Student Spotlight: Isaac Monah
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mom jloau: “Education is Light.” These words carry a deep meaning for
Isaac Monah, an English as a Second Language (ESL) student at Tri-C.
Isaac, who works as a nursing assistant at the Cleveland Clinic and also
owns his own cleaning company, has been fighting for education his
entire life.
A Liberian refugee, Isaac came to the U.S. in 1990. As a child in Liberia, there was no school in the Twarbo region of Grand Gedeh County where he lived. To get an education Isaac traveled around the country to various schools, and as a result his schooling was intermittent. He eventually graduated from high school in Ghana, but the problem was clear: Grand Gedeh needed a school.
When Isaac returned to his hometown for a visit in 2007, the issue was even more apparent. No progress had been made and children were facing the same situation he had in the 1980’s. He knew something had to be done, and with the help of the Noble Road Presbyterian Church congregation he set to work.
Three years later, three schools and 19 churches are involved in Isaac’s initiative to build the Dougbe River Presbyterian School in Liberia. Isaac is naming the school after the local river because he says the river belongs to all the people in the region – and he wants the school to belong to all of them as well.
Eventually they will construct dormitories and provide transportation for students so the school can serve 12 villages in the Twarbo region. Realistically, however, without housing or transportation the school will only initially serve two local villages. But with Isaac’s determination and added assistance from the community, this will most certainly change.
A far cry from Liberia, Isaac now resides here with his wife Mazo and sons Tom (17), Scott (6) and Matthew (5).Tom currently attends Brush High School and Isaac is proud of his son’s education - and also of the progress that has been made on his project. Construction is about to begin on the first school building and on October 19th Isaac headed to Liberia for the groundbreaking. He couldn’t be more excited.
“I am so happy that there is going to be a school in the community. They haven’t had one before. I am only able to do this because of the help of many people.”
There is still much work to be done in Grand Gadeh. For more information on how you can help or to make a donation to the Dougbe River Presbyterian School of Liberia project please visit www.drpsl.org.