In furtherance of its mission to promote a culture of reading in Liberia, the Kids’ Educational Engagement Project (KEEP), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bates Family Foundation to establish a Resource Center at the Careysburg Public School, in Montserrado County.
Signing on behalf of the Bates Family Foundation, Mrs. Jefyne Togba said that the Bates Family is excited to be working with K.E.E.P on this project. She explained that the Bates Family has ties to Careysburg of over one hundred years, for which the family is proud and happy to give back to the City of Careysburg in a meaningful way.
“Through this initiative, not only are we able to introduce kids to a culture of reading, we can honor the legacy of our matriarch, the late Mrs. Evelyn Ledlum Bates, who worked in the Careysburg Public School for many years”, Mrs. Toga said.
Speaking on behalf of KEEP, Mrs. Brenda Moore, Founder and Executive Director of the local charitable organization expressed the commitment of her organization to continue to promote a reading culture in Liberia. She said the works of KEEP will not be limited only to urban areas but also rural parts of the country, as the need is even greater in rural communities.
She said that creating the reading rooms are the first steps. KEEP intends to follow up by conducting reading and computer literacy programs at the school to encourage the students to fall more deeply in love with reading and improve their computer literacy skills. She named additional programs to be employed in the reading room to include weekly reading sessions, spelling bees, arts and crafts and story writing.
The Resource Center, which will have a seating capacity of up to 84 persons will also be opened to other members of the Careysburg community and not only to the students of the school.
The Careysburg Public Elementary School is located in the City of Careysburg, District 1, Montserrado County, about 45.7 kilometers from Monrovia. The school was constructed and established in 1956 by funds provided by the World Bank. With a current enrolment of 397 students, the school caters to low income families.
Established in xxx, KEEP is a Liberian not-for-profit. It has established 21mini libraries in 9 counties and conducts reading sessions and computer literacy programs in 3 counties.
