Phillip is a familiar face within the Universal Outreach community. In this feature, we are delighted to share the growing list of impacts from his story.
Phillip was on the UOF scholarship program and graduated from trade school in 2020.
Following his graduation, he opened up a guest house in a surf town 3 hours outside of Monrovia called Robertsport. Alongside, he also earns an income as a part-time plumber, which was the focus of his trade school training. This skill has also given him the ability to do all his own plumbing in his guesthouse, in turn saving him a sizeable amount of money.
Outside of his work, Phillip is one of the directors on the Grand Cape Mount County Surf Club Association board and a respected adult in the community.
Through the guest house, Phillip employs a local named Samon to prepare meals for the guests and often offers to give guests informal surfing lessons and take them on guided walks.
Here is the chain reaction of a UOF donation
Samon doesn’t have enough money to finish school all at once. He is 19 years old, yet only in grade 5. This is a common occurrence in Liberia. Students often miss the most formative developmental years for learning to finish school because they cannot afford to pay their tuition and survive without working. As a result, attendance often becomes intermittent, as paying jobs are prioritized to survive.
If Samon doesn’t work with Phillip, he has to pick up work as a fisherman - a respected, but notoriously tough and dangerous job here in Liberia.
A day in the life of a fisherman usually starts around 3 or 4 in the morning when they launch their narrow fishing boats. Navigating by the sun and stars in the relentless heat for 8, 12, sometimes 16 hours, occasionally several days, they are at the whim of the tumultuous open ocean.
“They can be going for a long time if there is no fish,” Samon notes. “There is nothing in the world more tough than being a fisherman in Liberia, but the fishermen have the most hope, man, they gotta have hope.”
Because of Phillip, Samon can earn money to get by and pay his school fees through the things that he loves - surfing, cooking, and helping people.
The list goes on
Beyond Phillip’s ability to employ locals and positively impact the community in Robertsport through his guesthouse, Phillip is now building a house for his family, employing builders in the process. Not to mention, he is able to support his wife, aging mother, and two children.
Having recently opened up a new business in Robertsport which provides access to charging stations and selling phone plans, Phillip is able to employ people to run operations and contribute to the local community.
Summary
Giving a scholarship or a donation to Universal Outreach doesn’t just impact one person’s life, it has a chain reaction on everyone they help going forward. This is what UOF is all about - providing opportunities for education and economic development initiatives to ensure the widest impact in the long run.
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