History of Ziah Mission

The Ziah Mission School is located in Nimba County, more than 300 miles from Liberia's capital of Monrovia, and is only accessible by rough roads.

Ziah Mission School was founded in 1960 by Christian Africans in the very rural town of Ziah, located in Nimba County, Liberia, West Africa. Nimba County is in northeastern Liberia and shares borders with the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in the east and the Republic of Guinea in the northeast.  Ziah Mission School was the first school in its area to educate African students at the elementary school level. 

Students are taught Christian, academic, cultural, and social principles. Since the organization of the school, students have developed into contributing, independent adults and are helping to build a better Liberia. 

Over the years, the demand for education has outgrown the size of the school. The original school building, built in 1960, was not meant to accommodate the many children who want to be educated today. Friends of Ziah Mission School, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, incorporated in the state of Massachusetts, has a single purpose--to build a new and larger school for the children in the town of Ziah. Thus far $66,000.00 has been donated toward the $150,000.00 needed to complete and furnish the new school building. Offering their gifts and talents in the operation of the charity, a working, volunteer Board of Directors ensure that administrative expenses are extremely low. Hence, practically every dollar raised goes toward construction. 

This new school will accommodate every child who wants to learn, with room for growth in the future. It will make a tremendous difference in the lives of the children and will continue to endow the town of Ziah with an educational legacy for decades to come.

Ziah Mission School has faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles, but over decades of existence, this school has produced ministers, engineers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, business executives, and entrepreneurs. Notably, a graduate of the school was named Liberia’s ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy.

Current State of Ziah Mission School

Although the civil war has ended, Ziah Mission School continues to suffer due to a lack of finances. Many teachers are forced to abandon the classroom to tend to their farms or other ventures that could bring more income because skilled workers in Liberia are paid significantly below the minimum wage.

At Ziah Mission School, teachers are high school graduates with some teacher training certification. The principal holds an Associate of Arts Degree. There is an urgent need to assess teachers' skills and then provide a training program.

One hundred eighty-seven pupils are enrolled at Ziah Mission School. The small facility consists of five classrooms. There are 9 grade levels, including Nursery, Kindergarten 1, Kindergarten 2, and grades 1 through 6. The closeness of the rooms means that noise often creates distractions for students. The nursery and kindergarten areas are not conducive for early childhood learning.

Last year, the 63-year-old building needed significant repairs due to safety issues. Construction on the new school building was paused to concentrate on making the existing school building safe for the children. That work has been completed, and the focus is now on completing the new school building.