From Collecting Wood to Studying Engineering

Roosevelt Wade's Story

Roosevelt, 8 years old (far left)

At eight years old, Roosevelt Wade walked into the forest outside his village to gather firewood so his family could cook dinner. In his left hand was an axe and on his right hip was his baby sister Geraldine. He was a child doing the work of an adult and he did it because his family needed him to.

He was also, somehow, earning excellent grades.

Roosevelt grew up in Royesville, the same place where Universal Outreach built a school and where the Bright Star Scholarship Program has been quietly changing what’s possible for students like him. 

Raised in a farming family, Roosevelt’s mother and father worked tirelessly to provide for their children. His father, balancing roles as a farmer and a part-time teacher, instilled in Roosevelt the importance of education as a pathway to a better future. Roosevelt grew up watching both, and understood what education could do because he could see, in his own home, the difference it made.

On the strength of his academic record, Roosevelt earned a Bright Stars scholarship to the Stella Maris Institute. He is the first in his family to attend university and is majoring in engineering.

Roosevelt at university

Why a Scholarship Changes Everything in Liberia

Roosevelt’s story reflects what can happen when talent meets opportunity.

To appreciate what this scholarship really means, it helps to understand the setting. Liberia's population is young (median age of 19 years) and access to education remains fragile. According to UNICEF Liberia, only 54% of children complete primary school and only one in three students who begin high school finish, a reminder of how many students are pushed off course before they ever get the chance to see what they are capable of. You can read more in Investing in the Future: Scholarships That Change Lives.

The barriers to completing education in Liberia are tangible. Tuition, uniforms, books, and exam fees add up quickly for farming families already stretched thin. A scholarship can be the difference between a student continuing forward and a student dropping out of the system entirely.

That is what the Bright Star Scholarship Program is built to address. In 2025, Universal Outreach awarded 211 scholarships across elementary, high school, university and trades levels, and 96% of supported students graduate. Roosevelt is one example of what that support can make possible. 

Roosevelt with his mother after receiving the scholarship

Want to Be Part of What Comes Next?

The boy who carried his sister through the forest while gathering firewood is now a university student. A scholarship is what made the distance between those two things possible.

A monthly gift of $150 funds a full university scholarship. $65 funds a high school scholarship and $50 a month ensures a student can attend elementary school.

If you’d like to help more students make that journey, you can start here.