Bear Another’s Burdens Ministry of Christ (BABMOC) is a Johnson City-based 501(c)3, non-profit, providing fees-free education to over 140 children in Liberia.
Conventional school activities were suspended in March due to the corona virus. Isaac Mayon, the school director, and his team at the BABMOC School in the Kpelle Town Community, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa, immediately began adopting a home learning policy for its K-5 students.
Since most families in Liberia do not have reliable electricity, let alone Internet, the Liberian Ministry of Education broadcasted lessons over the radio. At the same time, the BABMOC teachers prepared worksheets and tests for the students to keep them engaged. Parents came to the school and, using proper social distancing, hand washing, and wearing masks, picked up and returned the student’s assignments. In some cases, parents could not come to the school, so teachers rented a bicycle to deliver the homework.
In August, the teachers finished marking the papers and a capping test was given to the children. This was to verify that the students did the home assignments themselves. In all, of the 143 students on active rolls, 133 (93 percent) fully participated in the home learning program. Isaac deemed it a resounding success.
As of mid-August, Liberia had a total of 1,250 cases of COVID-19 and 81 deaths. According to the last directive by the Liberian Government, the schools are set to reopen in September. The BABMOC school plans to welcome its first sixth-grade class, which makes it a full-fledged elementary school.
These students are among the poorest of the world’s poor in a country that was torn apart by more than a decade of civil war. Most of our students come from families that cannot afford education at the government or other fee-based schools. If not for the BABMOC School, many of them would be selling goods on the streets to raise money for their families instead of in the classroom.
For more information or to support to support BABMOC, visit: www.babmoc.org. The group’s mailing address is: BABMOC, P.O. Box 3702, Johnson City, TN 37602.
