Born in Monrovia, Liberia, in 1984, Eli was separated from his family when civil war broke out in 1989. At the age of four, he fled
for safety with no knowledge of whether his parents survived. Eli walked from Liberia to Sierra Leone, arriving at the border in a
place called Bo Waterside. There, he found himself living in various refugee camps, which he would call home for the next eight and a half years.
Lost, hungry, and afraid, there was a saying in the camps: “Only the strong will survive.” Eli quickly learned that survival meant picking
through garbage cans for food and drinking unclean water. He remembers rebels attacking, forcing him to flee with nothing but the clothes on his back.
This brutal cycle left blisters on his feet as he walked for weeks, sometimes months, without shoes.
After eight and a half years in the refugee camps, Eli was recognized by a woman who, to his surprise, was his aunt. As a child, Eli had sustained a scar above his left eye from a car accident and was born with a birthmark on his left hand. Even after eight and a half years, these features were unmistakable to his aunt. Shortly after, Eli was reunited with his mother, who was set to come to America three months later through a program called The International Organization for Migration.
On August 3, 1999, Eli moved to America. Though he was fourteen years old and reading at a second-grade level, he thanked God every day for the opportunity
to live in a place he still calls "heaven on earth." Eli said, “Coming to the United States gave me the chance to pursue an education—something that was the
last thing on my mind when I was living in Liberia.” With an intense desire to catch up, Eli stayed at school until 7 p.m. every day to improve his reading
and writing skills until he reached the level of his peers. Four years later, he successfully graduated from Absegami High School.
Eli went on to graduate from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (now Stockton University) in 2009 with a Bachelor’s in Hospitality Management
and a minor in Business. During college, Eli served as the Recruitment Chairman of the Men Achieving Leadership Excellence and Success (M.A.L.E.S) Program
and as Secretary of Marketing for the Hospitality Management Society, an organization that raises money for orphans and widows. This marked the beginning of
Eli’s commitment to service and giving back.
Eli participated in the LEADACT (Lead Atlantic City Tomorrow) Program, a partnership between the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) and Stockton University.
He now serves as a board member for Hope for Atlantic City and plays an active role in the outreach ministry at Second Baptist Church in Atlantic City, under the leadership
of the Reverend Pastor Collins Days. Additionally, Eli coaches soccer at Absegami High School, where he teaches students perseverance and teamwork. Beyond the field, Eli visits
various high schools to deliver speeches that empower youth to make a difference.
Eli’s passion for service inspired him to establish the non-profit organization Hope-for-Liberia.
Hope-for-Liberia allows Eli to give back to his homeland. He credits his ability to pay it forward to the many mentors and role models who supported him along his journey.
From a boy believed to be an orphan—known then only as “Big Boy”—to a man impacting people around the world, Eli Gbayee believes that it was God who had big dreams for the
four-year-old child lost and scared in a refugee camp in West Africa.
Eli often reflects on a song sung in the refugee camp:
“If it had not been for God’s grace and mercy, I truly do not know where I would be today. Over the years, God has sustained and blessed me, and for that, I will continue to pay it forward. Hope-for-Liberia is not just a dream; it is a reality that, with your help, many less fortunate people in Liberia will experience. As Helen Keller once said: ‘Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much."
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