Hi folks! I am so sorry it's been so long since the blog was updated, but needless to say, I have been very busy as the Interim Country Director!
In the month of March a team came out to Liberia with Patty. The team consisted of our AOH Belgium staff, Cyndi who is on the board of directors, and Dave who is the office manager in the US. Our guests were here for one very eventful week, and we also had a set of adoptive parents with us (who made it successfully home with their two girls!) during some of the activities.
To start the trip we (myself included) drove deep into the bush to visit the village of Kparblee (pronounced "Bah-blee"). This village is where Acres of Hope built a clinic some years ago. Many of our medical related donations have ended up at this clinic.
Additionally AOH started a school and feeding center in Kbarblee. No one else was helping this tiny town, and they were struggling to recover from the war. Thomas, a native of Kparblee, and respected townsman came in contact with Patty and together they worked to help this needy village.
Today the clinic is doing great, as is the school. There is no longer a feeding program, but the village has done a great job of continuing the school and clinic that Acres of Hope started. It was wonderful to be along for this trip and to see some of Acres of Hope's history in the form of these still-running projects.
We started our trip fairly early in the morning and drove and drove and drove. Just when I thought we were about to drive out of Liberia (or off the edge of the earth - whichever came first) we drove two more hours into the bush!
While crossing a bridge near a town we saw all these people bathing and washing clothes.
Here is a thick strip of the infamous Driver Ants. They are like the ant version of a Pirana (no joke).
We didn't make it to the village until after dark. Everyone was thrilled to see us. This man pictured here is welcoming us with songs and trumpeting from his bull horn.
This is it! The clinic looked wonderful and we were thrilled to see how the villagers had come together to maintain and improve the clinic over the years.
This is one of the staff at the clinic (I think he is a physician's assistant).
Some of the donations that have been sent to the clinic by Acres of Hope.
The medical supply room.
The beds were all donated by Acres of Hope.
We actually were only able to spend one night and half a day in the town. We spent half our time walking through the village visiting the school, church, etc. and then the rest of the time in a program held in our honor.
This is Cyndi with some of the children who attend the school.
This massive bridge is on the road right before you enter Kbarblee. It's actually out of order. It fell some years ago and since then cars have not been able to drive across. In dry season you can go a little out of the way and actually drive through the river (when it's shallow) but in rainy season vehicles have to park on the other side of this bridge and cannot enter the town. The community is trying to see if they can get the government's help to rebuild this bridge to promote better trade and economic conditions in the town.
Dave with some of the village people.
The village's cultural dancing team gave us a little show.
Here Thomas is pointing out the location of the first clinic building. It was actually a mud and stick house.
The first clinic building is only ruins now.
A pretty little girl of about 10 baby-sitting her little brother.
This is the school that Acres of Hope started. The leadership is now completly community based. We were amazed to see that the little primary school AOH started had been expanded to this size and a much higher grade level (I think it goes through high school, but it might have just been through junior high.)
Thomas, Chris, and Patty at the little program the school held for us.
There was beautiful singing by all the students.
This is the same man that welcomed us the night before. According to the children, he is "the man who praises people." This is one of the cultural arts that is being forgotten in the cities. This man is trained in many songs, can make up his own songs, knows how to play this horn, and knows it's his job to welcome the visitors. (I am sure he is also involved in many other community affairs).
These women are the cultural welcoming committee. They sang and danced for us as we walked around the village, and then were also a part of the program later that morning.
At about 10:00 the program started. Kbarblee is near the boarder of the Ivory Coast and some people had walked from the Ivory Coast to be a part of this program. The village wanted to honor Acres of Hope for all they had done to help them over the past 5 years. There was more cultural dancing, singing from the students, many, many speeches, the donation of some wheelchairs and baby supplies, and finally the traditional gowning.
The staff from the clinic.
Acres of Hope donated wheelchairs to these two handicapped men.
Ladies from the local Baptist church singing.
Wim getting gowned. It is one of the highest honors in Liberia to be given an item of African clothing. Typically this happens at the end of a program or ceremony. All of us who came on this trip were gowned.
The program was veeerrryyyy long and some of the children just couldn't stay awake.
AOH donated some diapers and other supplies to the mothers who had just given birth in the clinic. Some of the babies from the clinic were less than 24 hours old!
A little girl with her own baby. This is a "country doll" made of a piece of wood (the center part of a particular palm branch) and has synthetic hair (leftover from a woman's hairstyle) stuffed into the top.
And finally, we all gathered around for a picture in front of the clinic.
We are sad we couldn't stay longer in the village, but had a very wonderful and very eventful trip anyway! The ride home was very long and it didn't help that we were not able to leave the village until after 2:00 PM (because of the program). But we all survived and it all made for a wonderful story and great memories!
Stay tuned for more updates! There is a lot to share!
-Melodie (Interim Country Director)
