa County
It was the school supply drive that attracted the most interest and we slowly increased our circle of supporters. This momentum got us thinking about what we should do next and we started off 2013 with many ambitious goals. We met most, including:
Published our first annual report, listing 2012activities and 2013 goals.
Formed our U.S. based board of directors.
Registered Uniting Distant Stars, Inc as a Minnesota Non-Profit Corporation.
Secured our fiscal sponsor, Ebenezer Community Church in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Organized three successful fundraisers focused on programs in Liberia.
Shipped four 14-cubic-foot boxes for Russ Wood Christian Academy.
Developed working partnerships with organizations in both Minnesota and Liberia.
Held first annual youth leadership workshop in Liberia on "creative and innovative thinking"
2007 - Sunset along Golden Beach in Monrovia
In summary, 2013 was an amazing year. It opened new pathways for us to expand our network of donors, followers and partners. That success is the driving force to continue developing and growing our programs in the coming year. Learn more about what we achieved in 2013 and what is in store for 2014 in our next annual report, to be published in April. Uniting Distant Stars exists because of the passion and dedication of all who have generously supported us. Thank you!
One of our highlights during our trip to Liberia in September 2013 was to finally meet the students at Russ Wood Christian Academy in Congo Town. The staff and students organized a wonderful Welcome program for our team that completely left us awestruck by students' enthusiasm to show us talents and knowledge. This post will summarize our visit along with sharing pictures and videos of Liberia's rising stars.
We were greeted and welcomed with a lively song performed by all the children. Hearing the beautiful voices of the children instantly melted our hearts.
The children opened the program joyfully singing.
After a few announcements, three of the students stood up in front to read from the sampling of reading textbooks we sent last year. Each student was eager to share how well they are performing with their reading abilities. They put the whole hearts into reading their chosen stories. It instantly put smiles on our faces about how much they wanted to show us their accomplishments. Just to be hearing their stories, we felt very pleased knowing we have sent four more boxes of those textbooks as part of our annual shipment. This is schedule to be delivered at the school in December. We hope to send the remaining 24 boxes sometime soon so all the children can be strong readers.
The first up to read was Korlu, who read a story about the Japanese culture from the 5th grade textbook.
Korlu reading her story diligently from start to finish.
The next reader was Ishmeal, one of our scholarship students, reading a story about a West African family from the 6th grade textbook.
Ishmeal reading a his story with clarity while Kelvin looks on.
It is important to note that Ishmeal, who is 11 years old, attended our youth leadership workshop on September 13 and 14. He demonstrated his creativity to the much older participants of this two-day workshop by reciting a parable he wrote.
And lastly was Princess, who read a story about dog from the 2nd grade textbook. During our children's program last December, Princess (then a first grader) read a story from one of the library books that were sent. She definitely loves to read and we will continue to encourage her with sending more books.
Young Princess doing a great job reading her story.
Next, three of the children got up in front to perform a song that they had worked on together.
More of Russ Wood's talented singers.
Next our Executive Director Heather Cannon-Winkelman was honored by Ishmeal's original welcoming speech and presented with flowers.
The program continued with a song by another little girl and then the welcome address to our delegation by the principal, Rev. Matthew Y Kargar.
Another of Russ Wood's talented singers on the left, and Principal Kargar giving his welcome address on the right.
Next Kelvin Fomba, Uniting Distant Stars (UDS) Co-Founder and Country Director, gave a short talk about the relationship that has been developed by UDS and Russ Wood in the last two years. The children have come to appreciate Kelvin is in the past year, and were actively engaged in his talk. He first asked how many of the students planned to get on the honor roll this year and quite a few raised their hands. He then reiterated the importance of education and encouraged them to work hard with their studies. He ended his talk by introducing our team and given us a chance to a few words.
Elijah Wreh, UDS board member and youth workshop facilitator, got up to address the students and also encouraged them to continue their efforts with their school work.
Kelvin is to the left and Elijah to the right.
Gradieh Wreh, UDS board member and youth workshop facilitator, followed with her appreciation for their warm welcome and shared how excited she was to see them demonstrate their talents.
Finally, Heather got up to thank all the children and staff for their great welcome and talked about the direction UDS is planning to take in supporting their educational efforts.
Gradieh is to the left and Heather to the right.
She ended her talk with a challenge for the next year. She presented a book, donated by Donna Cannon (Heather's Mom) on how to write a graphic novel, which was especially signed by the author for the Russ Wood students. She explained that they would return next year and hope to see that some of the students have created their own graphic novels. Definitely, some of the students will take on this challenge and we will be delighted to hear what they created.
Principal Kargar holding the book on how to write a graphic novel.
We were pleased that some of the teachers not only expressed their gratitude but also invited us to come back next year. They gave us their prayers for a safe journey home and that we would continue to get the support needed for their students to learn and develop their skills along their educational path.
Some of the teachers giving their vote of thanks and a prayer for our team.
After the program, we were given a tour of the school. This building is also the church, so the space is reconfigured Monday through Friday create classrooms. This school has an average enrollment of 250 students, which adds some difficulty in providing an environment conducive learning .
