Meet Kangar!

I am from Liberia, a small country on the West African coast of Africa. Liberia is the size of the state of Tennessee but with a population of 5 million people. Liberia is the poorest country in the world with 85% of its population living on less than $2 a day. 50% of Liberia’s population is under the age of 20 while 65% of children of primary school going age are out of school. Liberia underwent a civil war for over 14 years that led to the loss of many lives and property. As a result of the war, the country’s entire economy system was broken down, infrastructures were destroyed, and the education and health sectors were greatly affected.
I was born to a low-income family near Liberia’s capital-Monrovia and am the fourth of five children. I grew up in a Christian home where my parents exhibited strong Christian principles. My family housed 19 members consisting of cousins and other relatives and I shared a room with six boys.

I began my education during the period of the civil war and struggled to complete high school in 2006, graduating top of my class-Valedictorian.  After my graduation from high school, I was very passionate to continue my education to college, but had to desperately wait for four years because of lack of financial support. During the period of waiting, I met Rev. E. Walker, the person who later changed my life. Rev. Walker became my mentor and helped me to discover, and develop my potential. Rev. Walker always told me that I could be the best I wanted to be only if I stayed focused. Rev. Walker shaped my purpose on earth through the interactions he always had with me. I finally enrolled at the University of Liberia in 2010. To support myself, I took on a teaching job at a primary school, and did other paid chores over the weekends in order to raise money for my college tuition. I eventually graduated with a BPA degree in Public Administration in 2017. 

With a deep quest for youth development, I resigned my job as Administrative Assistant of Libra Sanitation, Liberia’s biggest Waste Management Company, to volunteer at CELDI-Liberia as one of its industrious staff.  CELDI-Liberia is UrbanPromise first West-African Site founded by Rev. Walker in 2016. It is a children and youth focus group which exists to change Liberia… one child at a time. It does so by developing children from vulnerable communities, breaking the circle of poverty through education, and raising a new generation of servant leaders that can proactively transform and serve their communities with distinction.

While serving at CELDI-Liberia, I was given the opportunity to travel to the US, in 2018 to further my education. I am the first Liberian Fellow at Urban Promise International, and the first member of my family pursuing a Master.  I am enrolled in the Organizational Leadership program at Eastern University in Pennsylvania, which is equipping me with the relevant experiences and the education needed to be an effective leader.

Upon completion of my studies, I will return as a capacity builder to expand the work of CELDI-Liberia. My dream is to reach a child, raise a leader and restore a community. In order to achieve this dream, I hope  to build a school for underprivileged children in CELDI’s afterschool program and the community. At this school, the children will be equipped with the skills necessary for academic achievement, life management, personal growth and servant leadership.

Currently, I have started fundraising for the school project. The project will cost $62,000 for the construction of the structure of the school, and its operational cost for the first year.

You can get involved:  by praying for the ministry, donating to the school project, sponsoring a child at $33, help to friend raise for the ministry or join our mailing list for an update on the ministry. Or better still, you can invite me to your small group at church, create speaking engagements or provide professional training opportunities.  Donations can be made at UrbanPromise International/CELDI at P.O Box 156 Pennsauken, NJ 08110 or online at www.urbanpromiseinternational.org/celdi. I can be reached at +1 302-415-9709 or kangartopoe2012@gmail.com