Do What You Can! – Help Benedict Dream.

Karen Ecklund
Sep 20
2 min read

Thanks to your participation in our “Do What You Can!” campaign, 82 students now have access to an education. Can you help 45 more realize their dream of a better life, through education?

Meet Benedict.

Benedict is 23 years old and just one step away from graduating high school, a milestone that once felt completely out of reach.

Benedict - smiling in his Keyara's Gift shirt. — *Benedict is full of potential and hope and doesn’t take his education for granted.*

Benedict is a fighter, strong and determined. He has to be. Like most of his peers, born at the end of Liberia’s brutal civil war, Benedict’s life has been marked by great hardship.

His single mother did everything she could to provide for him, selling small goods just to procure at least a daily meal. Sustenance came ahead of education and despite her efforts, even when Benedict joined her at the market, there was never a surplus to cover school books, supplies or a uniform, much less school fees.

Sis Mammie and Benedict at the road-side stall — *Keyara Gift Case Worker, “Sis Mammie” visits Benedict at the roadside stall that keeps his family afloat but isn’t a secure source of income.*

A 2023 US Department of Labor report on the “Worst Forms of Child Labor” highlights the tragic vulnerability that poverty exposes children to in Liberia where, “young women and children are subjected to domestic servitude, forced begging, forced labor, street vending, and occasionally sex trafficking.”

“My dream to learn and succeed never died,” he says. “Even while helping my mom sell small things each day, I kept believing that one day, I would be in school like my friends.”

Then came the hardest moment - his mother fell gravely ill and could no longer work. With no income, no support, and no clear path forward, Benedict feared all hope was lost.

That’s when Sis Mamie, a neighbor and student case worker, introduced him to Keyara’s Gift. Hope was renewed with a life-changing sponsorship. Benedict’s mom eventually recovered and returned to selling at the roadside market but without the help of sponsorship, Benedict wouldn’t be in 12th grade, preparing to graduate and hoping to attend university next year.

“Sis Mammie”, as she is called by friends, students and neighbors, is seen here in purple - surrounded by Benedict, his mother, siblings and newborn baby niece. For 15 years she has worked tirelessly to advocate for students.

“I am so grateful for sponsorship but feel so bad for many of my friends who aren’t in school because they lack support,” Benedict says.

His story is not just one of survival—it’s a powerful reminder of how far a little help can go. Countless students are still waiting for the chance to learn. We can’t help them all but let’s make a difference for 127 students, who like Benedict, do what they can to hold onto hope.