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Our speaker this morning was Leo Johnson, Executive Director of Empowerment Squared. To learn more about Leo and the project that he talked about, check out this web page: https://empowermentsquared.org/liberian-learning-centre/.
Empowerment Squared has found that children of immigrants typically lead their parents by making friends and learning the language. If the kids do well in school, the family does well in adjusting. However, if the kids struggle with school, the family typically struggles as well. For this reason E2 has created a mentoring program for children of new Canadians: https://empowermentsquared.org/programs/academic-mentoring/. This is coupled with a sports program to encourage the youth to attend.
The main theme of Leo’s talk was the creation of the Liberian Learning Centre. Although initially intent on building a library, Leo’s team has learned that there is a greater need for a multi-purpose centre that is sustainable. This centre will have a recreation centre plus a co-working space for budding entrepreneurs.
Phase I of the project will cost $500,000 with $200,000 coming from Rotary contributions. The Rotary Club of Monrovia is the host club. The goal for E2 is to raise $40,000 which can be leveraged up to $200,000 through matching grants and a Rotary International Grant.