New School To Replace 53-Year-Old Depecpa Structure

After more than five decades of learning under leaking roofs and cracked walls, over 500 pupils in Deabo Chiefdom, River Gee County are finally seeing hope for a safer classroom.

The Kuncares Foundation, owned by Cllr. Kunkunyon Teh, is constructing a modern educational complex in Paaken Town — the headquarters of Deabo Chiefdom — to replace the aging Depecpo Public School.

 The project, which broke ground in early March 2026, has now reached the roofing stage and is expected to be completed in the coming months.

A recent visit to the construction site showed rapid progress.

Carpenters and masons were installing roofing sheets while other workers finished wall plastering. The new building is rising directly beside the old Depecpo Public School— a structure built through community self-help in 1972.

For 53 years, that building served as the only school for children across Paaken, Tugbaken, Youworken, and Saykliken. But time and poverty took their toll.

The old classrooms have leaking roofs, crumbling walls, weak foundations, and no proper ventilation.

During the rainy season, students sit in puddles. During dry season, dust fills the rooms. Overcrowding is severe, with 70 to 80 pupils squeezed into classrooms built for 30.

“We have been patching these walls every year with mud and zinc, but they keep falling,” said Principal Daniel Copeland. “Our people did everything within their means, but the buildings have deteriorated beyond what the community can repair. We urgently needed intervention to protect the lives and future of our children.

The Depecpo Public School currently operates with only 2 government-paid teachers and 5 volunteers to handle classes from early childhood to 6th grade.

Because there is no office, the principal, registrar, and teachers work from small makeshift zinc structures outside.

There are no chairs, no library, no storage, and no toilets for students.

“How can we give quality education when we don’t even have space to sit and prepare lessons?” Principal Copeland asked. He has renewed his appeal to the Ministry of Education to assign more qualified teachers to the school payroll once the new building is completed.

Hope arrived when the Kuncares Foundation launched the construction of a new school complex in March. Since then, the Foundation has supplied cement, bricks, crushed stone, sand, roofing materials, and paid skilled laborers to keep work moving.

When completed, the facility will include: Eight spacious classrooms to end overcrowding, Administrative offices for principal and staff, A library to promote reading culture, Storeroom for learning materials, Modern restroom facilities for boys and girls, Kitchen and teachers’ lounge and lunch area.

”The new school will not just be a building. It will be a safe, healthy, and dignified place where our children can learn,” Principal Copeland said.

News of the project has sparked celebration across Deabo Chiefdom. Residents from Paaken, Tugbaken, Youworken, and Saykliken say this is the largest privately funded education project the chiefdom has ever seen.

“We have suffered for too long. Our children deserve better,” said a women’s leader in Paaken. “We thank Cllr. Kunkunyon Teh and Kuncares Foundation for remembering us.”

Community leaders are now calling on the Government of Liberia, NGOs, philanthropists, and development partners to support similar projects across rural River Gee, where many schools are still in dangerous condition.

Deabo Chiefdom is located about 55 kilometers east of Fish Town, in Electoral District #3 of Tuobo Administrative District represented by Johnson S.N. Williams. The chiefdom has a population of more than 5,000 residents.  Access to quality education, health care, and roads remains one of its biggest development challenges.

For families in Deabo, the completion of the Kuncaresschool is more than bricks and zinc. It represents renewed hope, safer classrooms, and a real investment in the next generation.