Rev. Jessy Togbadoya
is from a village in Liberia called Balama. He was the first individual from his village to receive an education. He now lives in Atlanta and runs a non profit organization called Balama Development Alliance (BDA). His mission through BDA is to enable transformational development by investing in the dreams of the poor, so that they might be released from physical and spiritual poverty.
Throughout the year, Rev Jessy takes groups of people from the US to Liberia on volunteer trips. Friends, students, church groups and organizations join forces to make a change in Liberia for two weeks at a time. The group stays in a guest house where they are provided lodging, meals and some extra curricular activities.
Some of the programs that BDA runs include:
Christian Education: BDA built and has continued to operate the first free elementary school in the Balama region of Bong County, Liberia. Enrollment is at 400+ students.
Micro-Enterprise Development: BDA provides seed monies of $100 per family to help disenfranchised and war-affected families start and grow self-sustainable businesses for a livelihood. They have provided micro-loans for 130 families.
Leadership Development: BDA provides scholarships for high school and college students who are committed to serving in rural communities. There are 16 high school and 8 college students who benefit from the scholarship program.
Rev Jessy claims that the involvement in Balama tends to have a much bigger impact on the community, than say a volunteer working in another part of the world. The reason for this is that the population of Liberia (4 million) is less than that of Georgia (almost 10 million) so the impact per person is far greater. He takes up to 20 people at a time and each one of them is able to involved in the community directly.
If you are interested in joining one of the volunteer programs to Liberia, get more information on their web site or join me on a trip later this year. However, they also need virtual volunteers who can assist with training teachers on the ground, mentoring, creating lesson plans, etc. If you can’t make it all the way to Africa but still want to help, you can do so!
Email me sucheta@goeatgive.com if you would like to join my tour to Liberia.
