Breakfast With Ofelia

I had breakfast with Ofelia today. Ofelia is a day student who attends the school we have at the village.

In order to have full classes, we take in community children who would not have an opportunity to attend school otherwise. Free public education here is not free: there are student fees, and uniforms to purchase, and school supplies. Plus, all students are required to wear shoes to school. Sometimes, this final requirement is enough to keep a child from attending school, as after purchasing uniforms and supplies, there is no money for shoes.

At our school, we do not charge fees, and we provide uniforms and all school supplies.

We do ask that the parents provide shoes for the students. And we do require the students attend school when it rains. It seems that in most Liberian schools, attendance is optional when it is raining! Apparently, it is perfectly acceptable to miss school when the humidity reaches 100%. This makes it difficult for continuity in education as this country receives almost 200 inches of precipitation a year! That makes for A LOT of "rain days".

But Ofelia never misses school. She is in our kindergarten class, and she loves school. She is the first one of her family to attend school. Both her parents cannot read or write. Ofelia is going to break the cycle of illiteracy in her family! Her father tells me that she is up and dressed for school by 6:30 am, because she does not want to be late. She is at the village gate at 7:30 am. A guard walks her and the other day students to the dining hall for breakfast. We feed the day students breakfast and lunch.

Dave supervises breakfast

Ofelia loves breakfast. She eats pancakes, or muffins, or a bowl of hot cereal with gusto. When Ofelia first began coming to our school, she looked thin and tired. Now, her eyes shine and her hair has a good color to it. Ofelia has put on some weight and looks healthy.

And I had breakfast with her today. Ofelia sat primly at the table. She shook her cloth napkin out and carefully spread it across her lap. She used her utensils neatly and with confidence. What a difference from the first time a year ago, when she looked at the fork and spoon and knife in amazement and wondered what to do with the napkin. In her world, sleeves were for wiping mouths and fingers were for shoveling in food! This morning, she deftly held her fork, and eating like a little lady came naturally to her.

Pancakes are enjoyed

I sipped tea and asked her about her night. She politely answered me. After breakfast, she carried the dishes to the kitchen window and washed her hands at the sink. She looked happy and content. Today, she told me, they were going to learn about the letter U. And probably color a picture. It was time for school assembly, and with a little wave and a sweet smile, she was off to the great halls of academia.

Ofelia

As I finished my tea, it occurred to me that Ofelia is a good reason to be here, in this place, doing this work. Someday, Ofelia might be a research doctor and develop a vaccine to prevent malaria; or maybe she will be a judge and make honest, fair decisions for Liberia. She could be a mother who will read to her children and teach them to read and write. Hey, maybe she will become a scientist and discover a mascara that does not smear in high humidity conditions! That would be awesome! Oh, the possibilities are endless and it is a big world out there! With education comes hope and a future. And now Ofelia has both.

Wishing you a wonderful day, filled with hope and promise.

Babs

Note: in these pictures, the tailors have not finished making all the school uniforms yet.That is why most of the day students are wearing regular clothes instead of uniforms.

Decoration Day

The cathedral was packed. It was standing room only for the funeral of the Bishop. A large choir made up from several different congregations throughout Monrovia sang "The Hallelujah Chorus" and also a beautiful rendition of the Twenty Third Psalm. As it was an Episcopalian service, this was high worship: incense was smoking; Mass served to all; several long processionals; robes, tassels, hats, and uniforms; responsive readings and great hymns sung by the congregation. Pastors from different denominations participated. Many dignitaries were in attendance, as was the President of Liberia.The service lasted for five and a half hours. Yes, five and a half hours!

The Bishop died in January, in the States, after a short illness. His body was flown back to Liberia, and about a month after his passing, this "celebration for his peaceful home-going" was held.

After the hundreds of people spilled out of the cathedral, the crowd took to the street. The parade of humanity surrounded the hearse as it inched down the avenue. The people stayed with the hearse for several blocks, and then the body was driven on hour out of Monrovia, to a church-owned cemetery for the Bishop's final resting place. It was a magnificent send-off for a man who had lived a full life of service to the Lord.

Death here, is a regular occurrence. Yesterday, at a local hospital, in a ward of seven beds, two young children died two hours apart. Right now, as I write this, we hear wailing coming from a neighboring village; someone just died. This past week, two employees attended funerals of relatives: a groundsman's cousin was buried, and a mama's aunt died. Both of these people were buried within 24 hours, as those funerals took place in the bush. No mortuary was involved, and so then there is no way to keep the body from decomposing quickly. For this reason, burial is usually done soon. It occurred to me as we sat in the grand sanctuary of that impressive cathedral, attending the Bishop's funeral, what a contrast this event was to most funerals in Liberia.

Often times, in a village, there are tombstones right next to the huts. The tombs are really monuments and there are graves scattered throughout the jungle. Most every village has a few tombs tucked nearby. We have seen the tomb of a beloved school principal right in the middle of the school playground, and we have observed a tomb three feet from the front door of a stick hut in the bush. There does not seem to be zoning laws for cemeteries or burial plots! It seems that if you own the land, you can bury your loved ones.

Next month, it will be Decoration Day. Prior to the holiday, people will clean up the grave sites. Weeds will be cut or pulled; crypts will be painted bright colors; flowers planted nearby. And then families will come to visit the graves on Decoration Day. They might stay for a short visit, or some families might have a picnic there at the grave, lasting for hours. On Decoration Day, the dead are remembered and mourned again.

"Quick, Robin! To the Bat Mobile"

We have seen many interesting sites here in Liberia, but one of the creepiest things we have seen is the "Bat Tree."

