Samaritan’s Purse (SP) is a non-profit, Christian organisation which provides church support, emergency relief and development assistance to suffering people around the world. Most people know of SP for the fantastic “Operation Christmas Child” (or the shoe box appeal as it is perhaps more commonly known), encouraging an incredible 1.24 Million children to fill shoe boxes with small gifts-irrelevant of their value, for them to be distributed to poor and needy children around the globe. We saw the video of the impact these shoe box’s make to the recipients and, put bluntly it was like a kick in the stomach! So we decided to get involved.
We have volunteered for a very worthy and practical trip to Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa. Liberia's war ended in 2003 but still has no official electricity supply or running water. It is the only country in the world in such a plight. UN peace keepers are still in country but the place is now democratic and peaceful but sadly in real mess.
Mark and I are part of a team of 12 who will live, work, interact, learn and essentially go completely native 24 hours a day for 8 days. No hotels or ready meals, no pubs or any of the creature comforts that we are so used to! So what’s it about? Specifically:-
* Bio Sand Water Filters
* Livestock and Aquaculture
* Livelihood
Much of our focus was learning and discovering about Liberia where schools survive on an annual budget of £250; which includes the teaching staff and where most of the children are orphans or previously child soldiers.
On average each person has to walk 4 miles for clean water when for as little as £25 we could provide water for one family and £30 would provide a latrine.
Our trip ran from the 30th April to the 7th May 2008. We set out on our trip with some amount of nerves and trepidation. We’ve never been in this type of situation and did not really know what to expect.
Background to Liberia
The Republic of Liberia is located on the west coast of Africa facing the Atlantic Ocean and bordered by Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Guinea. It has a population of 3.8m people (There are 60m in the UK).
Liberia is Africa's first republic, but it became better known in the 1990s for its long-running, ruinous civil war and its role in a rebellion in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
Although founded by freed American and Caribbean slaves, Liberia is mostly made up of indigenous Africans, with the slaves' descendants comprising 5% of the population; know as Congo-Liberians. The West African nation was relatively calm until 1980 when William Tolbert was overthrown by Sergeant Samuel Doe after food price riots.
Around 250,000 people were killed in Liberia's civil war and many thousands more fled the fighting. Villages burned to the ground, people scattered in refugee camps, children forced to become soldiers… the aftermath of 20 years civil war.
The conflict left the country in economic ruin and overrun with weapons. Corruption is rife and unemployment and illiteracy are endemic.
During the war villages across the country were attacked by various factions of soldiers and a staggering 75% of the entire population lost their homes and fled for their lives. Some ended up in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps within Liberia itself; others fled across the border to refugee camps.
An estimated 77,000 children were taken and forced to become child soldiers. Tens of thousands of girls were abused and boys brutalised, forced to kill or be killed themselves. These young people were left deeply traumatised, homeless, uneducated and jobless.
The years of fighting also meant that roads and bridges were destroyed; hospitals, schools, farms, markets, medical facilities, businesses and other services were looted and burnt. Gradually the entire infrastructure of Liberia fell apart.
The civil conflict finally ended with the Accra Peace Agreement of 2003 and since that time the resettlement and rehabilitation process has begun. Refugees and displaced people have been making their way back home and people are eager to rebuild their lives. In the autumn of 2005 free elections for a new government took place and the reality of the work ahead of them is quite daunting:
* There is no nationally run electricity grid in Liberia.
* There is no treated running water in Liberia.
* The hospitals have few doctors or nurses, and no money to pay them.
* The schools have no books, no paper, no pencils, and few teachers.
* The law-courts and justice system are insufficient and weak.
* The new Liberian Police Force and army are in their infancy.
A staggering 75% of all Liberians are living on less than one US dollar a day which is about 50p. The people are deeply impoverished and traumatised, while entire communities need to be rebuilt from scratch. Liberia needs all the help it can get which is why Samaritan's Purse is working there. When they arrived in 2003, Liberia was in a maelstrom of suffering and the priority then was emergency relief, such as the distribution of essential non-food items to IDP camps near Monrovia. They were also able to help ex-child soldiers by running two Interim Care Centres for disarmed and demobilised ex-combatants.
29th April 2008
We all travelled to Gatwick to stay in a hotel near the airport for the early morning flight. Nervous and excited!
