SAR
from
SARbiah Voryee Mensahn Bahn
About SARNEST
Rooted in legacy. Growing through education.
SARNEST Foundation is an educational nonprofit initiative created to carry forward a family legacy of love, sacrifice, hard work, honesty, education, and opportunity. The Foundation is currently undergoing registration in Liberia.
The Meaning Behind Our Name
SARNEST was created from the names of two extraordinary people
plus
NEST
from
ErNEST Mensahn
SAR + NEST = SARNEST
The name was created to preserve their legacy and carry forward the values by which they lived: love, hard work, honesty, sacrifice, education, and opportunity.
Our Story
Born from love, sacrifice, education, and opportunity
When SARNEST's founder was still a baby, circumstances made it difficult for her biological parents to provide the stability and opportunities she needed. Her grandmother entrusted her care to G. Ernest Mensahn and Sarbiah Voryee Mensahn Bahn, relatives who opened their home and raised her as their own.
From that moment, there was no distinction.
She attended school just like the other children in the family. She received the same care, discipline, opportunities and love. She was never made to feel that she did not belong.
The family did not have great financial resources, but Ernest and Sarbiah worked tirelessly to provide for their children.
Sarbiah was a farmer and a hardworking woman with a kind, gentle and welcoming spirit. In addition to farming, she sold food and wood to help generate income for the household. What she had, she used to care for her family.
She passed away in 2009, before having the opportunity to see the daughter she helped raise graduate from high school.
Ernest was an educator who taught at Vonleh Elementary and Junior High School in Zuolay Town, Nimba County, Liberia. He was also a farmer and palm-wine tapper.
He was an honest and hardworking man who held education in the highest regard. Life could be difficult and resources could be limited, but one expectation remained constant in his home:
His children must go to school, work hard, and strive for excellence.
Ernest passed away in 2020.
Their lives demonstrated that changing a child's future does not always begin with wealth. Sometimes it begins with opening a door, providing a home, making sacrifices, insisting on an education, and giving a child the opportunity to become more than their circumstances might have predicted.
Years after their passing, the child Ernest and Sarbiah welcomed and raised carries their legacy forward through an organization bearing both of their names:
SARbiah + ErNEST → SARNEST
SARNEST Foundation was created so that the love, sacrifice and belief in education that shaped one child's life can continue creating opportunities for generations of Liberian children.
Ernest and Sarbiah may no longer be here to witness what grew from the seeds they planted, but their work continues. Their legacy lives on through every child SARNEST has the opportunity to inspire.
Family & legacy photo
Reserved for a photograph of Sarbiah and G. Ernest Mensahn, or a family image, once selected.
In memory of
Sarbiah Voryee Mensahn Bahnpassed away 2009
G. Ernest Mensahnpassed away 2020
Our Mission
Mission
To create educational opportunities that inspire, challenge, and empower Liberian children and young people to pursue academic excellence, develop confidence, and reach their full potential—while providing a platform to showcase Liberia's brilliant young minds and talents to the nation and the world.
Our Vision
Vision
A Liberia where every child has the opportunity to learn, excel, and build a brighter future through education—and where the brilliance, talent, and potential of Liberian youth are recognized and celebrated both at home and around the world.
Our Purpose
Continuing a legacy through opportunity
SARNEST Foundation exists to continue a legacy of sacrifice, hard work, compassion, and belief in education by creating opportunities that recognize academic achievement, encourage learning, support educational growth, and inspire young Liberians to believe in what they can accomplish. Through our programs and platforms, we aim to discover, develop, celebrate, and showcase Liberia's brilliant young minds and talents, giving them opportunities to be seen, heard, and recognized beyond their classrooms and communities.
Visibility — The Platform
We believe Liberia's young people deserve opportunities to be seen, heard, celebrated, and recognized for their knowledge, creativity, talent, and achievements at home and around the world.
Our Values
What guides our decisions
Education
Learning is the door we keep opening — for every child, in every community we can reach.
Excellence
High standards, thoughtfully applied, and applied first to ourselves.
Integrity
Honest communication, fair process, and transparency about where we are.
Opportunity
Creating the openings that let a child become more than their circumstances predicted.
Compassion
The same care and welcome that Sarbiah and Ernest gave a child who was not their own.
Perseverance
Hard work sustained over time, even when resources are limited.
Visibility
Liberia's young people deserve to be seen, heard, celebrated, and recognized.