The last report from Liberia

 

This was our last Sunday.  This is the Harbel branch president Darius and first counselor Toe.  We like this branch because it has a generator and fans in the chapel.

This is the Kerkula family.  Anna, Nancy, Naomi, David, and Johnson. Elder North is on the end. They have been members of the church for over a year. I have been teaching them the temple preparation lessons. Their understanding of the temple and its purposes is quite good.

On the right is Nate Tollefson.  He is from Montana. He has a son on a mission in Liberia. He is a very successful developer and property owner. After getting reports from his son about how much poverty there is here he has decided to finance humanitarian projects here. He has an existing humanitarian organization. He along with other contributors plan on donating more than Cheryl and I have spent of the churches money here in Liberia.

Him and his partner Paul are here in Liberia to interview the contractors and NGO's that I have recommended and also to meet with government ministers to get their suggestions for projects here in the country. The others in the picture are the Blanchards and the Norths. They are both mission office couples here in the country. The Norths have been here for about a month

We visited our hospital project in Buchanan, about two and a half hours away, with the hope of having the project finished before we left. We were disappointed. Project has had a lot of delays. The remaining issue is to construct an infectious waste incinerator. It will be built in the concrete structure in the middle of the picture. The workers are refusing to work on the incinerator because of the pile of infectious waste next to the incinerator's site. The hospital took a long time contracting to get the pile removed. As the removal company was coming to the hospital their truck broke down and they have to get apart from the factory. As of today they haven't started.

SURIDO, who is one of the NGO's we have used for a large water project gave us a thank you ceremony. They provided a librarian meal. Liberian meals are scary to us. It was rice, chicken, fish and potato greens.  Thankfully they put the Liberian spice on the side.  Other than lots of fish bones it wasn't too bad.

They gave us gifts. A dress, a shirt, a wooden map of Liberia and the official seal of the country as pictured above. The gifts are very generous, but people don't realize our limited suitcase space. I think we can get it all in.

They gave us Liberian names. I'm not quite sure exactly what that means other than Cheryl's name is Kweeta which means a civilized place and person. My name is Flomo Which means free and OK.

This is one of our contractors named Wise Stewart who was in for a meeting with the Charity from Montana. They gave us a nice photo of us and them posing in front of the school assembly area they constructed for us. The man to the left of Cheryl Name is James. He is the owner. He is a good man. He is the 1st counselor in his ward bishopric and he tries to employ as many of his ward members as possible on his projects.

We had a final closing ceremony for our water project in Bomi County. This meeting was with all of the town chiefs and government officials.  The each gave their written commitment to service and maintain the water projects.

This is was our last trip into the African jungle. This is a village where we met. The houses are made of mud packed between wood slats. There is no electricity in the village. Water is by a water pump in the village center. They are down a dirt road about 30 miles from the closest city.

This is Isaac who is the head of the humanitarian department for the Africa West area. Flew in from Ghana to have an official goodbye dinner with us and to give us a couple of going away gifts. We received a traditional woven cloth banner with our names woven into it. We also received some table place mats

Here is the final record of the humanitarian projects we were blessed to complete

 1 Gbokolleh Public school - installed a new roof on the existing building. Constructed a new four room classroom building. Constructed a new four-seat latrine. Refurbished an existing hand pump. Installed new doors on all classrooms. Recast the floor on the existing building. Painted the interior and exterior of the buildings.

 2 Kpallah Public school – Constructed a new covered assembly and eating area. Expanded and remodeled the existing kitchen and installed a new roof.

 3 Gloria children home – Reroofed all the buildings. New electrical for all the buildings. Installed a water drainage system throughout the property. Constructed a new four seat latrine. Constructed a new kitchen and eating area. Refurbished an existing well and installed a new hand pump.  Painted the interior and exterior of the buildings

 4 Duport Road Government clinic- replaced the roof. Installed a new electrical system.  Installed new Fans and plumbing. Refurbished benches. Painted interior and exterior of the building.

 5 Lower Fanti town – Connected the town to the city water supply. Installed three water tanks and three faucets.

6 Water and Sanitation for Senjeh District Bomi County – Installed seven new wells with hand pumps. Trained 10 communities on WASH and sanitation. Constructed two new 6-seat latrines for two schools and refurbished there wells

7 Jackson Doe Regional Hospital Equipment – Purchase $75,000 of medical equipment. Purchase and delivered a new 75 KVA generator.

 8 Refurbishment and equipping of maternity units at JFK Hospital – Added a new emergency operating theater in the delivery area. Remodel the neonatal intensive care area. Remodeled two Operating theaters. Supplied about $25,000 in new medical equipment.

 9 Improving Access to Safe WASH to support nutrition programming in Grand Bassa County – Installed 7 New water sources with hand pumps. Establish and trained wash committees. Trained individuals on Water pump maintenance.

 10 Zapai Public School Renovation – Installed the new roof structure on one building and new zinc on the remaining building. Installed electrical wiring throughout both buildings. Recast the floors. Installed fans in all of the rooms. Added 400 new chairs. Converted the well to a water pump. Built a 6-seater latrine, and refurbished 6 existing bathrooms.  Painted the interior and exterior of the building

11 Wein Town Public School Renovation – Constructed 5 classrooms, two offices and a 6 Seat latrine. Put new roofs on all buildings. Installed new doors on all buildings and wired them for electricity. Constructed a water drainage canal, new white boards and 400 new desks.  Painted the interior and exterior of the buildings.

12 Capacity Building for Farmers in Totota – Gave training and instruction to 160 farmers to increase their farm output. Supplied each farmer with a wheelbarrow pesticide sprayer, seeds, fertilizer, and insecticide. Made multiple visits to consult with each farmer at their field location during all stages of farming

 13 Pipeline public school repair – Installed new roof on all buildings. Replaced all the doors and locks. Tiled floors of Principals office and ECD classrooms. New tables and chairs for ECD classrooms. 200 new desks and chairs for classrooms and library. New shelving and table for staff lunch room. New sliding windows in Library and principals’ office. Removed wooden shutters and replaced with Colombo windows in ECD room. Put concrete in the open playground area. Increased the height of the security wall and added new barbed wire. New desks and filing cabinets for the administrators. Put electrical wiring and new lights in all buildings. Painted the interior and exterior as well as the wall around the school.

 14 Buchanan Government Hospital building repair and equipment – Purchased $60,000 of new medical equipment. Reroofed all the significant buildings. Purchase a generator. Constructed an infectious waste incinerator.  Refurbished the maternity area including new latrines. Refurbished the Isolation building, replaced several broken windows.

 15 Tubmanburg Hospital renovation and equipment – repaired damaged floor tile throughout the building, installed new doors and locks. All new windows throughout. Reroofed the outpatient area. Put new flooring in several rooms including the vaccination area. Put new tile in several areas including several bathrooms.

 16 Totata sanitation- purchased a new trash collection tricycle. Donated 12 wheelbarrows, shovels. Twenty-four sets of boots, gloves and raincoats.

 17 Redemption government hospital - installed solar panels and batteries to provide continuous electricity for lighting to all areas of the hospital and continuous power for the operating rooms, laboratories and maternity areas.