30th April 2008
We all had to wake for about 4.15 am to fly to Brussels for a connecting flight to Monrovia. Everything went smoothly and we were happy once we had a Starbucks! Smooth-ish sailing all the way to Monrovia. Arrived @ 5pm local time to a small but chaotic airport. We were met by the SP team in Liberia and rode for 45 minutes to a very basic guest house (we did not realise that this was 5 star luxury compared to our accommodation from here!) to get settled and have dinner. We passed a lot of mud/straw homes along the way with people sitting outside. Some were cooking in coal pots, some selling petrol/diesel in glass jars or bathing children out of a bucket. The landscape is lush and green with red earth and the weather is hot and humid any time of the day. Off to sleep as best we can for a busy week ahead.
1st May 2008
Another early start (I sense a pattern here). Up at 6am for a cold shower and breakfast for a 7.30am pick-up from the SP guys to take us into the SP office in the city centre. We had a welcome at the SP office. Great singing with drums and sasa’s (calabash rattle). Had orientation with the Country Director; Kendall Kauffeldt, who spoke briefly about the various projects SP have in Liberia and introduced his team.
Had a quick tour of the city where we saw the state of things, the old/new government buildings, the University and bullet-ridden residences. We proceeded up a large hill that used to be the site of a 4-star hotel and had a glorious view of the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the city on the other.
We met a few teenagers there and came across a particularly extraordinary boy named Johnson. He was studying and doing his homework on a well worn notebook. He said he was going to be a journalist as he was going to school and therefore anything’s possible. 
What an amazing spirit. Going around the city there is lots of life even though very impoverished in most areas a lot of people had a smile and a wave. We then headed back to the SP office for yummy Liberian food; Jalaf rice and plantains.
After lunch we headed northwest to Tars Town to hand out Christmas shoe boxes that were done in the UK! What a surprise and totally unexpected. Once we got to Tars Town (after a very bumpy 2-hour trip) we joined the community (from nearby and beyond) in church (that SP had rebuilt) for singing and prayers. We handed out boxes to over 150 children. It’s an unusual experience because you think it would be like Santa at Christmas but it’s not.
It’s such an unknown to them as they’ve never seen anything like it – so most of the children are very quiet and a bit scared. Once all the kids had their boxes they were allowed to open them. Even that was a bit odd because they didn’t really know what to do then either. After the opening the people went out of the church and into the village and we were invited to walk around and see the livestock project. By then the kids were more comfortable and we spent about an hour talking to people about their sheep and goats, played catch and football with the kids. 
While I was talking with some girls I asked them if they would sing a song. They have lovely little voices. They sang a few songs and then the leader of the farmers told the girls to ask me to sing a song! My mind went totally blank and the first song that popped into my head was “Whole New World” from Aladdin. So I sang a few lines and it was so bad the head farmer had to ask them to clap for me! The people of the village are so proud of their livestock that they wanted me to take a picture of them and their animals. 
They love to see their photo on the camera and they get such a kick out of it and it makes you feel pretty good too. This is a recurring theme throughout our trip. It was sad to leave the village for our bumpy trip back to Monrovia but we had to get back before it got too dark as there aren’t any street lights here. We got back to Monrovia and had dinner at a Lebanese/Italian restaurant in town with the SP team. Off back to the guest house for a round up with the team and discussed out favourite moments. It was an absolutely incredible day and more than any of us could have wished for. Off to bed @ 11pm for another early start :)
Story of the war
The old man of the village told Paul and me his story of the war. Rebels came into the village and dragged 5 men including him to the church building. They then said 4 would die and 1 would survive. They then brutally severed the other 4 men’s heads off and had him then work for them.
The leader of the farmers also had a story to tell. Her ex-boyfriend had become a rebel soldier and came into the village with his fellow soldiers. He dragged her into the centre of the village and cut off her ear and then her right arm with a machete. She did not have any medication and her arm and ear had to heal naturally. Two amazing survivors.
2nd May 2008
Up again at 6am to make sure we were packed and fed for a 7.30 pick-up as we were heading up country. We took 3 vehicles for a bumpy 3 ½ hour journey to Rainbow Town (RT). RT is an orphanage started by a woman who was forced to take charge of a group of children after the rebels had massacred a village – she was given two choices – take the children or die.
She travelled throughout the country look for food and shelter and away from the war. She travelled through the bush with the children and tied their shirts together to make sure they didn’t get separated. SP helped set up the orphanage by building an administration building, dormitories, school for the orphans and surrounding village children as well as establishing agriculture and aquaculture projects so that now RT is self-sustaining. 
