MONROVIA. – The story of what happened to Liberian Emmanuel Tuloe has the quality of a modern fable.
The 19-year-old, dressed in a school uniform of sky blue
shirt and navy shorts, looks incongruous in a class full of pupils at least six
years younger than him.
But the one-time primary school dropout is happy.
Last year, he was struggling to earn a living as a
motorbike taxi driver when he found US$50,000 (£40,000) in a mix of US and
Liberian notes, wrapped in a plastic bag by the side of the road.
He could have easily pocketed this life-changing amount.
But he gave it to his aunt to look after and when the rightful owner appealed
on national radio for help in finding the cash, Emmanuel came forward.
Mocked by some for his honesty – people laughed at him
saying he would die poor – his act earned him generous rewards including a
place at Ricks Institute, one of Liberia’s most prestigious schools.
President George Weah handed him US$10,000 and a local
media owner also gave him cash, some of which was raised from viewers and
listeners. And the owner of the money that was found donated US$1,500-worth of
goods.
On top of those and perhaps most significantly, a college
in the US reacted by offering him a full scholarship once he had completed his
secondary education.
‘Enjoying the academic discipline’
And that is what he is focused on at Ricks, a boarding
school set up 135 years ago for the elite of Liberian society descended from
the freed slaves who founded the country. Its two-storey buildings sit on a
beautiful, lush campus 6km (3.5 miles) from the Atlantic coast.
“I am enjoying the school, not because Ricks has a big name
but because of the academic and moral disciplines,” Emmanuel said, chuckling
and playing with the collar of his shirt as he talked.
Like many Liberian children from a poor rural background
are forced to do, he dropped out of school at the age of nine in order to earn
some money to help his family out. This was shortly after his father had died
in a drowning accident and he went to live with his aunt.
He became a motorbike taxi driver just a couple of years
later.
After such a long time out of education, he needs a lot of
extra support at school.
When Emmanuel first joined the sixth-grade class “he was
feeling a bit inferior; he could not voice himself in the classroom, but
day-by-day we worked on him”, his main class teacher Tamba Bangbeor explained
to the BBC.
“Academically, he came with a low foundation, so we tried
to put him in the enrichment programme. That has been helping him.”
He now has six years of secondary school ahead of him and
will be 25 when he graduates. But he does not mind the age gap with his
classmates and describes them as “friendly”.
Emmanuel also enjoys boarding, saying that “dormitory life
is good because this is a way of learning to live on your own someday”.
Looking at the future, he wants to study accounting at
university “to prepare myself to help guide the use of the country’s money”.
His prudence and honesty were seen as examples to follow in
a country where allegations of corruption are rife and where officials are
often accused of stealing state resources.
Reflecting on the way that some people made fun of him for
returning the money, he acknowledges that he could have used the funds to
improve his material situation “but it was never going to get me the
opportunity I now have”.
Emmanuel thanked God for giving him the rewards and he was
also “grateful to my parents for teaching me to be honest”.
“And my message to all young people is: It’s good to be
honest; don’t take what does not belong to you.” – BBC.
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