Current view of the Gbaowuta Public School in Panta District#4, Bong County
The Administration and students of the Gbaowuta Public School have praised the Irene Christina Reinking Foundation (ICRF) through a US-based Liberian, Harrison Kpartipa for the renovation of the abandoned government Elementary school in Gbowuta Town, Panta District#4, Bong County
By Patrick Stephen Tokpah
The school, spanning from ABC to 6th Grade, caters to children with limited educational opportunities. With a current enrollment of 195 students, the school faced deplorable conditions, preventing it from opening for the academic year and placing the students’ education in jeopardy.
The past and current of the sitting capacity of the school
According to Akernuyea B. Suah, Principal of the Gbaowuta Public School, in 2023, Harrison Kpartipa sought financial assistance from the Irene Christina Reinking Foundation (ICRF) to renovate the school because of its deplorable condition at the time. He said with the help of Mr. Harrison Kpartipa, the ICRF swiftly intervened, addressing the challenges faced by the school, including the main school building, the provision of armchairs and chalkboards, tiring of the classes, and running of electrical wires in the school underwent renovation to create a more conducive learning environment.
Gbaowuta Public School Principal, Akernuyea B. Suah
Additionally, Mr. Suah said the school received copybooks for students, 7 pieces of Desktop Computers for Lab, and instructional material for this academic year.
The comprehensive renovation, along with the construction of essential facilities such as the Library, is currently ongoing at the school facility, which will transform the school into a conducive space for regular attendance when completed. Expressing gratitude, Mr. Akernuyea B. Suah, the school’s Principal, acknowledged Mr. Harrison Kpartipa’s effort through ICRF for its timely intervention, emphasizing that without it, the children would have been deprived of access to education.
View of the school corridor
The Gbaowuta Public School Principal frowned on the Ministry of Education and the government of Liberia for their failure to recondition the deplorable condition of the Gbaowuta Public School.
He further called on the national government, humanitarian organizations, and well-meaning citizens of Panta District and Bong County to help buttress the efforts of Harrison Kpartipa and the ICRF for the ongoing construction work of the library and other facilities.
For his part, ICRF Field Officer/ Project Director for Liberia, Quenifamou Barwor Jarwoe said the intervention of their organization was based on Harrison Kpartipa’s visitation to his home Town Gbaowuta, adding that while in the Town he (Kpartipa) visited the school campus, something which he expressed disappointment in the deplorable condition of the school, stressed that a conducive atmosphere for learning is a catalyst for academic excellence and intellectual growth for students.
Quenifamou Barwor Jarwoe, ICRF Field Officer/ Project Director for Liberia,explaining ongoing Library project
According to Jarwoe, Mr. Kpartipa expressed disenchantment over the poor infrastructural condition of the school, which was a far cry from a decent environment that is germane to better performances by both teachers and students.
He said Mr. Kpartipa lobbied with ICRF for the renovation of the school, ensuring that the damaged roof, ceiling, fallen chalkboard, and armchairs were furbished within the line of a conducive learning environment.
Mr. Jarwoe said the subsequent renovation of the Gbaowuta Public School and the construction of additional facilities are in line with ICRF’s continuous endeavor to buttress government efforts to improve learning and the quality of education in the country.
The Gbaowuta Public School was established on March 6, 1992, as an elementary school to cater to the educational needs of students, but it has suffered several deplorable conditions due to the national government’s failure to provide a conducive learning environment for school-going kids.
