The FFA motto is “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.” The final line is often referred to by alumni and supporters of FFA; however, this statement can sometimes refer to FFA members going above and beyond to help our world.
Whether it’s volunteering, helping at events or giving back, community service is one of the key things FFA members are known for, and FFA is always trying to create servant leaders who give back to their community. Although not every community is fortunate to experience this connection with FFA, there are chapters like Madisonville North Hopkins FFA that give back to more than just their home community.
This past February, Madisonville North Hopkins FFA received the National FFA Living to Serve Grant. After receiving this grant, members immediately began transforming a shipping container into a medical clinic that would be shipped to Liberia in West Africa.
The chapter planned to have the 40-foot shipping container transformation completed by May 1, 2024. Unfortunately, members didn’t get it done until the end of that month; however, in August, they returned to pack the newly constructed container with medical supplies that would be shipped on Sept. 3.
Madisonville Hopkins FFA members work on the container.
The container was scheduled to arrive in Liberia on Oct. 18. The Madisonville Hopkins FFA Chapter’s goal with this project was to get 500 students involved and help people in the Liberia community by providing them with a medical clinic.
Throughout this project, the chapter had several students play key parts. Ag construction students demonstrated how to operate power tools and helped build the clinic. Ag math students, on the other hand, took measurements of the container and drew out blueprints.
Elly Hampton and William Blake shared their experiences and their chapter’s project with judges at the 97th National FFA Convention & Expo. They were selected as one of the top three chapters in the nation for the National FFA Premier Chapter: Building Communities award.
Members of the Madisonville North Hopkins FFA Chapter with the finished shipping container.
“It seems so crazy the impact this will have, and we are so blessed and excited to have sent this medical facility to Liberia,” Blake says.
The chapter hopes to do a project like this again. It’s currently waiting to see if Harbor Freight, the company that donated the first shipping container, will come through with its sponsorship again. If so, the chapter plans to search for another place to send a repurposed container.
William Blake poses with the sign his chapter made for the project.
