About Us
Founded in 2013, Healthy Nation, Inc. is a Christ-centered 501 (c) (3) non-profit that provides public health services to K-12 students in Liberia. We seek to provide the highest quality of care to the students entrusted to us. Our dedication to dignity, service and excellence is rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We see our students as beloved of God, deserving of high-quality services. We see the image of God in our students and strive to uphold their dignity. We are committed to the gospel tradition of healing the whole person, which informs every aspect of our four-fold mission:
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Leadership and excellence in delivering quality public health services
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Promoting a culture of preventive health care
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Elevating health literacy among our students
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Striving to improve the health status of our community.
We live this mission every day through a tested model of school-based service delivery that places our teams in direct contact with students in their schools and at our clinic. We engage daily with students, school administrators, and parents to ensure that our services meet the needs of our students.
Mission
Promote preventive health care, accelerate health literacy, and protect vulnerable children and young adults in under-served communities in Liberia in order to improve health outcomes and quality of life for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Vision
Every child is healthy and enrolled in school
Values
We value the dignity of our students
We value commitment to service
We value excellence in our work
Where We Serve
Liberia, a tiny nation of 5 million people situated on the west coast of Africa, declared independence on July 26, 1847, becoming Africa’s first independent nation. Liberia was founded by free slaves from the United States. Descendants of free slaves ruled the country, often excluding indigenous people from government. On April 12, 1980, a group of enlisted soldiers staged a coup d’état. Sadly, the new, indigenous leaders failed to unify the country.
On December 24, 1989, a 14-year civil war ensued, resulting in the death of 250,000 Liberians. In 2003, the war ended and multi-party elections followed in 2005. Africa’s first elected female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was elected.
The new government, with the help of the international community, set out to rebuild the nation’s broken infrastructure. The healthcare sector incurred significant losses because of the war. The majority of doctors and nurses fled the country, and several hospitals and clinics were damaged.
Both the national government and numerous international NGOs have worked to rebuild the health sector, and substantial gains have been achieved. However, considerable challenges remain. A critical gap in Liberia’s healthcare delivery system resides among school-age children (K-12). It is in this gap that Healthy Nation operates, working with schools and their students to provide public health services that address the unmet needs of under-resourced students.
Our Founder
Yarkasah Peter Paye was born in Liberia, West Africa. At 15 years old, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Peter sensed his call to ministry as a young adult and trained to serve God’s people. He has held leadership positions in churches in Ghana, Liberia, and the United States. He also led a media ministry in Liberia from 1997 – 2001.
In 2013, Peter established Healthy Nation, Inc. He is a public health professional with many years of experience working for state and federal agencies. He is passionate about the children of Liberia. His desire is for each child to know and walk with Jesus Christ.
Peter received a Master of Divinity from the School of Theology at Virginia Union University. He also obtained a Master of Arts in Gerontology from Georgia State University. He is currently a candidate for Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) at Georgia State University. He hopes to leverage his DrPH to understand and navigate the intersection of public health science, practice, and policy to influence sustainable change in public health among populations in low- and medium-income countries.
Contact Us
Address
Healthy Nation, Inc.
P. O. Box 310408
Atlanta, GA 31131
Healthy Nation is a 501(c) (3) organization. Donations are tax-deductible under applicable laws.