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Charlie Jackson, a Mission Society missionary, is often inspired by his colleagues and students at Ashesi University in Ghana. Charlie, a mechanical engineer, serves as Assistant Professor of Arts and Sciences at Ashesi. Ashesi is an institution that emphasizes ethical entrepreneurial leadership through a liberal arts education. Ashesi’s goal is to produce students who will transform their continent.

Kpetermeni T. Siakor, originally from Liberia, proves they are meeting this goal.

As a young teen, Kpetermeni migrated to Ghana where he was able to pursue a high school education. Out of a freshman class of 150 at Ashesi, he and 39 others were granted a full scholarship through a Canadian program covering tuition, meals, transportation, and a small stipend. As Charlie says, “These students are on a mission. They are raising the bar for other students. Some students have the full tuition paid by their parents and are just going through the motions. But the students on these scholarships are dead serious about why they are at university.”

That sense of purpose and mission only increased for Kpetermeni when the Ebola crisis struck Liberia. With his home country going through such a chaotic and heartbreaking ordeal, Kpetermeni sensed the need to act. But what could he do? He couldn’t leave school during his senior year and risk losing his scholarship. Still, with a background in information technology, he felt he had something to offer. Initial contact with the overwhelmed Ministry of Health in Liberia led nowhere. But Kpetermeni refused to do sit by and do nothing.

Next he contacted the United Nations and Doctors Without Borders and learned that a huge obstacle to dealing effectively with the Ebola crisis was timely communication about where and when new cases of Ebola were being discovered. It could take up to a week for the Ministry to receive reports of new cases from villages in the interior.

Kpetermeni began to network with friends and coworkers from an IT operation based in Monrovia. His previous experience with crowd-sourcing and mobile phones allowed him to begin deploying workers who could give reports of new cases within hours. In the midst of his senior year of university studies, Kpetermeni found himself on conference calls with the UN in the morning, before attending his classes each day.

For his efforts to fight Ebola and other projects on campus, Kpetermeni was awarded one of three Scholarship, Leadership & Citizenship Awards by Ashesi University’s president. After graduating with a degree in Computer Science, Kpetermeni has returned to Liberia and is working with iLab Liberia, a tech hub which helps promote information sharing in Liberia, where he serves as the Director of Innovation.

Students like Kpetermeni can truly transform a continent.

Photo credit Ashesi University