Liberia: Rotary Club Hands Over Renovated Barchue School in Oldest Congo Town

MONROVIA – The Rotary Club of Monrovia on Friday, October 16 presented the renovated Barchue Community Primary School in Oldest Congo Town to community leaders and education stakeholders.

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***By Patience M. Jones ***

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The project was carried out in partnership with the parent company of Brussels Airlines. Before the work began, the school had leaking roofs, damaged ceilings and walls, rainwater getting into classrooms, and poor sanitation facilities.

The renovation covered roof repairs, fresh paint in the classrooms, improved student furniture and blackboards and rehabilitated latrines, along with water and handwashing facilities.

Residents say they could not have paid for the work themselves. Providing the overview and also the welcome remarks at the ceremony, Rotarian Betti Sambola, the club’s Service Project Chair, said the project grew out of an assessment to find a community need where the club could leave a lasting mark.

Rotarians had already visited the school during their 2025 back-to-school project, when they gave supplies to students. Later assessments showed the building needed far more than that, so the club chose a broader renovation over piecemeal help.

Sambola said community members took part in the work, which also drew on local labor.

Rotary Club President Rotarian Robert E. Smallwood in his special statement said the project was done in partnership with the parent company of Brussels Airlines and the community.

The work included a new roof, interior and exterior painting, new benches and blackboards, renovated latrines, and water and handwashing facilities.

Rotarian Robert E. Smallwood narrated that the school was identified by Service Project Chair Betti Sambola, who visited several communities in search of a project fitting this year’s Rotary theme, “Creating Lasting Impact.”

He said the club chose a full renovation over a single item such as chairs or paint. Rotary members contributed their own money, he added, though he declined to give figures. “This is your school,” Smallwood told residents. He said maintenance and using the building for its intended purpose are all Rotary asks in return.

He also said the club acts without seeking personal benefit, political office or publicity. Beyond the renovation, Smallwood said the real return on the investment is giving students a chance to learn in a better environment.

He said Rotary has six clubs in Liberia, each carrying out projects in its own community. On October 24, all Rotarians will take part in polio eradication activities, including a march, painting and a “sip and pin” event open to the public.

Giving remark of acceptance, Community Chairman Joseph Mulbah Kerlie II said the community had no funds for the repairs and did not apply for or request any assistance.

“It was purely the working of the Almighty God,” he said, likening the Rotary Club’s intervention to ravens that supplied the Prophet Elijah.

He also thanked the Commissioner of Congo Town for his consistent support, noting that the Commissioner donated concrete blocks, cement, copy books and stationery to the school during a visit made in the Chairman’s absence.

Kerlie said the campus had been in poor condition, with water seeping in during the rainy season, dilapidated ceilings and worn-out zinc. He said the renovation now gives children a conducive learning environment.

He urged teachers and school administrators to act as custodians of the facility by keeping it tidy and promptly reporting any problems. He also expressed confidence that the improved condition would help boost enrollment, which he said had dropped last year partly because of the school’s state.

The Chairman described the renovation as something the community could not have afforded on its own and expressed hope for future assistance from the Rotary Club.

For his part, the Commissioner of the Township of Oldest Congo Town, Edward Horton Lahai, praised Rotary for investing in a public school and called the project an example of how civic organizations can contribute to national development. Citizens, he said, should not see government as the only party responsible for every public need.

Individuals, community leaders and private organizations all have a part to play, he said, and he encouraged businesses and individuals with resources to support similar projects.

He also urged residents to value the help they receive and protect it. The renovation does not remove the need for public investment in education. It shows how community partnerships can work alongside broader efforts to improve public facilities.

The club says more work remains at the school. The renovation is one stage in a continuing effort, not a final fix for every need. Its lasting value will depend on what happens after the handover: administrators maintaining the classrooms and latrines and residents spotting problems early and protecting what has been built.