This is a tree in downtown Monrovia that is home to thousands of bats. These are not cute little bats that are the models for cuddly stuffed animals, but the big nasty vampire ones that look like they could suck a person dry in a few minutes (OK, maybe that came from too many late night thriller movies, but these guys are creepy!)

Our first experience with the Bat Tree was a trip to Waterside Market. Julie and I were walking down the sidewalk, and we looked up to watch a large flock of crows swarming overhead. Only they were not crows! Yikes! Hundreds of huge bats flying through the air. Something had apparently spooked them, and they left the tree to fly around downtown Monrovia in the middle of the day and scare innocent, unsuspecting white women out fabric shopping!

A gentleman pointed out the Bat Tree to us, and sure enough, the large dead tree was covered with what looked like large dead leaves...except that these "leaves" would spread their big ugly wings every now and then and fly away. They would soar around the tree and land in a new spot, and return to hanging upside down. I wondered why the bats just leave and fly a little bit and then return to hang out. I wondered if it was kind of like us walking around on an airplane trip, to prevent embolisms and leg swelling. Just a random thought!

We finally got some interesting pictures of the Bat Tree (via son-in-law Robert's very nice camera!) and thought you all might like to see what bats do for fun here (besides scaring white women). The pictures also make a good case for dead tree removal!

Have a good day!

Babs

An Exciting Christmas Gift

(Another blog by Kari, Dave & Babs' daughter...)

During our time in Liberia with Dad and Mom, a rather exciting project took shape. There had been a need for some play equipment on the site for some time, and having Robert around to help Dad meant it was the perfect time to tackle this project!

Dad and Robert disappeared into Monrovia for a couple days to get supplies and to find an expert welder. Apparently, the guy doing the welding was very motivated because he had the agreed-upon equipment welded in about 24 hours. It wasn't long before this very unwieldy load was headed for the site:

After a couple days of setting the equipment up, a playground took shape.

A play set with slide, swings, climbing wall, and sandbox:

A "big kid" swing set:

A "little kid" swingset and merry-go-round:

Monkey bars:

Dad made sure to test all the equipment to make sure it was safe and sound for the kids. At least, he claimed to be working...

Robert and Dad worked very hard on this playground:

The kids were eager to use the playground. For days, the kids asked Mom and Dad when they could go play on the new equipment. The building of the playground created quite a stir on the site! Finally, it was time for playground's grand opening...

Success!

For most of these children, a playground was a new concept. The idea of a slide, swings, a merry-go-round, and a climbing wall---all new. We had to spend a little time helping the kids learn how to use the equipment! Dad spent a lot of time teaching the older girls how to swing. The idea of pumping your legs so you could move yourself was a new concept!

Some of the kids were quite content to let Mom push them on the merry-go-round:

These two enjoyed a new pint-sized picnic table, built just for them:

The new playground also included a soccer field with real goal posts:

The monkey bars were a new thing, too:

The grand opening of the new playground was a lot of fun. Not sure who slept better that night, though...the kids or the adults?

---Kari

The Most Amazing Rescue in History...(by a "guest blogger")

The Annual Christmas Pageant was a smashing success! The kids performed for two neighboring villages and despite distractions (a few talkative audience members, a couple friendly dogs, and a handful of roaming village chickens, to name a few), the show went on without a hitch! The children sang from the heart and lines were recited with gusto.

Robert and I enjoyed being part of the pageant this year. The kids' excitement was contagious, and even in hot, muggy conditions, it really started to feel like Christmas.

Walking hand-in-hand with one of the group's slowpokes, I ended up at the end of the pageant caravan. As we walked from one village to the next, I could look in front of me and see every child and adult involved. I began to think about the word "rescue." When someone asks Robert or me what my parents are doing in Liberia, we rarely use the word "orphanage." Instead, we say, "They are working with an organization that rescues orphans in Liberia." We have learned to word it this way because the word "orphanage" seems to conjur up pictures of hundreds of kids packed into sleeping quarters together. "Orphanage" does not really explain that the organization that Dad and Mom are working with is committed to true rescue. These are children pulled from the depths of horrible situations and then given love. Their needs are met with a loving home environment, health care, nutrition, education, and the good news that Jesus loves them and is their ultimate security.

As the little slowpoke and I made our way at the end of the line, it struck me that these rescued children would be performing the first act of the most incredible rescue ever staged in history. These kids, dressed as Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, and the heavenly host were going to perform the Christmas story for a group of people who had perhaps never heard this true tale of rescue. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us---to pull of from the depths and show us love like we had never known. How undeserved and how amazing!

From Liberia, Merry (belated) Christmas, and Happy New Year!

(Kari---Dave & Babs' daughter)

Dress Rehearsal

So this is the scene:

Two shepherds sock each other in the arm when they think the director is not looking in their direction.
Mother Mary giggles at Angel Gabriel instead of acting frightened.
Narrator #4 always loses his place in the script.
Caesar Augustus will not raise his voice, and so the decree is only heard by his bodyguard.
The innkeepers all memorized the same lines.
Joseph and Mary do not want to stand next to each other.
Two of the wise men have to go to the bathroom.
And Angel Gabriel keeps sneezing.

Yes, it is a typical Christmas Pageant Practice!

But then it is time to sing "Silent Night" and as the children gaze on the little baby Jesus, they are perfect angels!

The Rafiki Traveling Roadshow Christmas Pageant will be performing for local villages this week, with the premier performance being delivered on December 22.

It is Christmas and we are blessed among peoples. Hoping you can say the same!

Merry Christmas!
Love, Dave and Babs

Always something to see...

Here are some interesting sights we encounter as we travel around Liberia: