Safe Kids Now Network International
Caring for Kids in Liberia: A Calling from God
By Sher Graham
Last October, one of my long-time friends decided to travel back to Liberia to help start a school in a small community where children needed education, housing, food and love. At first, she said she might be gone for several months. As 2023 ended, somehow I knew that my wonderful friend would not be returning to the US, let alone come back to Mobile, AL, where she was born and lived, and where I live right now. Her name is Theola Bright, and I want to share her story with you about God calling her to serve in Liberia.
1. How did you first find out about the need for a school in the part of Liberia you are now living?
The photo above showed me the need for schools in Liberia. All of the public schools are overcrowded and have long waiting lists. If a parent wants to get their child in school at the appropriate age, they will have to pay to send them to a private school. Many parents are struggling and making sacrifices to get their children in school. Some of the children come to school hungry because their parents have no extra money to give them for food. Still, they are happy just to be in school. Sometimes hungry, they watch the children who have lunch money to eat. They look but say nothing. Parents value education highly because they see their educated children as the way out of poverty. This is why I started a free lunch program in my area of Caldwell, Liberia for the private school, Life Preparatory Academy, which needed a cafeteria to prepare food and a place where the children could sit to eat rather than sitting on the ground or standing.
2. Living in Mobile, did you make other trips to the area before you made your final journey last October? How long have you been supporting this area?
I had the opportunity to visit Benin as a delegate in 2018, and that visit filled me with curiosity about the other countries in Africa. I have supported projects in Africa remotely through missionaries and televangelists, but this is my first time to take on a project of my own. During my visit to war-torn Liberia, I saw too many needs to just turn my back and go back to the USA without doing something to help. I have been supporting the Caldwell area of Montserrado County in Liberia almost 9 months. (See map below for location.)
3. You have been a major influence and community stakeholder in South Alabama for many decades, as you have called Mobile, Alabama, home. What was it that made you realize that you wanted to live in Liberia full-time?
I lived in America 78 years of my life without knowing what it was like to live in another country, especially the country of my ancestors. I have had the desire in my heart most of my life to see and experience living in the Motherland. A friend, going to Liberia on business for 7 days, invited me to tag along to see Monrovia, Liberia. I jumped at this spontaneously opportunity because it offered me a traveling companion who could instruct me on the protocols of the country and how to stay safe.
4. How has life changed for you since the move?
My life has changed for the better; although, I have to start all over again from scratch at 78 years old. I left all the material things I owned behind to stay in Liberia to see the projects I started coming to fruition. Helping the struggling people in the area of Caldwell, which is similar to Prichard in Mobile County,(low-income, vulnerable community), became more important to me than anything else.
I knew it was my calling because all my lifetime experiences had prepared me to do just what I AM doing right now. I used to wonder why I had so many gifts and talents, but never focused on any one in particular. Now, I know because all of those gifts and talents are needed to do what I AM doing now to help and teach my people. I say my people because I also found out through conversation that my great grandmother who was a slave, was from the Kissi [pronounced “Gee-chee” in South Carolina] Tribe in Lofa, Liberia. I AM living the simple life and loving it. Many things I do now, I did as a child before technology programmed us for instant gratification. I truly feel free at last living here in Liberia.
5. God has given you so many talents over the years and so many projects where you have been influential in sharing stories, empowering youth and families. Now you are on a New Journey, what are some of your intentions for this next path in the community you are supporting?
I AM on a journey that YAH has prepared for me. I don’t know where it is going to take me, or what my ultimate task will be. I just take one day at a time and deal with whatever or whoever comes my way that day. If I can help, I do. If I cannot at the present time, I put them on a list for future projects. I see no project too great for me to tackle. “Inch by inch anything is a cinch,” and if it is in God’s will for me to do, I know He will provide me with the means to do it. YAH is my boss (the vine), I AM the supervisor (the branch that produces the fruit). This journey is a glorious adventure that has its highs and lows, its trial and tribulations, but I find that every adversity is a teacher, every trial is a test to increase my faith, and every tribulation increases my stamina. To God be the glory for all that I AM.
For more information on her foundation and how you may support her efforts to keep kid safe through education, email her at [email protected].
About Theola Bright:
I am so thankful for my friend and colleague, Theola Bright. A native of Mobile, Alabama, she is the CEO of T.C. Bright Productions Ministry, Inc and the founder of The Theola Bright Foundation, supporting a community and school in Caldwell, Liberia. She has been a Health and Life Coach and a mentor for the Boys and Girl Club of South Alabama, Strickland Youth Center, and Rape Crisis Speakers Bureau. Her community involvement included the International Festival, Toastmasters International of Mobile, The Black Ink Coalition of African-American Authors, and Poet Laureate for Word of Mobile. She is the author of five books and a former Artist-In-Residence for the State of Alabama. Theola is a graduate of Blount High School (Mobile, AL) and studied Business at Ann York Business School in New York City, NY; Pre Law and Real Estate, Miami-Dade College, Miami, FL; Liberal Arts, Florida International University, University Park, FL; and Television Production, Lindsey Hopkins Technical College, Miami, FL.
About the Writer:
Sher Graham began as a community activist at age 12. Her commitment to making life better for others began with the legacy inspired from her grandmothers. As an author and professional speaker, she shares her personal journey of surviving parental substance abuse disorder, verbal/physical assault and being an unwanted child through her writings and speaking. A Neurobehavior Strategist, she is an international best-selling anthology author of 14 mental health and business books. You can reach her at [email protected] or https://www.shergraham.com.
