Thanks To The Nyonblee Cares Foundation, With Sen. Each Participant Receiving LD$5K Each
By Matu Cole
Over 100 rural students in Gorblee Wee District, Grand Bassa County, ended a 14-day Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Robotics Vacation Program at the Gorblee Youth Center.
The training taught them how to practically assemble and remotely drive robots built as engineering gadgets. The STEM Robotics experts who taught the students said it was more than a game; it was also about calculation, innovation, and mechanical skills.
Lead Trainer Bishop Sigbah, who is an engineering student at the Stella Maris Polytechnic University, said his team only exposed the vacation students to the basics, considering the time constraints.
The 101 students, including 34 boys and 67 girls, completed the program and obtained certificates, while 8 dropped out. The statistical report given by the lead facilitator led the Director of The Nyonblee Cares Foundation, the organizing institution, to highlight the significance of females in the Foundation’s operations.
Director George Stewart said the Foundation’s Vision Bearer is a female, and the boards in the USA and Liberia are headed and dominated by females. “Our program beneficiaries are mostly females. The out-of-school children program called Speed School, by record, has always enrolled more girls. Same with surgical outreach and mobile clinic”, the NCF Director revealed.
Founder thanks youth for courage
NCF’s Founder, Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence, while on vacation in the USA, phoned in to thank the youth for the courage to step forward for such hard skills.
The Liberian Senate President Pro Tempore said that the program was designed to sharpen students’ capacity and expose them to skills that are increasingly important in today’s technology-driven world.
She told the young people that this year’s robotics training was just the beginning, encouraging them to develop interest in technology, engineering, critical thinking, and other career paths to create more opportunities.
Senator Karnga Lawrence launched a day-long event that would allow each of the 104 certified participants to take home 5000 Liberia Dollars. Those students are expected to give back to their communities through a joint clean-up exercise for the City of Gorblee.
Students jubilitate
For their part, the students jubilated and joyfully danced to the pronouncement. They promised to bring along tools from their homes to clean their city.
Other offers that further lifted their excitement include stable electricity provision and a Starlink service to provide all-time internet. The Foundation took on the task of wiring the youth center, while Senator Lawrence committed to fulfilling the internet provision.
University of Liberia’s Lecturer, Mr. Arthur Crusoe, serves on the Foundation’s Liberia Board. He attended the closing program last Saturday and spoke on behalf of the board. “The foundation’s fundraising efforts are largely directed toward human resource development, particularly creating opportunities for young people, Mr. Crusoe asserted.
The STEM Robotics Vacation School forms part of the Nyonblee Cares Foundation’s broader efforts to bridge educational and skills development gaps for young people who lack technology and practical learning opportunities to cope with the 21st-century realities.
This is the first time the program has been held in a rural community, the Foundation’s leadership said. Buchanan and Paynesville cities had previously benefited from the STEM Robotic Vacation Program, according to the foundation’s record.
This year’s STEM Robotic Vacation Program was supported by the Foundation itself with assistance from the Liberia Telecommunication Authority, Director Stewart said.