We then headed north along a bumpier road – I’ve never been on such a journey – hours and hours of jostling! We arrived in Konia to another amazing example of SP and the people of Liberia. We met Dennis (see his story below) and he showed us around the various SP projects that are happening in Konia. We are all staying in 1 guest house (loose term for concrete hut but better than most villagers) with a single toilet and shower area (water in a bucket). It is extremely hot and muggy with lots of flying insects and huge spiders so I hope I can get some sleep tonight. We had the generator on for a few hours in the evening to eat and get ready for bed – up early tomorrow!
Story of the war
We have volunteered for a very worthy and practical trip to Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa. Liberia's war ended in 2003 but still has no official electricity supply or running water. It is the only country in the world in such a plight. UN peace keepers are still in country but the place is now democratic and peaceful but sadly in real mess.
Mark and I are part of a team of 12 who will live, work, interact, learn and essentially go completely native 24 hours a day for 8 days. No hotels or ready meals, no pubs or any of the creature comforts that we are so used to! So what’s it about? Specifically:-
* Bio Sand Water Filters
* Livestock and Aquaculture
* Livelihood
Much of our focus was learning and discovering about Liberia where schools survive on an annual budget of £250; which includes the teaching staff and where most of the children are orphans or previously child soldiers.
On average each person has to walk 4 miles for clean water when for as little as £25 we could provide water for one family and £30 would provide a latrine.
Our trip ran from the 30th April to the 7th May 2008. We set out on our trip with some amount of nerves and trepidation. We’ve never been in this type of situation and did not really know what to expect.
Background to Liberia
The Republic of Liberia is located on the west coast of Africa facing the Atlantic Ocean and bordered by Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Guinea. It has a population of 3.8m people (There are 60m in the UK).Liberia is Africa's first republic, but it became better known in the 1990s for its long-running, ruinous civil war and its role in a rebellion in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
Although founded by freed American and Caribbean slaves, Liberia is mostly made up of indigenous Africans, with the slaves' descendants comprising 5% of the population; know as Congo-Liberians. The West African nation was relatively calm until 1980 when William Tolbert was overthrown by Sergeant Samuel Doe after food price riots.
Around 250,000 people were killed in Liberia's civil war and many thousands more fled the fighting. Villages burned to the ground, people scattered in refugee camps, children forced to become soldiers… the aftermath of 20 years civil war.
The conflict left the country in economic ruin and overrun with weapons. Corruption is rife and unemployment and illiteracy are endemic.
During the war villages across the country were attacked by various factions of soldiers and a staggering 75% of the entire population lost their homes and fled for their lives. Some ended up in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps within Liberia itself; others fled across the border to refugee camps.
An estimated 77,000 children were taken and forced to become child soldiers. Tens of thousands of girls were abused and boys brutalised, forced to kill or be killed themselves. These young people were left deeply traumatised, homeless, uneducated and jobless.
The years of fighting also meant that roads and bridges were destroyed; hospitals, schools, farms, markets, medical facilities, businesses and other services were looted and burnt. Gradually the entire infrastructure of Liberia fell apart.
The civil conflict finally ended with the Accra Peace Agreement of 2003 and since that time the resettlement and rehabilitation process has begun. Refugees and displaced people have been making their way back home and people are eager to rebuild their lives. In the autumn of 2005 free elections for a new government took place and the reality of the work ahead of them is quite daunting:
* There is no nationally run electricity grid in Liberia.
* There is no treated running water in Liberia.
* The hospitals have few doctors or nurses, and no money to pay them.
* The schools have no books, no paper, no pencils, and few teachers.
* The law-courts and justice system are insufficient and weak.
* The new Liberian Police Force and army are in their infancy.
A staggering 75% of all Liberians are living on less than one US dollar a day which is about 50p. The people are deeply impoverished and traumatised, while entire communities need to be rebuilt from scratch. Liberia needs all the help it can get which is why Samaritan's Purse is working there. When they arrived in 2003, Liberia was in a maelstrom of suffering and the priority then was emergency relief, such as the distribution of essential non-food items to IDP camps near Monrovia. They were also able to help ex-child soldiers by running two Interim Care Centres for disarmed and demobilised ex-combatants.
29th April 2008
We all travelled to Gatwick to stay in a hotel near the airport for the early morning flight. Nervous and excited!
30th April 2008
We all had to wake for about 4.15 am to fly to Brussels for a connecting flight to Monrovia. Everything went smoothly and we were happy once we had a Starbucks! Smooth-ish sailing all the way to Monrovia. Arrived @ 5pm local time to a small but chaotic airport. We were met by the SP team in Liberia and rode for 45 minutes to a very basic guest house (we did not realise that this was 5 star luxury compared to our accommodation from here!) to get settled and have dinner. We passed a lot of mud/straw homes along the way with people sitting outside. Some were cooking in coal pots, some selling petrol/diesel in glass jars or bathing children out of a bucket. The landscape is lush and green with red earth and the weather is hot and humid any time of the day. Off to sleep as best we can for a busy week ahead.
1st May 2008
Another early start (I sense a pattern here). Up at 6am for a cold shower and breakfast for a 7.30am pick-up from the SP guys to take us into the SP office in the city centre. We had a welcome at the SP office. Great singing with drums and sasa’s (calabash rattle). Had orientation with the Country Director; Kendall Kauffeldt, who spoke briefly about the various projects SP have in Liberia and introduced his team.
Had a quick tour of the city where we saw the state of things, the old/new government buildings, the University and bullet-ridden residences. We proceeded up a large hill that used to be the site of a 4-star hotel and had a glorious view of the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the city on the other.
We met a few teenagers there and came across a particularly extraordinary boy named Johnson. He was studying and doing his homework on a well worn notebook. He said he was going to be a journalist as he was going to school and therefore anything’s possible. 
What an amazing spirit. Going around the city there is lots of life even though very impoverished in most areas a lot of people had a smile and a wave. We then headed back to the SP office for yummy Liberian food; Jalaf rice and plantains.After lunch we headed northwest to Tars Town to hand out Christmas shoe boxes that were done in the UK! What a surprise and totally unexpected. Once we got to Tars Town (after a very bumpy 2-hour trip) we joined the community (from nearby and beyond) in church (that SP had rebuilt) for singing and prayers. We handed out boxes to over 150 children. It’s an unusual experience because you think it would be like Santa at Christmas but it’s not.
It’s such an unknown to them as they’ve never seen anything like it – so most of the children are very quiet and a bit scared. Once all the kids had their boxes they were allowed to open them. Even that was a bit odd because they didn’t really know what to do then either. After the opening the people went out of the church and into the village and we were invited to walk around and see the livestock project. By then the kids were more comfortable and we spent about an hour talking to people about their sheep and goats, played catch and football with the kids. 
While I was talking with some girls I asked them if they would sing a song. They have lovely little voices. They sang a few songs and then the leader of the farmers told the girls to ask me to sing a song! My mind went totally blank and the first song that popped into my head was “Whole New World” from Aladdin. So I sang a few lines and it was so bad the head farmer had to ask them to clap for me! The people of the village are so proud of their livestock that they wanted me to take a picture of them and their animals. 
They love to see their photo on the camera and they get such a kick out of it and it makes you feel pretty good too. This is a recurring theme throughout our trip. It was sad to leave the village for our bumpy trip back to Monrovia but we had to get back before it got too dark as there aren’t any street lights here. We got back to Monrovia and had dinner at a Lebanese/Italian restaurant in town with the SP team. Off back to the guest house for a round up with the team and discussed out favourite moments. It was an absolutely incredible day and more than any of us could have wished for. Off to bed @ 11pm for another early start :)Story of the war
The old man of the village told Paul and me his story of the war. Rebels came into the village and dragged 5 men including him to the church building. They then said 4 would die and 1 would survive. They then brutally severed the other 4 men’s heads off and had him then work for them.
The leader of the farmers also had a story to tell. Her ex-boyfriend had become a rebel soldier and came into the village with his fellow soldiers. He dragged her into the centre of the village and cut off her ear and then her right arm with a machete. She did not have any medication and her arm and ear had to heal naturally. Two amazing survivors.
2nd May 2008
Up again at 6am to make sure we were packed and fed for a 7.30 pick-up as we were heading up country. We took 3 vehicles for a bumpy 3 ½ hour journey to Rainbow Town (RT). RT is an orphanage started by a woman who was forced to take charge of a group of children after the rebels had massacred a village – she was given two choices – take the children or die.
She travelled throughout the country look for food and shelter and away from the war. She travelled through the bush with the children and tied their shirts together to make sure they didn’t get separated. SP helped set up the orphanage by building an administration building, dormitories, school for the orphans and surrounding village children as well as establishing agriculture and aquaculture projects so that now RT is self-sustaining. 
