Esther

My name is Esther and I live with my parents in Johnsonville, Liberia. I was born during the civil war in Liberia and lived in fear for most of my childhood due to gun shots and constant running for our lives from place to place as a family. My family is very poor, and I have three siblings. My father is a gardener, and my mother is a petty trader. Because of our financial situation, I had to drop out of school because my parents could not afford to send all four of us siblings to school at the same time. I was finally able to graduate from high school at 23 years old once my brother had graduated. I then helped my mother sell goods in the red-light market so that we could buy food.

I met Jesus during a local crusade in my community. I also grew up in a home where Jesus was always discussed, but I needed to know Him for myself and have a personal relationship with Him. I became involved in Young Life after being invited to club by a leader at my school. I felt God calling me to Young Life and have been involved ever since. My relationship with Christ has grown tremendously and I am now a volunteer leader and lead club and campaigners.

As a recipient of the Developing Global Leaders scholarship, I am studying accounting at the University of Liberia in Monrovia, Liberia. I am the first in my family to graduate from university. My hope is to become a certified accountant. I want to become a leader who leads by example and be a good steward for those leaders God has entrusted to me.