Margibi — In an effort to enhance quality technological education in Liberia, the Yamoransa Model Laboratory has been dedicated to the country. Students from the nation's capital, Monrovia, immediately benefit from the project.
The dedication ceremony took place recently at the 1st United Methodist Church in Monrovia, with Implementers & TECHAiDE, Helping Africa Foundation, the Government of Liberia, Joseph Jenkins Roberts Educational Foundation, partners, representatives of other higher learning institutions here, the Methodist Church, and well-meaning Liberians, amongst others, in attendance.
Yamoransa Model Lab is a unique ongoing partnership that encourages sustainable development and social inclusion in education. It is funded by the Helping Africa Foundation (HAF) and managed by the Implementers and TECHAiDE.
It originated with the idea of providing an ICT center to the people of Yamoransa in Ghana in 2012 through a Yale Alumni Service Corps Initiative.
After 2016, the model finally evolved into a program with the vision of empowering communities to drive sustainable development across Africa through the resources provided by the Yamoransa Model.
The Yamoransa Model Lab has so far achieved 15 labs, 12 of which are situated in Ghana, one in Gambia, and a newly commissioned branch in Liberia. Five more are expected to be commissioned soon.
The program's goal is to provide services for deprived communities and equip students with the requisite knowledge and skills to become global citizens.
Speaking during the program, the head of Implementers & TECHAiDE, Mr. Kafui Prebbie, said it was very helpful to discuss what his institution has done and the efforts made by the Helping Africa Foundation.
Speaking about the partnership with HAF, he noted that the Yamoransa Model Lab Liberia project brings the number of labs in Africa to 14.
He stated that the project is in Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Liberia and soon to be in Tanzania, with a plan to expand across Africa.
He maintained that it is aimed at addressing sustainable development, noting that the Helping Africa Foundation approved the Lab in Liberia just a few months ago, but they rose to the task and did it to ensure that the people of Liberia enjoyed the technology.
He explained that the facility is a 36-seated lab with a CC TV system and a sophisticated program on a device without internet access but containing all the programs the Liberian education curriculum requires.
He spoke of some very important information about the lab, which can be found at Implementers and TECHAiDE.
The President of Helping Africa Foundation, Dr. Deborah Rose, made a special remark during the dedication. She said that in 2012, she made her first trip to Ghana under the care of the Yale Alumni Service Corps. The Yale volunteers asked the leaders of Yamoransa what they wanted the Foundation to do, and they replied.
She noted that their request was to build an Information Communications and Technology (ITC) Center where children would be taught.
In 2013, her Uncle Daniel Rose traveled to Ghana to speak at a symposium sponsored by the Yale Club of Ghana and was accompanied by the formidable Japhet Aryiku, a retired Wall Street Banker and Ghanaian-American Citizen, who lives in both Harlem, New York, and Accra Ghana.
In 2014, her uncle founded the Helping Africa Foundation, which she joined and soon became president. According to her, the ICT Center was finished in Yamoransa in 2016, but there were still no computers. As a woman in technology, she sprang into action, went through her contact network, and was introduced to Mr. Kafui Prebbie, MBI, Founder and CEO of Implementers & TECHAiDE, which became Lab 1.
Dr. Rose added that she took her daughter to Ghana and, upon her return to the USA, noticed a social media post about a creative Ghanaian junior high school teacher who taught his students about computing technology using a chalkboard because they did not have real computers to practice on.
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She narrated that TECHAiDE, being to rescue, became Lab 3. She also outlined other important information about the Helping Africa Foundation and Yamoransa Model Labs.
For her part, Liberia's Minister of Education, Dr. Jallah, who served as keynote speaker, expressed delight and described the lab as a milestone for the J. J. Roberts School and the Ministry of Education.
She added that the initiative aims to advance digital access for youth, noting that the Ministry's partnership with Yamoransa Lab shows the government's strong commitment to improving Liberian students' literacy and technological skills.
According to the Minister, the partnership will use the advanced Yamoransa Lab programs, which are designed to meet the specific needs of students and communities in Liberia.
She said the goal of the program is to give Liberians the skills they need to succeed in the digital world, adding that by introducing the program, the government aims to fight literacy and equip its people with the necessary tools in today's world.