We then headed north along a bumpier road – I’ve never been on such a journey – hours and hours of jostling! We arrived in Konia to another amazing example of SP and the people of Liberia. We met Dennis (see his story below) and he showed us around the various SP projects that are happening in Konia. We are all staying in 1 guest house (loose term for concrete hut but better than most villagers) with a single toilet and shower area (water in a bucket). It is extremely hot and muggy with lots of flying insects and huge spiders so I hope I can get some sleep tonight. We had the generator on for a few hours in the evening to eat and get ready for bed – up early tomorrow!Story of the war
Dennis came from a fairly wealthy family in Konia; his father was a doctor, had several houses, several wives and 36 children! Dennis was sent to boarding school and only spent a couple of months at a time at home during the school holidays. He had studied theology and belonged to Christian groups and was living in Monrovia when the war broke out. At one time he was trapped in cross fire in his 2-bedroom apartment with 30+ people sleeping anywhere there was room. At one point one of the men risked his life to get water as the young and old needed it. He managed to crawl out and bring water back to the delight of everyone. In his excitement he stood at the window and got shot in the head when on lookout to let the people drink the water. There was blood splattered on everyone and Dennis cradled him as he cried out to be helped. There was nothing that could be done so he died in Dennis’ arms. This was the first time Denis or any of the others (mainly students) had seen anyone die. He eventually made it out of Monrovia with all the people he had with him and travelled for days up country to Konia. The village was bare except for a few people and his mother came to greet him. She told him his father had been beheaded by the soldiers after taking a break after working for 4 straight days and nights helping the wounded soldiers. Unfortunately his younger brother saw this happen, turned to flee the scene and was shot in the back while running away. Dennis, with his friends and family, fled to Guinea to safety and then travelled to Nigeria to a Christian group. He was eventually sponsored to study in America and decided to return to Liberia even though the war was still going on and still very dangerous to go there. He did make it through the war and started building a church. He started off with 4 and grew to 27 in 2 ½ years. Through the church he has revived Konia (and similar villages) so much so that Konia has a church, a beautiful school, a piggery, a rice mill, fish ponds and agriculture. Through his faith he has forgiven the people that killed his father. The boy who did it was someone his dad had helped put through school before the war and in a way adopted him. This boy is now a man who still lives in Konia and is very remorseful. Dennis is an amazing human being who has touched a lot of people.
3rd May 2008
Up at 5.15am this morning! Long queues for the shower (bucket of cold water) and we were going to church with the villagers at 6.30 am.
It was about 1/3 full of people when we got there with Dennis leading prayers. The congregation prayed for us and thanked us for being there. It was quite humbling, emotional and very moving. They have almost nothing and every right to be angry, bitter or jealous of us but instead when they prayed they gave everything. They all prayed out loud with individual prayers but simultaneously, it was very loud and it made us appreciate what God means to the people there. They have real hope and faith and they prayed for us as if they were the ones with everything to give; not us. 
We packed the vehicles and headed off to a village about 10 minutes away called Bomihill. It was a lovely little village and we handed out toothbrushes and sweets. We had a lovely stroll around the village and went across a wood and bamboo suspension bridge! A lovely bit of made-made ingenuity.
We then travelled onto a town called Voinjama to see the Fellowship of Faith building that had recently been completed by SP. This is where a member of SP; John Mark has established a centre for Muslim background believers. John Mark grew up in Liberia with missionary parents and became a learned user of traditional instruments and is a great musician. We had a bit of lunch outside in the shade and then got back in the cars for our journey to Foya (of course another 3 hour journey in a hot vehicle on more bumpy roads) with sore backsides and a few bruises! SP have a sub office in Foya managed by Sylvester and that’s where we were going to stay for the next 3 nights.
Once we got there we dropped off our luggage and headed out to a village called Savalahun to harvest fish (tilapia)! We all got knee-deep into the mud pond (the water had already been drained) and as you can imagine us harvesting fish was hysterical. The villagers were in fits of laughter; it was lovely to see and hear. You should have seen us trying to scoop up fish with our bare hands and putting them into the 2 buckets we had! After we were done “helping” we scooted off into a nearby stream to wash off. One of the guys (who expressly said he didn’t want this thing to happen) caught a leech sucking on his leg! After the weighing of the fish the village leaders presented us with 2 chickens in a very moving presentation. On the way back to Foya we went to see an SP bridge construction in Fellaloe. Concrete base and will make a huge difference to connecting villages. When we got back to Foya we had some dinner and discussed our amazing day before going to bed. Sleeping was a bit of a challenge with the various bug activity; but not too bad for me as Sharon had brought so coils to burn. Mark, on the other hand, was sharing his room with 3 other guys and giant reddish cockroaches! When you’re sleeping on a foam mattress on the floor and a fairly confined space – there’s no room for house guests! Suffice it to say; Mark and the boys got very little sleep.
