SEW MUCH HOPE
Joseph, our school principal, has along with the Liberian staff, longed to create an in-house vocational program for our current high school students. Their goal is to have 3 vocational certification options available for our high school students. The three desired areas/industries, chosen by Liberian staff because of their employment stability in Liberia, are: Drafting, Culinary, and Tailoring/Sewing. We hope also to have an IT Certification once our computer lab is up and running.
This past spring, we were given the opportunity to apply for a grant with Project Redwood of Tides Foundation, an amazing group of Stanford Business alumni, whose mission is to provide funding, expertise and connections to social entrepreneurs who address the challenge of global poverty. We were informed that we are receiving the full $25,000.
We proposed a program called Sew Much Hope which will fully fund a sewing classroom with sewing machines and supplies for two years. It will also have a micro-loan component providing for 30 graduates to apply for a micro-loan to purchase a sewing machine and begin their own businesses.
This $25,000 grant is a beautiful opportunity to begin the work of simultaneously earning a high school and vocational degree, providing opportunity for self-sustainability for our graduates.
