For the second consecutive year, Kelvin wanted to hold a birthday fundraiser. His birthday was April 12, and he wants to raise $1,200 to help 12 students. If you listened to the video update, Kelvin shared (start at 4:24) why he feels birthday fundraisers are the best way to celebrate. Kelvin raised $62 so far. If you want to support his cause, please donate via Facebook, Cash App $UDStars, Venmo @UDStars, or website. Thank you!
When we started our UDS Academy in 2018, we wanted to provide quality education to children and youth unable to afford private schools. Moving to 2021, our students proved their abilities by winning quizzing and spelling bee contests. They outcompete older students older from other schools.
How did UDS become so competitive? Tony Zowah, one of our academic teachers, makes this possible. He coaches the students and prepares them for the annual contests and championships. They have been winning each year.
One of the spelling bee team members, Lawrence Freeman, shared how the teams were doing on March 23rd and what was next.
We won our game. The UDS quizzers won with 260 points while the opponents were having negative 5. The spelling bee team won with 95 points while the opponents was having 20 points. All thanks to bro, Tony Zowah for coaching us the right way.
We will be playing on April 3, in the SAGO League. Then April 4, at the NYFAC League, and April 5, in the third league at Smart Kids Resource Center.
Lawrence Freeman, Uniting Distant Stars Academy Student
The 2023/2024 teams include the following:
They won two of the three district tournaments that Lawrence mentioned above. The team will go to the semi-finals on April 18. We will keep you posted.
Welcome to April, Everyone! Heather Cannon, Uniting Distant Stars Co-Founder and Executive Director, is joined by Adam Pederson, Board Chair; Kelvin Fomba, Co-Founder & Director; Zachariah Tate, Computer Student; and Manfred Gibson, Assistant Computer Instructor. Heather started with some quick updates before we talked with Zack and Manfred.
Please note there were some technical issues with the screen share, but the links to the articles are provided below.
Summary of updates:
00:34 Next Virtual Tea Time is April 27 from 10 to 11 AM CST. Email [email protected] to reserve your seat.
01:03 A moment to remember Ishmael Gabbidon, who passed away unexpectedly on March 10, one week before his 24th birthday. Here is the link to his memoriam.
02:10 Catering students getting prepared for their upcoming practicials. Here is the blog post to learn more.
02:26 Academic students are learning computers. Here is the blog link.
02:41 Cosmetology students started braiding and plaiting hair. Check out the blog post.
02:52 Electrician students, including one female, recently had a field trip to wire a three-bedroom home. Learn more in our blog post.
03:13 Event decoration students are making flower vases from recycled wine bottles. Please read the blog post.
03:53 We wished everyone born in April a happy birthday and reminded them to consider UDS a birthday fundraiser. Start your birthday fundraiser here.
04:25 Kelvin starts to extend his thanks to everyone! He shares why he likes birthday fundraisers to celebrate your special day. He talked about the one he did last year and announced he would do another this year. His birthday is April 12, and plans to raise funds for 12 students’ tuition. Depending on how much is raised will determine if it goes to academic, vocational, or a combination of both.
11:19 The discussion with Zack and Manfred starts. Zack was a former UDS Academy student who attended two years of 8th and 9th grade (2020 to 2022). Since UDS did not offer high school yet, he left to participate in another school for 10th and 11th. However, he dropped out after that because tuition was too high to complete his 12 grade.
In 2024, he returned to UDS to enroll in the computer training course and has actively shared what he is learning on Facebook. He also plans to enroll in the 12th grade in September with UDS. Manfred became Kelvin’s computer instructor aide. He is Myrtle Stoe’s son, the business office manager, and second in command.
Manfred has helped fill in when Kelvin is pulled in other directions. He is very comfortable teaching and enjoys how UDS develops lesson plans.
Adam and Heather ask both Zack and Manfred a series of questions. Some of the reoccurring themes gleaned from this discussion were that UDS feels like home and family. UDS puts education ahead of making money. They shared how UDS guides children and youth to take the right path, mainly if behavioral issues exist at home or school.