Story of the war
Thomas and his wife have worked for SP in Liberia for almost 2 years after living in Kenya for a while and is Program Manager for Ministry with SP. He is an amazing man and has a beautiful soul; we got very close to him during our trip.
Thomas lived in Foya when the war broke out when he was about 10 years old. The rebels came into Foya looking for food, somewhere to camp for a while and new recruits. They terrorised the town, stealing everything of value and destroyed everything that wasn’t. Often, they would brutally beat anyone who did not hand over whatever they demanded. There was one particular faction that these particular rebels hated. These people were sought out and savagely killed. One day, on the way home from school, Thomas had to watch a group of people that had been rounded up and as they were sprayed with bullets with machine guns. He had never seen anyone killed before. He ran home just as the rebels were dragging his neighbour from his house as they believed he was their enemy even though he was not. They made him kneel down in front of his family (and Thomas), tied his elbows together behind his back so that his chest was at breaking point, and sliced his head off from the back of his neck with a machete, causing a slow and painful death. The rest of the family was then massacred. Thomas fled to a village near the border of the Ivory Coast and then journeyed to Gambia, all the while working and begging for any food her could get. He further journeyed into Kenya – the rest of his family scattered to wherever they could find safety. He later found out his sister had been brutally raped by the rebels when he fled. He had many reasons to be deeply angry, vengeful and miserable but through his belief in God he has been able to forgive and is a gentle and content man; how incredible! Without his faith there is no doubt he would be seeking revenge and leading a bitter and unhappy life. But instead he’s moved on and is devoted to helping others.
4th May 2008
Dare I say it? Another early start! Breakfasted in Foya and travelled to Dengadu for Church. Mark was given the option of riding a motorbike to church and gleefully accepted!
Arrived in Dengadu to an incredibly warm reception and an amazing church service. This village was completely destroyed by a fire which left all the villagers living beneath a tree as its only protection. SP were able to act immediately with emergency food and non-food items and took to the task of rebuilding the entire village. The village were so grateful to SP that they presented us with a female goat (a huge sacrifice for a poor village) and renamed Kendall – Kendall Dengadu!
We travelled back to Foya after church for some lunch a few hours r&r. We then went to a village called Dawa where SP had launched the first cattle project. Dawa is the last village in Liberia on the way to Sierra Leone. It is in a beautiful location and the people were immensely proud of their cattle. They also had fish ponds and a church that SP rehabilitated. We handed out a few toys to the children of the village and had fun playing and chatting the people of Dawa.
On our way back to Foya we went to a pastor’s/woman leader’s meeting at the Global Free Pentecostal church in Foya as we were told they wanted to sing/play traditional songs for our visit. They had waited for an hour and a half for us and we were surprised when they greeted us with the warmest of welcomes as they seated us at the front of the church. There were over 100 pastors, over 70 women’s leaders and numerous other church leaders from different Christian denominations. One of the pastors’ made a beautiful speech about what SP had done for the people of Liberia. They then proceeded to grace us with the highest honour by presenting us with traditional Liberian gowns woven from material indigenous to Foya. There was an amazing sense of love and welcome in the room – what a feeling! Kendall also spoke to the congregation to thank them for this honour and was floored by the fact that previous warring factions were working together in harmony. 
Back to the sub office with all of us buzzing and feeling very humble as we did not deserve the gowns as SP had done all the work and we took all the glory! Another yummy dinner and talking too late into the night. Mark got a good night’s sleep as slept in a bug-free tent outside!
5th May 2008
Walter-filter & Taya’s day! Up with the cockerels for showers, breakfast and devotions with the whole SP office. Headed to the old sub-office where we were going to get hands on with the water filters. First thing we did was to split into 4 groups and remove the water filters from their moulds by unscrewing the bolts and gently sliding the concrete structures from there casing. Once we did that we were then going to build new ones! We had to clean out the moulds, grease them with cooking fat and but the bolts back into place. We then mixed the sand, gravel, water and cement to make the concrete that we need to pour back into the moulds. After the concrete goes into the moulds you need to tap out all of the air bubbles by hand. A physical morning but a lot of fun getting dirty. 
Back to the new office for lunch and then into Foya city to install the 4 water filters we had removed that morning. Each of us were given instructions and the materials to build the filters; obviously we also had the water technicians who were very experienced at installing these. You first need to find out where the family want the water filter and place it on level flooring or make it level – this is very important. Once level, you can then add the course gravel to about 5cm; level it off, then add the smaller gravel for another 5cml level that off and proceed to add the sand. Once you’ve established the right amount of sand/gravel you are able to add the dirty water to the top of the filter and check the pressure. 
Once everything with the filter is working correctly you need to discuss the use of the filter with the family and how to maintain it. You also need to ask a few questions so that SP can keep track of the data. Had a great time playing with the children in the village whilst waiting for the rest of the filters to get installed then headed off to Woh (sp?) to see water filters in action! This was one of the poorest villages we came across. They were so happy to see us and very proud to show off their water filters. We even shared a cup of water with them. 
We asked them to show us where the water source was. This was a good 10min walk, which with buckets on the ladies head, is a mammoth effort as all up hill on the way back. As the average person has to walk 4 miles each day I guess they are lucky!
The water source is a tiny stream and was almost empty. It was full of bugs, algae and generally very dirty> I cannot imagine having to drink this every day.
We travelled back very tired but satisfied and fulfilled only to be challenged by the local SP office to a game of volleyball. It was great fun and a large crowd of villagers gathered to watch us make fools of ourselves...again.....
6th May 2008
Packed up for a 9-hour, sore-bottom journey back to Monrovia.
The night of the 5th was an eventful one. We had gone off to sleep late-ish considering the early morning starts and it had started to rain quite hard; stopped and then rained again. It wasn’t unusual so we went to bed and the guys that were sleeping outside weren’t too fussed as they were under cover. Well, unbeknownst to us – rainy season began in earnest! All was okay until about 3am. There had been thunder, heavy rain and lighting but then the wind came up! Mark got soaked and was lifted (like Aladdin) across the floor into Paul’s tent. The wind was so strong a part of the large and sturdy bamboo fence had been ripped down. Hard to put into words, but quite frightening. Once the winds had died down a bit all headed into the house and Mark tried to sleep the rest of the night in a chair!
7th May 2008
Packed up to leave the guest house and see everyone at the SP office in Monrovia – has it been a week already?! Spent 4 hours in a very cramped, humid and dirty airport lounge with no toilet facility to speak off. It was a great relief to get onto the luxury of a plane for a 14 hour journey home.
8th May 2008
Arrived back in England after flying home via Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Brussels. We were all pretty tired but feeling good.
3rd May 2008
Up at 5.15am this morning! Long queues for the shower (bucket of cold water) and we were going to church with the villagers at 6.30 am.
It was about 1/3 full of people when we got there with Dennis leading prayers. The congregation prayed for us and thanked us for being there. It was quite humbling, emotional and very moving. They have almost nothing and every right to be angry, bitter or jealous of us but instead when they prayed they gave everything. They all prayed out loud with individual prayers but simultaneously, it was very loud and it made us appreciate what God means to the people there. They have real hope and faith and they prayed for us as if they were the ones with everything to give; not us. 
We packed the vehicles and headed off to a village about 10 minutes away called Bomihill. It was a lovely little village and we handed out toothbrushes and sweets. We had a lovely stroll around the village and went across a wood and bamboo suspension bridge! A lovely bit of made-made ingenuity.We then travelled onto a town called Voinjama to see the Fellowship of Faith building that had recently been completed by SP. This is where a member of SP; John Mark has established a centre for Muslim background believers. John Mark grew up in Liberia with missionary parents and became a learned user of traditional instruments and is a great musician. We had a bit of lunch outside in the shade and then got back in the cars for our journey to Foya (of course another 3 hour journey in a hot vehicle on more bumpy roads) with sore backsides and a few bruises! SP have a sub office in Foya managed by Sylvester and that’s where we were going to stay for the next 3 nights.
Once we got there we dropped off our luggage and headed out to a village called Savalahun to harvest fish (tilapia)! We all got knee-deep into the mud pond (the water had already been drained) and as you can imagine us harvesting fish was hysterical. The villagers were in fits of laughter; it was lovely to see and hear. You should have seen us trying to scoop up fish with our bare hands and putting them into the 2 buckets we had! After we were done “helping” we scooted off into a nearby stream to wash off. One of the guys (who expressly said he didn’t want this thing to happen) caught a leech sucking on his leg! After the weighing of the fish the village leaders presented us with 2 chickens in a very moving presentation. On the way back to Foya we went to see an SP bridge construction in Fellaloe. Concrete base and will make a huge difference to connecting villages. When we got back to Foya we had some dinner and discussed our amazing day before going to bed. Sleeping was a bit of a challenge with the various bug activity; but not too bad for me as Sharon had brought so coils to burn. Mark, on the other hand, was sharing his room with 3 other guys and giant reddish cockroaches! When you’re sleeping on a foam mattress on the floor and a fairly confined space – there’s no room for house guests! Suffice it to say; Mark and the boys got very little sleep.Story of the war
Thomas and his wife have worked for SP in Liberia for almost 2 years after living in Kenya for a while and is Program Manager for Ministry with SP. He is an amazing man and has a beautiful soul; we got very close to him during our trip.
