Mercy Krua, President

Mercy is an alumni of Ziah Mission School, a mother, and a proud grandmother. Mercy is a Registered Nurse with a focus on general nursing in the state of Massachusetts and more than ten years of experience. Mercy works as a respite nurse for Boston Healthcare for the Homeless and as a substitute nurse for the city of Boston at the Boston public school. Mercy has been the head of the board for Friends of Ziah Mission for three years. As we, together, embark on this enormous task to improve the quality of education for the rural, underprivileged children in Liberia, we remain committed, vigilant, and confident that we will achieve our goals to complete the vision of our father, whom we love so dearly, Rev. Mahn Krua, which is to make a difference, educate, and help to train up a child in the way he should grow.

Torli H. Krua, Vice president

Torli is the founder of Universal Human Rights International (UHRI). Pastor and human rights activist Torli Krua, a refugee from the Liberian Civil War, settled in Boston in 1990. He was instrumental in lobbying members of Congress and policymakers to increase the quota of refugees from Africa being allowed into the United States. He has also worked tirelessly in New England and beyond to champion the rights of refugees and immigrants and participatory democracy in Africa. Torli founded Universal Human Rights International (UHRI) and worked with thousands of immigrants from 38 countries over 20 years. UHRI equips and supports refugees to bring systemic change to their war-ravaged homelands once it is safe to return.

Bendu David, secretary

Bendu is currently a full-time student and senior in college. She is studying women's gender and sexuality studies, psychology, and political science. Bendu serves as the secretary of the Friends of Ziah Mission School, Inc. Board of Directors. She recently traveled to Liberia, where she was able to inspect and observe the progress in the construction of the new school building.

JOAN DAVID, Treasure

Joan is a registered nurse, having graduated with a BSN from Salem State University in Massachusetts. Before moving to the US, Joan started her primary education at the Ziah Mission School, where she learned how to read and write. Joan works at the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless program and the Boston Public Schools. As a school nurse, she impacts many families in and around the city of Boston. A single mother of two beautiful girls, Joan loves family and is passionate about education and helping others. She hopes to inspire and bring hope to students in the district of Tappita, Lower Nimba County.

Bob George Makor, director

Bob works at Citizen's Bank in Philadelphia as an electrician. He attended Orleans Technical College in Pennsylvania and holds a diploma in electrical installation. He previously worked at St. Joseph University as an electrician for eight years. Bob is married to Deddeh Meaway, and together, they have four beautiful children and six grandchildren. He started his early education at Ziah Mission School, where he was raised by his parents, who were also co-founders of the school. Bob is a businessman who is always trying to bring new developments to the Tappita District.

Dr. Martha O’Mara, Director

Martha spent over a decade teaching as a professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. There, she taught real estate finance and development, location strategy, research methods, and urban design. She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, jointly awarded by the Harvard Business School and Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Martha also has an MA and an MBA from Harvard University, and a BA from the University of California, Irvine. She is a family person, a mother of three, and compassionate about impacting people in a positive way around the world.

JEFFERSON KRUA, Director

Jefferson earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Cornell University and an M.S. in Transportation Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech before working as a systems analyst with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for five years. He moved to Liberia and founded a high-quality news outlet, The Bush Chicken (www.bushchicken.com), which has won the most press excellence awards in Liberia since 2017. In addition to a few other investments in Liberia, Krua sits on the Board of Directors of Pinkberry Liberia. He was directly responsible for bringing the first American food franchise to post-war Liberia.

Paulette mapson, Director

Paulette earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Northeastern University and a Master of Religious Education from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. She devoted most of her professional career to being one of the owners of a commercial printing company. She then dedicated the rest of her career to serving churches as a Church Accountant. Now, although Paulette and her husband, Ed Hayward, are retired, she continues to use her gifts as a volunteer for multiple non-profit organizations in varying capacities ranging from manual worker to board member. She is the mother of one daughter, Wendelyn Mapson.