Here are some quotes:
In March 2024, UDS Electrician Instructor, Emmett Kilby, landed a contract for his class. His team consists of academic and vocational students. Emmett posted on our Facebook Group, “Uniting Distant Stars Vocational 2024 Cycle both Vocational and Academic students Electricity Department first field trip went well.”
The contract was in the VOA community on the highway heading to the airport. The students wired a three-bedroom home with living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway, back and front porches. The photos below show what they did.
Ishmael Gabbidon started his UDS journey at age 13 in 2013 as an academic scholarship student at Russ Wood School. With both parents deceased, his grandma raised him. He demonstrated his talents early in life as a poet and writer. As the youngest attendee at our 2013 youth leadership workshop, he recited one of his parables. Starting in 2013, he acted as UDS’s master of ceremonies and directed student skits.
In 2014, we participated in our first virtual Nobel Peace Prize Youth Forum, and the group selected him to ask questions from Liberia. Over in Minnesota at Augsburg University, Leymah Gbowee, a 2011 Nobel Laurette, listened to his question, “How could Liberian youth become peacebuilders?” in 2019, Leymah visited his high school, and he introduced himself as the boy who asked the question from Liberia. She remembered him and shared about the launching of her peace-building program.
In 2016, Ishmael was one of over a hundred students who attended our pilot computer course operating from Kelvin Fomba’s house (UDS Co-Founder & Director). The skills he gained from this course would change his life forever. He quickly found ways to earn money and continue to learn more about computers.
After the disruption of COVID, he graduated as class valedictorian from Independent Bethlehem Baptist High School in 2021. He had been working and saving money, and he enrolled at African Methodist Episcopal University in 2022 and paid for his tuition every semester. His focus was an accounting major and a management minor. As of 2024, he was a junior.
Throughout his tenure with UDS, he found ways to give back to the organization. Upon completing his first college semester in July 2022, he shared his intentions about helping others.
Ishmael seized every opportunity UDS provided and recently considered taking our driver’s education course. He realized his star potential, which led him to every milestone.
His bright and promising future was cut short on March 10, yet his presence will never be forgotten. He left many people heartbroken because they planned to celebrate his 24th birthday on March 17.
UDS hosted the wake on March 15, and his burial was the next day. Please join us in praying for his family and friends as they navigate the grieving process.
Uniting Distant Stars Computer Course is one of our oldest. It started in 2016 and remains our most popular one. When we first launched it in 2016, it was open to students of all ages. One year later, we opened our center, and this course attracted young adults. In 2024, we have returned to including our academic students because computers are a crucial skill to learn in the 21st century.
In the photos below, Kelvin Fomba, UDS Co-Founder and Computer Instructor, is teaching students what to expect in this course in the coming months.
Uniting Distant Stars included cosmetology as part of their core courses. We had a few instructors until Emmanuel Duwor took the role in 2019. He is a career professional who runs his own salon.
The cosmetology course teaches proper techniques for hair, face, and nails. Protective hair styling, like braiding, plaiting, weaving, etc., is the most popular part of the year-long course. The photos below show how the students practice plaiting hair on a mannequin head. As you can see, the students are focused on what they are doing.
Uniting Distant Stars Event Decoration has evolved since it started in 2017. The students learn how to decorate halls for various events but also to create hand-made accessories for weddings, birthdays, or other events. Oftentimes, they use recycled materials to make these accessories.
The video and photos below show our 2024 Event Decoration Students make vases using recycled wine bottles, fabric, yarn, and other materials. Kelvin Fomba, UDS Co-Founder & Director, takes the video and asks the students questions.
Uniting Distant Stars introduced the catering course in 2017, which remains popular. Frank Tugbeh started as the instructor in 2018 after Mrs. Annie Cooper unexpectedly passed away. He shares his skills with his students as he continues to perfect them.
In 2024, Frank welcomes his sixth cohort of students. The photos show him explaining to his students the fundamentals of the catering industry and what they can expect. They soon will be baking cakes and breads, and cooking Liberian and International cuisine from Jollof Rice to Pizza. If you plan to be in Liberia, visit our center and taste-test something delicious.
Welcome to March, Everyone! Heather Cannon, Uniting Distant Stars Co-Founder and Executive Director, gives about a 17-minute update.
Update Summary: