Welcome To Sarbo Unity Foundation
The Sarbo Unity Foundation, Inc. wants to build and operate a high school, a vocational training school, and a broad-based literacy center for an underserved population in Liberia, West Africa. Citizens of this West African nation, especially in remote areas, lack access to advanced education and a new education center will house community projects and provide training in agriculture, health, finance, adult literacy, and business development. The Foundation believes that the interactions among the participants at these programs will improve community outcomes through better access to economic and educational opportunities. Therefore, The Sarbo Unity Foundation, Inc. plans to build the Sarbo Development Center in Sweaken, Sarbo District, River Gee County, Liberia.
The idea for the Foundation came after Sarbo native, Dr. Jewlee Weah Tweh, visited refugee camps in the Ivory Coast where his Sarbo Tribal people settled from 1994 to 2003 during the Liberian civil war. The Liberian Republic had endured a 14-year civil war which left thousands of families separated from their homeland. Upon the close of the civil war in 2003, the Liberian government urged all displaced Liberians to return to their homes. However, the underdeveloped rural areas including the Sarbo tribal homeland were in poorer conditions than was estimated. The amount of assistance required was more than even the Liberian government could provide. Founded in 2013, The Sarbo Unity Foundation, Inc. believes that by building up the educational infrastructure in a rural area of the country, it could have a big impact in showing the Liberian government and other communities what is possible.
Give One U.S. Dollar
Can a mere one U. S. dollar bill substantially impact a whole tribe and change the literacy level of a child? The answer is “YES”. By donating just one U. S. dollar, you can buy one child his/her own textbook. Therefore, no donation is too small.
The Sarbo Development Center
The Sarbo Development Center will be built in Sweaken, Sarbo District, River Gee County, Liberia. The Sweaken village is about 389 diving miles south-east of Liberia’s capitol city of Monrovia and is therefore located in a remote portion of the country’s interior. While the distance between the two locations is roughly the distance between Chicago, Illinois and Cleveland, Ohio in the United States, Monrovia and Sweaken, Sarbo are worlds apart. Far from the Country’s urban centers, families living in Sweaken, Sarbo are often very poor and heavily reliant on sustenance farming. Basic infrastructure available in most developed communities such as roads, running water, indoor and outdoor electricity are lacking. Therefore, The Sarbo Unity Foundation is working to get the Sarbo Development Center from planning documents to a fully functioning institution.
The Center is envisioned to be a six-building campus that sits on 16-acres of land donated by the Sarbo Tribal Elders. The Center will:
- Support the Sarbo Public School System and a range of development programs in education, vocational training, adult literacy, health, and agriculture.
- Construct and operate a senior high school and vocational high school.
- Provide academic awards and scholarships to qualified students of Sarbo origin and adjacent communities who attend colleges, universities, and professional institutions in Liberia.
- Advocate for better food production techniques and crop diversification to help prevent food insecurity and reduce farmland shortages.