Gloria Nagbe is a More than Me volunteer on the ground in Liberia. Read her stirring story below.
In some ways Gloria Nagbe is like most More than Me volunteers. She has a full time job, a family, and needs of her own, but still finds time to work for a cause she believes in. However, Gloria's story and life are incredible and inspiring.
As a child, Gloria escaped Liberia and grew up in a refugee camp in Ghana. After a peace accord was finally achieved, Gloria returned to Liberia and received a scholarship from the Jesuit Refugee Service to attend college. Attending a university in any country can be an arduous experience. Gloria's drive to rebuild her country and life attest to her work ethic and intelligence and led to academic success.
In 2009, Gloria graduated from United Methodist University with a degree management and economics. Shortly after graduating, she married Gerald and she had a daughter, Geralyn. Gerald was murdered a year after their marriage, a crime that remains unsolved.
Gloria sells scratch cards to make a living. Despite her modest income, she adopted a son, Samuel, who is 15. Even though Gloria struggles, she volunteers in West Point, Monrovia's worst slum, because, she says, "the needs of those children and families are more extreme than mine and the little I have can help."
Gloria began volunteering in 2006, by organizing games and activities for children in West Point. After the charity she was working for left Liberia, Gloria continued to organize events for West Point's children on the detritus covered beach near the slum. She joined More than Me last year and has been instrumental in the scholarship program. She checks up on the scholarship recipients and provides counseling for the children and their families.
Many people who lived through the war years in Liberia resist talking about their past and their country's past. They want to look to the future, to better days, and to talk about how they can make improvements.
More than Me is glad Gloria was willing to share some details of her life. Thanks to volunteers like Gloria Nagbe, More than Me is able to stay accountable and to measure the progress of our students. We are proud to have such an amazing person working to help keep children off the streets and put them into school.
You can help keep Gloria's dream alive by donating to More than Me right here on GlobalGiving. Your money will go to support girls in Liberia who wish to go to school, most for the first time.
Links:
Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you will get an e-mail when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports via e-mail without donating.
We'll only email you new reports and updates about this project.
