Literacy and Human Rights Latest Trip to Liberia, July 3 – 26, 2021
At last count, I have practiced law for something like 43 years. While I don’t see hanging up my spurs any time soon, the profession’s rewards do not come close to the enduring satisfaction of my volunteer work in literacy and human rights in West Africa. After a near-two year pandemic-imposed hiatus and with an extraordinary team of dedicated African and American colleagues, I was able to continue that initiative over three weeks in Liberia last month.
These efforts began in 2005 with a one-week trip to Ghana from which I have never fully returned. From an initial broad initiative to educate and train young leaders on the 30 articles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), we have come to focus wholly on Article 26, the right to relevant, competency-basededucation.
Our African Literacy Campaign is under the banner of Applied Scholastics International, an organization uniquely qualified to offer the solution to illiteracy through the proven effective learning methods of American author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, widely known as “Study Technology” or “Study Tech.”
The trip, July 3-26, reaffirmed the vital importance and promise of the Campaign. Liberia is one of the “poorest” nations on Earth, but that’s only if viewed economically. The heart and determination of people there is world class.
As widely reported in FrontPageAfrica and allAfrica.com, we had the opportunity and privilege of introducing Study Tech to leading government ministers, educators, and student leaders on an unprecedented scale. We have also laid the foundation to establish a permanent teacher training center to assist national and regional development for years to come.
Many of you have contributed over years to make this work possible. To all of our supporters, thank you very, very much.
While it’s now back to my day job servicing our clients and local community, our plans and programs continue to ensure the Campaign can and will contribute significantly to development of one of the most challenged regions in human family. That’s some real pay.
Tim Bowles
August 5, 2021