Liberia: MWETANA Takes 150 Pupils on Tour MV Logos Hope

Some of the pupils from the Monrovia Demonstration Elementary School  reading in the bookstore aboard the MV Logos Hope.

... As  Monrovia Demonstration Elementary School  gets  books for the library

MWETANA Consulting and Technology Group, a leading Liberian-owned technology company has taken 150 sixth graders from Monrovia Demonstration Elementary School (MDES) on a tour of the MV Logos Hope, the world’s largest floating book fair which docked at the National Port Authority.

When the ship leaves Liberia on April 5, 2022, it will head to Spain, touring the cities of Seville, Las Palmas, and Ceuta. Mr. Vivien Charles Jones, MWETANA’s President, and Chief Executive Officer said when he heard about Logos Hope’s visit to Liberia, he thought it would be a good opportunity for public school students who often lack resources and exposure to learning experiences outside the classroom.

He selected Demonstration School because the school is located on Clay Street, in MWETANA’s backyard. The company is located on Carey Street. MDES, Mr. Jones said, produced a lot of outstanding Liberian citizens, but is struggling because of neglect.

The gesture is also part of Mwetana’s Corporate Social Responsibility.

“Those of us who grew up before the civil war remember going to bookstores or our school library, but that is not the case for most children growing up in Liberia today,” Mr. Jones said. “We developed a love for reading because we had access to books. I wanted to give children in the place where I do business exposure to a variety of books, so they can broaden their horizons.”

Varney Karpu said he was impressed by the variety of books. He scanned books featuring Bible stories, Star Wars, Science, and Disney’s Winnie the Pooh. “I just want to thank Mr. Jones for giving us this experience,” Karpu said. “I am happy that we got to see new books that we didn’t know about.”

Izatta Zleh thanked Mr. Jones for giving her an experience of a lifetime.  “This is my first time on a ship,’’ she said. “I learned about reading. I will never forget this experience.”

As the students toured the bookstore, Mr. Jones and his team picked out an assortment of 30 books for the school’s library. The collection included a World Atlas, books on grammar/spelling, English dictionary/thesaurus, poetry, science, social studies, math, nursery rhymes, sewing, and biblical stories.

After a two-hour tour of the ship, the students returned to the school where Mr. Jones gave them a pep talk on the importance of reading and donated the books to the library. The students were also served lunch. Mr. Jones used the World Atlas to encourage the students to learn about places in the world they hear about on radio or television.

He made the war in Ukraine relevant by telling the students that they could  locate the Eastern European country if they read the Atlas. He urged them to make time to read outside of school.

“The purpose of a book is for you to learn to read,” Mr. Jones said. “When you read, it can take you to places that you have never been. When you read, it expands your mind and you also learn to write proper English, not colloquial.”

Principal MaryAnn Gongbay thanked Mr. Jones for giving the students a memorable field trip experience. “Our students don’t get these kinds of opportunities, so this is special,” she said. “We really appreciate it.”

Founded in 2006, MWETANA provides technology solutions and services to public and private sector organizations.  Their solutions in the education and health sectors are solving everyday problems in a meaningful way.  MWETANA transitioned the University of Liberia to a digital platform for managing the student from the entrance to graduation. 

MWETANA also developed the end-to-end solution used for managing the COVID health crises in Liberia.  MWETANA provides software, infrastructure, surveillance, biometrics, and software integration services for payment and other applications.  The firm is a one-stop-shop information technology solutions provider.