Heather checking out the office on the left. Principal Kargar, Gradieh and Heather in the center. The world map that was part of 2012 shipment of supplies on the right.
We had hoped to have a picture taken with the children outside the building, but the rain changed our plans. So, after moving the benches and desks out of the center of the room, we were able to take a few group pictures.
Meet the students of Russ Wood Christian Academy.
Here is a more candid photo of the Russ Wood students.
We enjoyed our few hours with the students and staff of Russ Wood. The students clearly demonstrated their hunger to learn and it inspired us to continue to do more. The principal and his wife invited us to their small apartment at the back of the school for a snack and soft drinks after the group photos were taken. They shared how all the students had not started yet, because they were still trying to find sponsors to cover their school fees.
Russ Wood was founded to provide lower cost education to the children within its community, whose families struggle to meet their daily needs and find it difficult to pay their children's school fees. This information gave Heather, who is currently the sole sponsor of the six students on scholarship, reason to add two more applicants to this program for the next school year that will be dedicated to Russ Wood students. Kelvin will be awarding these two scholarships in April 2014 at Russ Wood's annual gala. Uniting Distant Star co-sponsored the gala in April 2013 with Russ Wood.
We are also pleased to announce that this year's shipment should be cleared at the Monrovia's Free Pport by end of November. We plan our annual children's party for the last day of school before their holiday break in mid-December, and provides each student a hot meal and a gift packet complements of our generous Distant Stars donors. Our supporters helped reach our 2013 goal of shipping four 14-cubic-foot boxes of school supplies, combs, toothbrushes, toys, and other educational materials. We will post updates and pictures of this day-long event later this year.
Again, we greatly appreciate all our sponsors who have supported the education of these amazing students! We will continue reporting on their activities and achievements throughout the year. Thank you!
If you readers would like to increase the number of scholarships awarded
to these worthy students, please contact us at
info@unitingdistantstars.com. The scholarships vary by grade level but average about $200 for
the year. It covers tuition, uniform and basic supplies. Also, this
program provides incentives for academic achievement that are awarded at
the first and last semesters of the school year. Please go to our
project page to learn more about our Bright Stars Scholarship program and review the student application form for more details.
Throughout life we not only answer the call to the hunger pangs in our stomachs, but also to the ones in our minds. When we continually feed our minds with new knowledge, we are more open to the possibilities that lay in front of us. This is why educational nourishment is very fundamental to the development of our young people and an investment to the future of our global family.
For three years running, Uniting Distant Stars (UDS) has been investing into the education of Liberia's youth. Our Bright Stars program has provided full-year scholarships for primary and secondary students, tuition assistance for young adults in vocational technical intuitions, and school supplies for about 250 students at the Russ Wood Christian Academy in Congo Town Liberia.
2013 Christmas Party where the supplies are distributed.
In 2013, we increased our scholarship students from five to six. The tuition fees for all six were $1,720 along with $60 in UDS administration costs was sent on August 15. These fees not only cover the cost of going to school for one year, but also the student's uniforms, shoes and starting supplies. One of our students is a senior in high school and this will require additional fees later in year for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) national exam and graduation.
Also in 2013, we increased the number of 14-cubic-foot boxes from three to four to ship school supplies for our adopted school--Russ Wood. This was a very successful Bright Stars Campaign that has raised about $2,300 in cash and in-kind donations in matter of five weeks. Our sponsors have hailed from Oklahoma, Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota. We want to recognize Oklahoma as the super STARS of this campaign by giving a total of 1,752, which we need to also acknowledge Tracy Bishop (a donor and advocate) for reaching out to her women's group in supporting Liberia's Bright Stars. On Saturday, August 31, we completed the initial packing of the four boxes. UDS Executive Director, Heather Cannon-Winkelman, spent the last week in August shopping for supplies with the donated money and ensured everything was weighed and inventoried (shipping company requirement) before the packing crew arrived. Within 30 minutes, our crew of three--Mary Rosendahl (board secretary), Heather, and Saah Kpakar (board treasurer)--were able to pack over 1,700 pounds of supplies in the four boxes.
Before and after picture showing the 2013 supplies being packed in the 14-cubic-foot boxes
On Monday, September 9, all four boxes will be picked up by our shipping company I.B. Express (Liberian owned and operated) and soon will make their long voyage across the Atlantic. The cost to ship and clear each box is $235 for total of $940. The shipping time varies due to weather and changes in the sea, but we anticipate that these supplies will arrive in Liberia either late November or early December.
2013 boxes are sealed and ready to ship.
In December, on the last of school before they take holiday break, we will provide a Christmas Party to distribute the supplies and provide a hot meal for all the students, who range in ages from 5 to 22 in grades K thru 6. This party was a huge success last year and we look forward to doing it again. On the behalf of our board, U.S. and Liberian volunteers, we extend our heartfelt Thank You for everyone who has contributed to the nourishment of the young minds in our Bright Stars program.
Uniting Distant Stars put its passion into action in 2012 by launching projects in Liberia. We invite you to read our first annual report (click here) on what we accomplished in 2012 and what we intend to do in 2013 and beyond. We look forward to your continued support and feedback on what we are doing. Thank you to all of you who have followed our work and shared it with others.
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