PROJECT SUMMARY: Education Resource Center Project

The United Bong County Association in the Americas (UBCAA) Education Resource Center project is the first in a series of projects to be undertaken by the association in its drive to help rehabilitate and restore the county.

Bong County was ensnarled in the tentacles of the civil war, with the capital Gbarnga, changing hands many times among different warring factions with devastating effects. The educational institutions and public buildings were either destroyed or left unattended throughout the warring period by successive occupants of the county.

While the infrastructure laid waste, the people of Bong County were forced to flee to make room for each successive group of occupiers. With such forced nomadic lifestyle, survival became paramount - hence generations of traumatized children, many promising young men and women, either could not find the class room or lost their way to it.

More than that, education resource materials have been scarce in the country even during peace time. The advent of the war and the toll it took on the employment base and earning power of parents (those that survived), is also very telling and must be seriously considered in any rehabilitation initiatives.

The UBCAA believes that the future of the country is intrinsically linked to the rehabilitation and resourcefulness of the youths. By aiding the learning process through the provision of resources and facilities of the resource center, the association hopes to not only attract young men and women to the class room, but to also keep them in school.

The Education Resource Center will be centrally located in the capital, Gbarnga. The project is scheduled to begin on February 20, 2006. The completed resource center will include a library with at least 50, 000 books, a computer training center with no less than 30 work stations, a conference facility/auditorium, a production/copy center and office spaces.

While the project is being sponsored by generous donations from Bong County citizens in and out of the country, and the UBCAA, the association seeks and will welcome donations and material assistance from individuals, non-governmental organizations and the government of Liberia.

When completed, the resource center will be available for use to everyone in need, subject only to the rules and regulations governing the use of the facility. The Center is the Association’s way of kick starting the rebuilding of Liberia and the rehabilitation of its citizens.

The Library

The Library will be a major research center. It will have at least 50,000 academic books, periodicals, magazines, and research papers done by both Liberian and non-Liberian scholars who permit the user of their materials by the center. It will have a general library space as well as quiet reading rooms that students can use to study and prepare for exams.

It will be administered like any modern Library. Users will be registered and their information kept in the central database to safeguard the resource materials and keep tract of users. Trained librarian will be on hand to help students find resource materials and provide assistance.

Computer training center

The computer training center is the Center’s way of helping users get computer literate and keep pace with the digital learning experience. The computer training room will be staffed with trained computer operators who will teach users how to operate and use the computer to accomplish academic projects.

Conference Facility/Auditorium

The only public space available to groups for hosting programs in Gbarnga was the county administration building. The building took a beating from the constant fighting in the city and has also been left unattended. The conference room/auditorium will be rented for an affordable price to generate revenue for the maintenance of the center and paying of overhead.

Productions Room

The productions room will have modern photocopy facilities for the reproduction of scarce in-demand materials both for the library and for students who would like personal copies at a minimum cost.

Offices

The center will have office spaces for use by paid administrators and visiting UBCAA executives who will make periodic visits to the county to evaluate project implementation and make a need assessment for consideration by the membership in the United States.

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