Helping 'build a life' for kids in West Africa

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Story Published: Sep 18, 2007 at 1:36 PM PDT

By Azenith Smith

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North Bend - Bay Area school children are learning to appreciate the value of an education through a new program. It's showing them what life's like for kids in need in West Africa and giving them a way to help them.

Through the Oregon Build a Life program, this week, the North Bend School District will be adopting a community in Monrovia, Liberia and helping build a school there.

As part of the program, on Tuesday, students at North Bay Elementary learned the country's history and its educational needs after years of war.

"It's really something that can be taken advantage of here in the States because if you don't go to school, we have a police officer that will come here and go to school," says Program Coordinator Keri Anderson. "In Liberia, as in many countries in the world, education is something the kids are begging for and it's not free by any means."

And it's not just about kids helping kids, she adds, but stresses the community's involvement to help make a difference.

"It takes a community as a whole to help the kids achieve this," says Anderson. "We try to help kids understand that they can do more than they're doing right now. As a community, we all need to learn to do that."

From now until October 5, all the schools in the North Bend School District will be selling candles in the "Light a Candle for Education" drive, with half of the proceeds helping the adoptive community and the other half going to their respective school.

For more information, you can contact the school district or log onto www.buildalifeprogram.blogspot.com.

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