By James Kokulo Fasuekoi|JNB Foundation Comm. Dept.
It was during last November when executives at President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s JNB Foundation first made contact with Mary’s Meal of Tumanburg-the school & campu home to deaf children and adults-in the hope of assessing the certer’s needs and possibly working out something to give to them for Christmas.
Whatever happened, everything didn’t go according to the foundation’s own plan, and the reason was largely because of the charity’s numerous engagements, in addition to ongoing preparations at the time to host President Joseph Boakai’s birthday, set to be celebrated 30th November in Tubmanburg.
However, following the end of the birthday festivities, nearly one month later (yesterday, December 17), a team of staffers from JNB Foundation traveled to the old mining town during which they visited the campus, interacted with residents, teachers, and Mary’s Meal Sister-in-Charge Theresa Anima, before making a donation to the center.
Mrs. Doris Paye Karngbeae who heads the foundation’s Women & Youth Empowerment wing presented the gift to the center on behalf of the charity, and emphasized that Wednesday’s trip, pretty much an acquaintance visit, was the beginning of a friendship between the two institutions.
The donation included rice, bottle water, used clothes, shoes, and soft drinks. Although not huge, per se but as Mrs. Karngbeae rightly stated, quoting a popular saying, “Little is much when God is in it. “
She recounted the foundation’s mission and also vision to assist needy institutions around the country, and thanked the center’s staff plus Sister Theresa Anima of the Sisters of Our Ladies of Apostle for their good work and expressed hope that the charity would consider their school whenever donations arrive.
Mary’s Meal was established in 2008 for children and people with disabilities, mainly deaf people. The school teaches Sign-Language and currently has an enrollment of over 100 students, according to the Sister-in-Charge Theresa Anima.
In 2004, the school, with 93 residents (46 males and 47 females) was renamed and turned over to Oscar Romero School of the Deaf. It presently runs from ABC to Ninth grade, with an age range of 5-26 years old students.
