For families struggling to get their children ready for school, the cost of copybooks, bags, and shoes can be difficult to meet. Across southeastern Liberia, a school supplies distribution by the CYTO Movement is helping some parents carry that burden.
Led by its Chief Executive Officer, Cytarus Grace Dahn, the movement has been distributing educational materials to children as part of a drive covering Grand Gedeh, Sinoe, Maryland, River Gee, and Grand Kru counties.
The supplies were provided through the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs under President Joseph Nyuma Boakai's back-to-school initiative, according to Dahn. She said the focus is on children whose parents or guardians cannot afford some of the basic items needed for classes.
The materials include school bags, copybooks, pens, pencils, sneakers, and jackets. The movement says the consignment includes approximately 5,000 copybooks, 5,000 pairs of sneakers, and a combined 5,000 jackets and reflective jackets.
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Dahn said the support is meant to ease pressure on families and help children return to school prepared.
More Than 800 Children Reached in Grand Kru
In Barclayville, Grand Kru County, more than 800 students, predominantly girls, received school materials, according to a September 21 report by journalist James Myking Suah of Grand Kru TV.
CYTO's National Chairperson, Tommy Wesseh, told reporters that the distribution mainly targeted children from nursery through third grade.
He said seven schools were reached, including George Toe Washington Elementary School, Assembly of God Mission School, and Pentecostal Foundation School. Children received bags, copybooks, shoes, and other school essentials.
The assistance also extended beyond the classrooms. Elders and young people in Flohken received clothing and footwear.
Wesseh thanked the Office of the President for supporting the exercise and acknowledged the cooperation of local education officials and community members.
He also addressed questions about school bags bearing President Boakai's image. According to Wesseh, the image was intended to acknowledge the President's support for the program, rather than ask beneficiaries to support him politically.
Support for Schools in Maryland
In Maryland County, the team distributed materials to selected schools in Harper and engaged communities in Pleebo.
Schools listed among the beneficiaries included Cape Palmas High School, Harper Demonstration School, East Harper High School, John Hillary Tubman High School, S. E. Gibson Kindergarten and Elementary School, Big Town Public School, and Samuel H. Marriem School.
Dahn said the assistance was intended to help students from households facing financial difficulties.
During her engagement in Pleebo, however, she raised a concern that went beyond the shortage of school supplies. She said some children she encountered could not read the words printed on a shirt.
That experience prompted her to call on President Boakai and the Ministry of Education to give greater attention to learning conditions in rural communities.
Her concern pointed to another need: children require books and bags, but they also need the teaching and support that will help them learn.
The team also distributed reflective jackets to motorcyclists in Maryland. The wider tour included stops in Grand Gedeh and River Gee, with the movement reporting that its school materials distribution concluded in River Gee.
From an Election Group to Community Support
Dahn said CYTO was founded in 2023 and now has about 1,206 members, with a presence in seven counties.
She explained that the movement grew out of a group of young people she brought together to support Boakai during the elections. After the elections, she began looking for ways to help those young people improve their lives.
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Some received assistance to attend school. Others received financial support to start small businesses.
According to Wesseh, the movement has also helped young people access scholarships at vocational training institutions and universities.
Dahn said the organization's wider goal is humanitarian, reaching Liberians who need assistance and working with individuals, organizations, and government institutions willing to support that effort.
She traveled with CYTO colleagues and Edward Lahai of Congo Town for the southeastern distribution exercise, which was planned as a five-day trip across the five counties.
For the children reached, the support provides basic items they need for school. For their parents and guardians, it alleviates some of the pressure on the household budget at a time when getting a child back into the classroom comes with several expenses.
Dahn said the movement hopes to secure further support so it can reach more children and communities.
