Gomue Town, Bong County – July 20, 2025 – EPA Executive Director Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo has succeeded in rallying critical support for the Yarkpawolo Public School, marking a significant boost for grassroots education and community development in rural Bong County. At the school’s 5th closing ceremony held on July 17, 2025, local and international stakeholders celebrated not just academic achievements, but a growing movement for inclusive rural progress driven by education, women’s empowerment, and infrastructure development.

Dr. Yarkpawolo, a native of Gomue, reflected on his humble beginnings, recalling how the absence of early education due to distance forced him to start school at nearly 14 while in refugee exile in Guinea. Now a PhD holder and head of the EPA, he returned in 2018 to establish the Yarkpawolo Public School as a beacon of opportunity for children in the region. His story deeply resonated with attendees, catalyzing renewed commitment from government officials and development partners.

UNDP Resident Representative to Liberia, Aliou M. Dia, praised Dr. Yarkpawolo’s grassroots leadership and pledged the agency’s support toward the school’s completion and community initiatives. Mr. Dia emphasized that empowering rural communities starts with quality education and the inclusion of women in development processes. His pledge extends beyond the school to include targeted women’s empowerment programs in Gomue and its surrounding communities.

> “We will support the completion of this school project,” Mr. Dia said. “And we will also partner with women groups in Gomue. Empowering women is essential to empowering the entire community.”

Minister of Public Works, Roland Giddings, also addressed the longstanding challenge of road access in Gomue. He announced plans for engineers to assess the region’s roads in the upcoming budget cycle, encouraging community self-help efforts that the government could complement through its ARREST Agenda for development and connectivity.

> “If the community can organize a self-help road project, the government will meet them halfway,” Giddings stated.

Meanwhile, a prominent son of the district and humanitarian Quanuquanei Alfred Kermue was lauded for his role in opening an access path to Gomue, reaffirming his commitment to supporting rural initiatives. The initiative is a collaboration between Dr. Urey Yarkpawolo and Mr. Kermue on one hand and the villagers on another hand. Paynesville City Mayor Robert Bestman, also hailing from the area, particularly Belefanai emphasized the need for collective leadership among Zota officials to bring meaningful development to their people.

The 2024/2025 academic year at the Yarkpawolo Public School enrolled 101 students—51 boys and 50 girls. However, 11 of that number dropped along the way as the school year intensified. Of the 90 students who completed the year, 76 successfully passed, including 40 girls and 36 boys—an encouraging sign of progress toward gender parity in rural education.

As community members gathered beneath the green hills of Zota District, the event served as more than a school closing—it was a call to action. A call to invest in the future of children, to empower women, and to build resilient infrastructure. The Yarkpawolo Public School now stands not only as a learning institution, but as a symbol of what’s possible when vision, leadership, and partnership align for lasting change in rural Liberia.