Elijah Dunoh - BTFS Youth Department
The work Elijah has done since joining the BTFS team is hard to match because he has integrated so well with the team and is committed to positive change - which is very much in line with BTFS' vision.
A native of Lofa County in northwestern Liberia and a member of the Gbandi ethnic group, Dunoh is known both in his community and in the BTFS Office for a good personal relationship and is considered the "cement between the holes."
He enjoys being a BTFS employee because of his commitment to humanity and always feels that giving and helping those in need is most important and a core value in his life.
Elijah history
"I am Elijah B. Dunoh, born in Lofa County and raised in Montserrado County and I am married with one child. I am a senior student at the University of Liberia studying General Forestry. "
Chance with BTFS
"On the recommendation of my friend Hamson Gaye, who now works as an administrator for BTFS, I got in touch with the Bowier Trust Foundation Switzerland. He encouraged me to help as a volunteer and so I became an employee of BTFS in June 2017 after a trial period of three months.
BTFS is helpful to the Liberian Society, especially when it comes to some of its projects, and we will complete one of the biggest projects since BTFS was established (ICA School Sanitation Project) this month. I believe that this project will be successful. The BTFS involvement in the Liberian society has made especially the staff proud. "
BTFS addresses threats and challenges in communities
Friends and supporters believe that BTFS helps address community-level hazards and challenges faced by community residents, police officers, motorcyclists, and sometimes governments in a structured way.
"The BTFS program addresses many of the challenges and primarily the focus is on water supply and sanitation/hygiene conditions. Most of our communities do not have clean drinking water, so our work is a great help and motivation to the community"
His contribution to BTFS
As one of the engines in the youth department, Elijah believes that his contribution to humanity is very important and can help to turn the destiny of some people in a positive direction.
"I support the Women's Division Director, Myrtle Bowier and the Youth Division Director, Sam Holt, by helping to write and launch programs and in the meantime there have been numerous community outreach efforts that I have designed. I currently run the "Wash Club" in our schools along SD Cooper Road and that has made a lot of difference. We have conducted seminars for three schools that we work with. This has had a positive impact on the lives of students who are part of the club. I know this is just the beginning and we need to expand not only in Montserrado but in other communities outside of Montserrado. In doing so, we rely on and are grateful for the security and support that BTFS provides."
Satisfied with honor
I am proud of this honor as Staff of the Month because we are many in this place and believe that it is a favor, but based on my performance in this place in a very short time.
"I am proud to receive the honor of being selected as Employee of the Month. I also see it as a recognition of my past performance in our community outreach activities. This is based on my dedication and hard work and good working relationships with my bosses.
I am proud because I joined BTFS as a volunteer and in June this year I have already been with BTFS for one year and I am happy to have been selected. I am very grateful to God.
This honor serves as motivation for me to do more and as Employee of the Month, I can promise you that I will win this award more than three times.
This is a great contest and before December I want to be awarded the honor of "Employee of the Month" once again.
We have many plans in mind and are waiting for the right time. Especially if things are done right, BTFS will be pushed to the highest height in Liberia.
Appointment to BTFS Senior Management Team
He praised Felix Walz and his entourage in Switzerland for taking the time to try to help the poverty-stricken people of Liberia.
"We want to encourage him to continue his hard work and motivate donors outside Liberia, especially from Switzerland, to continue to support our fledgling institution in the implementation of our jobs so that we can realize our goals.
We want to encourage Felix Walz and ask God to give him strength and a long life so that he may continue to have courage and trust in the staff of BTFS and pray that BTFS will reach the status of the United Nations, which is worldwide. Finally, I would like to once again express my great thanks for being selected by BTFS as the Employee of the Month for April and see this as a competition and thank our Administrator Hamnson Gaye for his courage and support to push me to do better. Thanks also to my team members in the youth section for their support.
Estella Kangar-BTFS Caretaker
Estella Kangar is a humble and dedicated young woman whose "multi-tasking" work ethic, put her in the spotlight as an outstanding employee for the month of February and was chosen.
Estella, mother of an 18 year old daughter Munah, works as a room attendant and "caterer" at BTFS and is the "fairy godmother" of the house. She has taught herself skills in gastronomy and catering and currently lives in Jalla Town, Monrovia.
She spoke about her life story and her encounter with BTFS:
"I was born in 1979 in Liberia's Capital, Monrovia, to the Giplay's, my real parents, but was adopted a few years later by the Kangar's Family and taken to Newport Street in Monrovia.
My schooling started at Caldwell Mission in ELWA Community and later followed by Newport High School in Monrovia. I was one of those students who were eager to learn, but my dream for good schooling could not be fulfilled due to lack of support that held me back over the years and so I became a "school drop-out", meaning I could no longer attend school.
Life didn't seem to mean it very well with me and it was difficult. However, I did not get discouraged and told myself that there is always a way. So I developed on my own, taught myself catering skills and was able to supply food to local groups but sometimes also to international organizations, which was appreciated by them. So I always found a way to survive.
Meeting with BTFS
Estella expressed happiness about working with BTFS and said that this employment creates a perspective for her livelihood and gives her hope.
"I joined the BTFS team in May 2017 as a janitor - on the recommendation of Mr. Walz, BTFS President. I was very motivated by the work of the team and from January 2018 I was allowed to join the "field team" after encouragement Mister Hamson Gaye, (BTFS LMT Admin).
Working with this NGO is like meeting a new family, which gives me a lot of motivation for my core task, the house cleaning and catering, but also working with the field team in the communities. The team knows how to deal with people; understand each other and that I learn so many new things while working is great. Being with BTFS has brought many changes in my life and encouraged me to be more independent and to involve other people from my environment, sharing my knowledge through experience.
Madam Kangar wishes BTFS to develop further....
"I would like to see BTFS be able to operate in remote districts soon, not just here in Paynesville. Because what BTFS is doing is really good. Especially in the inaccessible areas in the hinterland, there are so many people living in poverty who don't have good sanitation facilities and the need for clean drinking water is great. They drink unclean water from the creeks where they do their emergency toilet at the same time in the bushes.
In addition, there is the difficult relationship between the police and the motorcycle gangs. This is not simply a problem for the residents; rather, it destabilizes the entire country. That's why BTFS must bring its training offering in the area of promoting a sense of community there.
I would like to thank BTFS for choosing me as their Employee of the Month, which I take as a sign of encouragement and would like other employees who will be chosen in the coming months to join me in recognizing the opportunity to work more and be open to new ideas that will help the NGO continuously evolve," Estella Kangar concluded her statement.
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