Liberian educator seeks help for kids with Down Syndrome

By: Emmanuel wise Jipoh 

In pursuit of its goal to ensure the survival of children living with Down Syndrome sickness, My Heart’s Appeal, a local not for -profit organization is seeking support from the Government of Liberia, NGOs, prominent individuals, and entities.

My Heart’s Appeal Inc. has been in existence since 2011, catering to children and people with intellectual disabilities as a way of giving them a better life regardless of their current condition.

Speaking in an exclusive interview, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Madam Lovetie Major, asked the Government of Liberia for assistance to support children with special needs.

Madam Major said phase one project of the center is complete but needs financial support from government to open it to the public.

She pleads with government, NGOs, and philanthropists to support the My Heart’s Appeal Liberia in operating its educational facility for children suffering from Down Syndrome.

Children with intellectual disabilities find it hard to learn, which means they need extra time and help to learn new skills. Kids in such conditions need special care, something, Madam Major said parents of these children are unable to provide.

She explained to The New Dawn that children with intellectual disabilities will typically experience difficulties with reasoning, problem-solving, memory, planning, and judgment, among others, so they need extra time and help to learn.

“What prompted me to get involved in this initiative, I had a sister, who had Down Syndrome and needed somebody to take care of her, and at that time I was the only person who was showing concern; it is against this backdrop that I developed interest in catering to kids with disabilities”, Madam Major narrates.

The Liberian educator and humanitarian activist, says she has come a long way in catering to children with special needs, and presently runs daily services for them.

“I’ve come along with this since 1999 in America, and bringing it to Liberia, with My Heart’s Appeal Foundation, was challenging, but despite all odds, I have come this far in catering to these children, in this small facility, my House, my late mother has given to me, catering to my Sister Titema, and other children with the Down Syndrome condition.”

She says it has been her desire to make her sister feels a part of society, and functional by enabling her to acquire education as others could, and went beyond in building a resource center without any support from national government.

Madam Major continues that at least 75 Down Syndrome children are currently enrolled at the My Heart’s Appeal Liberia Foundation in Gaye Town, Old Road in a pilot phase and approximately hundred more kids are waiting to be enrolled, but the facility needs expansion.

“That’s why I said, we need support to expand our facility; this place is small to enroll all of these children, as you can see this huge number of children, a little over 75, while nearly hundred others are waiting to enroll, but we cannot take all of them.”

She discloses three acres of land have been secured along the Robertsfield highway to construct a permanent recreational center for the kids, but this requires financial support. Editing by Jonathan Browne