Cecelia Morris - Community Changer

My name is Cecelia Morris, I am twelve years old. I am in 5th grade in the Future Hope Academy, Hilstone Community, Monrovia. I started taking part in the HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program in 2013, when Reach the Children visited our school. The program is very good for us because it gives the knowledge and skills to help us abstain from doing things that would lead us to contracting HIV/AIDS.

Because of the benefits associated with the lessons given to us, and utmost desire to live a long loving life, we've now established a health club in the school, and we meet after the school hours to visit every household in our community to discuss the Stay Alive program HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program. These lessons need to be taught to all schools in Liberia.

Jimmy Stevenson - Inspiring Teacher

 I've been teaching the Stay Alive HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program since 2010.  The lessons are well outlined for easy understanding for the students. I've no doubt  that the program has greatly changed the behavior of my students, that they can now discuss the issue of HIV/AIDS Prevention constructively. They are governing themselves properly and are very conscious of any practice that is capable of affecting them with the HIV/AIDS sickness.

I'm happy to use this opportunity to state that outside of the classroom , I also carry out the HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program in my community, and I would like to report that since 2010 to the present there has not been any reported cases of sickness in the area, or someone reported to have died from the disease.

Again, I want to say that due to the love I developed for the organization and the program, I voluntarily worked with the insititution during the Ebola crisis in the Grand Bassa with no cost attached to my services. I pray for the sponsors of this program to get more support and empower Reach the Children Liberia to continue with this good work.

Mrs. F. K. Kamara - A Concerned Mother

I am a parent and certified midwife by profession, and also a strong admirer of the Stay Alive HIV/AIDS Prevention Education program in LIberia. I follow the lessons as presented to my daughter at her school, and I found them to be unique, educative and explanatory in the fight against the HIV/AIDS disease in Liberia.

As a practicing medical person, I am hereby calling on every meaningful mother to encourage their children to start taking part in the lessons, and also I appeal to the organization to do more to ensure that this program reach to every part of Liberia.

Helping One Graduate

I am Tedo Daniels, one of the pioneer participants in the RTC – Stay Alive HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program when it was brought in Liberia, and took off from our school, Clayton M. Christensen Institute, Monrovia in 2008, when I was there in the junior high school category.

I later went to Open Bible Standard School, Monrovia, for my senior high school. And today, I am graduating from the Senior High School and I am overwhelmed with joy to be part of this training by REACH THE CHILDREN LIBERIA INCORPORATED. The RTC – Stay Alive HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program has helped me tremendously; it is a unique, educative and informative program. Through this program I learnt that with good health and be HIV/AIDS disease free you can reach your zenith in life. I praise and appreciate the organizers and sponsors of this program for their great work in bringing such life saving program to Liberia. We hope and pray that it’ll continue to grow stronger and stronger in our country.

Hope for Liberian Children

We’re both students at Gio Town Public school, Gio Town, District #4, grand Bassa County, Republic of Liberia, and 5th & 3rd grades, we are aged 10 and 11 years old respectively, and also fully participating in the RTC Stay Alive HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program since it was introduced in our school by REACH THE CHILDREN LIBERIA INCORPORATED.

This program has helped us to learn much about our health; our thinking skills have developed that we’re able to make right decisions in order to be HIV/AIDS disease free and live a long loving live. We share the knowledge we have acquired from the lessons with our friends and relations in our respective communities. We’re much grateful to REACH THE CHILDREN ORGANIZATION for giving us such a golden opportunity. We pray and anticipate that this noble program will reach to every Liberian child.

Our dressing as shown in the picture represents our cultural heritage because we are taking part in the African Custume Carnival; we represent REACH THE CHILDREN LIBERIA INCORPORATED.

