The Trapani's in Liberia

   Today was the first time we traveled on our own to a destination were we only had very minimal instructions and had to figure it out as we went. In addition to the difficulty of finding the destination our route was blocked and we had to take some detours. We got stuck in a busy Marketplace and couldn't turn around. Luckily a helpful traffic control officer got some of the vendors to move their tables and we were able to turn around and head out.   Our destination was a district school office of which we had only modest instructions. Somehow we found it, met with the district commissioner, and got his signature on a contract so we could start to improve one of his schools. He then took us to the school to introduce us formally. The district commissioner is on the left in the bright striped shirt. The people in the background are police officers. The school is used as a voter registration place and the policeman are there during the registration time. The second officer...

This project is for 10 villages with a total of about 8,000 people. We are going to add some new water wells, fix some old water wells, enpower the village to fix their own wells in the future and improve the general hygiene.  The leaders of the community have gathered for us to explain the project and for us to get there commitment . To schools in the area will get new bathrooms and wells. The old latrines filled up and were too small. We will replace them with ones that have a lot larger capacity and also have the ability to be bucket flushed. Much nicer.  Cheryl and the district supervisor are in the background. We always involve the local and area governments in these projects so they can support them once we leave. These women are fishing. They use nets supported on hoops about the size of a hula hoop. This is what the villages look like. No electricity and currently no water.The wells they currently have are dry or they have broken down. We will train about 30 well mecha...

These lizards are everywhere. This is Alvin. He is teaching the elders quorum in the Dolo branch. He is a priest who is preparing to go on a mission. He almost has all of his paperwork in. He is remarkable. He is articulate and bright. He speaks very well. Has great confidence. He's very knowledgeable on the gospel. Yet, he lives in a house without running water or electricity. This is the primary. That is Cheryl in the background getting a chair for Relief Society which meets in the area on the outside patio next to primary. She says it is hard to hear when the primary is singing. This is Patrick Mulbah. He is the second counselor in the Dolo branch presidency.  He has been a member of the church for 3 years. He has nine children. The oldest is in college. He has been retired from the Firestone Rubber Company but they recently stopped his $160 a month retirement so he has had to go back to work.  He does get free housing by working for the company and a bag of rice each month...

The next time one of your children complains about their chores show them this picture. This little girl had just walked about a quarter mile from the creek after finishing doing the laundry. The washboard is in her hand. We came to the village of Tomkollie-ma at the invitation of their local Christian church to see if we could help with providing drinkable water. During the dry season it's about a 1/4 Mile Walk down to the nearest Creek. Water then has to be carried. She is giving a demonstration that the water she collected is drinkable. You can see the color of the water in the creek. Later on in the dry season this creek goes away and they have to go about a 1/2 mile for their water. Normally it's the children who collect the water. We gathered with the community leaders to discuss the water problem. They asked if we could pay for boring a well in the center of their village. The water would then be drawn up by a hand pump. The biggest challenge is not providing the well bu...