Orange Foundation is turning digital access into an opportunity for young Liberians to learn, create, and share their stories with the world. Through research, teamwork, creativity, and digital technology, students of Jescor Learning Center have taken a piece of Liberia’s cultural heritage to the world, emerging as the national winners of the Orange WikiChallenge for African Schools.
Jescor Learning Center was honored recently during an award and certification ceremony held at the school in Paynesville following its winning entry, “Traditional Games,” which explores the role of traditional Liberian games in the lives of children and communities. The school received a €2,500 prize for its winning contribution.
The Orange WikiChallenge for African Schools is an educational initiative that brings students together to research, write, and create informative content about their communities and cultures using digital tools. The initiative is designed to strengthen research, writing, critical-thinking, collaboration, and digital literacy skills while giving young people an opportunity to contribute African stories to the digital world.
This year, three schools participated in Liberia’s national competition: Jescor Learning Center, Heritage School in Grand Bassa County, and Mary Lauren School.
Speaking at the ceremony, Orange Foundation Senior Manager Mrs. Uomah Brown Witherspoon said the initiative is helping students develop skills that go beyond the classroom.
She explained that the WikiChallenge teaches students how to research information, verify facts, write informative content, and publish stories that can introduce Liberia and its rich cultural heritage to a wider audience. “The challenge helps students to verify information, think critically, and publish Liberian stories on the internet,” she said.
As part of the competition, students worked in teams to develop collaborative, encyclopedic articles focusing on subjects connected to their communities, including culture, history, geography, landmarks, and traditions.
Their work is published on Vikidia, a free online encyclopedia created specifically for children and teenagers, giving the students an opportunity to see their work become part of a wider body of knowledge accessible online.
From Traditional Games to a Global Audience: Jescor’s winning article focused on traditional Liberian games and the important role they play in shaping childhood, community, and identity. During the ceremony, one of the students beautifully presented the story, highlighting how traditional games such as Wekefun represent more than recreation.
For many Liberian children, these games were a way of building friendships, strengthening family connections, and preserving culture. Unlike many forms of entertainment today that are increasingly digital, traditional games bring children together physically and create opportunities for interaction and community.
The students’ work demonstrated how something as simple as a childhood game can become a powerful story about Liberian culture and identity when properly documented and shared.
For Orange Foundation, that is at the heart of the WikiChallenge: giving young people the tools and confidence to recognize that the stories around them are worth telling.
Speaking to the students, Orange Digital Center Senior Manager Mr. Zaza Mulbah emphasized the Foundation’s commitment to digital inclusion. He reminded the students that the digital devices provided through the Orange Digital Schools initiative were not simply pieces of technology, but tools designed to open new opportunities for learning, creativity, and global participation.
“When we brought these digital kits, they were not just shining objects, but an open door to the digital. You opened that digital door, you participated in the Africa Wiki Challenge, you did something magical, you told the Liberian story to the world.”
He further encouraged the students to recognize the importance of their voices, regardless of their age. “You proved that no matter your age, your voice matters. Your story belongs in the global storybook.”
For the students, the experience provided more than a competition. It gave them an opportunity to become researchers, writers, storytellers, and contributors to the digital knowledge space.
The WikiChallenge is part of Orange Foundation’s broader commitment to digital inclusion, ensuring that young people have access to the tools and skills needed to participate meaningfully in an increasingly digital world.
To participate, schools must first receive Orange Digital School kits, including tablets and other digital learning devices. Students between the ages of 9 and 13 work with their teachers and an Orange digital facilitator to research and develop their articles. Entries are assessed based on criteria including writing, relevance, quality, illustrations, and originality.
The initiative extends beyond Liberia, with Orange Foundation implementing similar programs in several countries. This year, schools from Guinea, Cameroon, and Tunisia emerged as international winners.
The initiative has also been implemented in countries including Jordan, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, where students have used digital tools to document stories about their communities, landmarks, traditions, and cultural heritage.
For Liberia, the national win is an opportunity to encourage more schools and students to embrace digital learning and storytelling. Witherspoon challenged teachers to continue supporting their students so that Liberia can compete strongly for the international prize in the coming year.
The success of Jescor Learning Center is not simply about winning €2,500. It is about what happens when young people are given the tools, guidance, and opportunity to tell their own stories. Through the WikiChallenge, students discovered that their communities, traditions, games, and history are not just memories of the past-they are knowledge worth documenting and sharing with the world.
The initiative also demonstrates the role technology can play in preserving cultural heritage. By helping young people document traditions that may otherwise become less familiar to future generations, digital platforms can become spaces for cultural preservation as well as education.
Students and parents at Jescor Learning Center expressed appreciation to Orange Foundation for creating the opportunity, describing the initiative as an important step toward expanding digital knowledge and skills among Liberian students.
As Liberia continues to embrace digital transformation, initiatives like the Orange WikiChallenge are giving the next generation something powerful: the tools to tell their own story. And through Jescor Learning Center, a group of young Liberians has reminded the world of something simple but important: Liberia has stories to tell and its young people are ready to tell them.
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