Written by: Kemah McClline (left) & Mariah Cooper (right)

Unity

My name is Sarah Sowah(SS). I am ten years old. I attend Bethlehem Presbyterian School in Teshie Tsui Bleoo. I am in class four. Before we started the Stay Alive lessons, my teacher invited all our parents to the school. She told them to go through the questions and lessons with us in the house. She instructed the parents to sign to show that they have discussed the questions with us. One day my father signed without discussing it with me and I told my teacher. My teacher came to our house that Sunday evening and met with us the children and my father and my mother. She spoke to my parents to take good care of us because we are gifts from God. They promised to discuss the lessons with us every Sunday afternoon. Through the Stay Alive lessons, the family is now one (United). My father and mother will gather us the children every Sunday after lunch and talk to us. They will explain the lessons and sometimes use Bible quotations.

My father now goes to church, stays at home most of the time and do not go out with friends again. My sister who is in the senior high school now spends time to teach me to understand my home work without yelling at me.

My brother in class six also stays at home to help with house chores instead of always playing and roaming about with his friends.

Our family is now a happy one. My teacher has been visiting us on Sundays to encourage us. I thank my teacher for helping us with these Stay Alive lessons.

One child says NO to AIDS

At Kazinga Umea Primary School, Namyalo Sarah, who is 12 years old, is not embarrassed to say how she has benefited from the Stay Alive program. She clearly remembers the social pressure from her peers in the community. When asked to share her feelings about the program she had this to say: "When I was 10 years old, a village mate told me that virginity is a shame to adolescent persons. I was encouraged to have sex at that early age. When I was taught the Stay Alive program the Torch Bearer told me that anyone who practices sex before marriage is always at risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS and possibly having an unplanned pregnancy." Thank you so much Reach the Children for helping me learn how to 'Live a Long, Loving Life through the Stay Alive program and knowing how to stay AIDS free.

One child at a Time

Ronald, age 15, is an orphan who lost his father. Little is known about his mother and he is now living with his grand-mother--- who is very old. Ronald does not have any siblings. He dropped out of school in primary three and turned out to be a thief of hens in the area. The community had a very negative attitude towards him and wanted to kill him. Working with the Stay Alive child protection committee of Nagojje sub-county- Mayimuna Mugambe, Ronald received counseling. He accepted his mistakes and vowed to change. He went back to school- in Kanyogoga Primary School and he has been given scholastic materials. Reach the Children and CSF are going to raise school fees for him and provide a school uniform. Our immediate achievement, however, is the fact that Ronald is now under our child protection keen eye and is assured of regular attendance at school —thanks to the Nagojje Child protection committee. The community too has changed their attitude towards him. He is going to start some simple agriculture projects by planting beans and raising the local hens for sale. The start-up needs are going to be given to him by Reach the Children and CSF.

A Stay Alive Success Story

Belinda Donkor is a girl aged ten years. Her parents could not make ends meet. She turned to disobedience staying out most of the time among the area girls with bad character. Her academic performance suffered. This became a worry to the parents and a report was made to Millicent (Stay Alive Evaluator in Ghana). She took special interest in her. She was transferred to the school where Millicent was teaching. Due to her poor academic performance, she repeated her class. She is currently going through the Stay Alive program at church. Her counsel to her peers is to "be obedient and go through the Stay Alive program. It has a lot to offer the children for our future development. The PLEDGES help us to stay on track if we are going astray. God bless those who brought this program to us. The program is full lessons that will help them to make good choices."

A Story about a Child

Emmanuel Thompson lives in the Smythe road Community. He is one of the participants currently in the RTC program in Liberia. Here are his comments: "The RTC program on HIV/AIDS Prevention Education has helped me tremendously to know the importance of making the right decisions and choices. I now realize that the possibility of living a long loving life depends on my decisions. It has taught me that I have the capacity to be HIV/AIDS free. I can also educate my friends on the need to abstain from early sex in order to avoid being HIV/AIDS positive. The RTC program has opened the minds of the children of Smythe Road Community, to care for one another and develop cordial and healthy relationships throughout our life-time. The RTC HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program has brought hope to me and the other children of Liberia. It'll be important and appreciated if this program will be taught to all the schools in the Republic of Liberia for the benefits of we the children who are the future leaders".