Thomas lived in Foya when the war broke out when he was about 10 years old. The rebels came into Foya looking for food, somewhere to camp for a while and new recruits. They terrorised the town, stealing everything of value and destroyed everything that wasn’t. Often, they would brutally beat anyone who did not hand over whatever they demanded. There was one particular faction that these particular rebels hated. These people were sought out and savagely killed. One day, on the way home from school, Thomas had to watch a group of people that had been rounded up and as they were sprayed with bullets with machine guns. He had never seen anyone killed before. He ran home just as the rebels were dragging his neighbour from his house as they believed he was their enemy even though he was not. They made him kneel down in front of his family (and Thomas), tied his elbows together behind his back so that his chest was at breaking point, and sliced his head off from the back of his neck with a machete, causing a slow and painful death. The rest of the family was then massacred. Thomas fled to a village near the border of the Ivory Coast and then journeyed to Gambia, all the while working and begging for any food her could get. He further journeyed into Kenya – the rest of his family scattered to wherever they could find safety. He later found out his sister had been brutally raped by the rebels when he fled. He had many reasons to be deeply angry, vengeful and miserable but through his belief in God he has been able to forgive and is a gentle and content man; how incredible! Without his faith there is no doubt he would be seeking revenge and leading a bitter and unhappy life. But instead he’s moved on and is devoted to helping others.
4th May 2008
Dare I say it? Another early start! Breakfasted in Foya and travelled to Dengadu for Church. Mark was given the option of riding a motorbike to church and gleefully accepted!
Arrived in Dengadu to an incredibly warm reception and an amazing church service. This village was completely destroyed by a fire which left all the villagers living beneath a tree as its only protection. SP were able to act immediately with emergency food and non-food items and took to the task of rebuilding the entire village. The village were so grateful to SP that they presented us with a female goat (a huge sacrifice for a poor village) and renamed Kendall – Kendall Dengadu! We travelled back to Foya after church for some lunch a few hours r&r. We then went to a village called Dawa where SP had launched the first cattle project. Dawa is the last village in Liberia on the way to Sierra Leone. It is in a beautiful location and the people were immensely proud of their cattle. They also had fish ponds and a church that SP rehabilitated. We handed out a few toys to the children of the village and had fun playing and chatting the people of Dawa.
On our way back to Foya we went to a pastor’s/woman leader’s meeting at the Global Free Pentecostal church in Foya as we were told they wanted to sing/play traditional songs for our visit. They had waited for an hour and a half for us and we were surprised when they greeted us with the warmest of welcomes as they seated us at the front of the church. There were over 100 pastors, over 70 women’s leaders and numerous other church leaders from different Christian denominations. One of the pastors’ made a beautiful speech about what SP had done for the people of Liberia. They then proceeded to grace us with the highest honour by presenting us with traditional Liberian gowns woven from material indigenous to Foya. There was an amazing sense of love and welcome in the room – what a feeling! Kendall also spoke to the congregation to thank them for this honour and was floored by the fact that previous warring factions were working together in harmony. 
Back to the sub office with all of us buzzing and feeling very humble as we did not deserve the gowns as SP had done all the work and we took all the glory! Another yummy dinner and talking too late into the night. Mark got a good night’s sleep as slept in a bug-free tent outside!5th May 2008
Walter-filter & Taya’s day! Up with the cockerels for showers, breakfast and devotions with the whole SP office. Headed to the old sub-office where we were going to get hands on with the water filters. First thing we did was to split into 4 groups and remove the water filters from their moulds by unscrewing the bolts and gently sliding the concrete structures from there casing. Once we did that we were then going to build new ones! We had to clean out the moulds, grease them with cooking fat and but the bolts back into place. We then mixed the sand, gravel, water and cement to make the concrete that we need to pour back into the moulds. After the concrete goes into the moulds you need to tap out all of the air bubbles by hand. A physical morning but a lot of fun getting dirty. 
Back to the new office for lunch and then into Foya city to install the 4 water filters we had removed that morning. Each of us were given instructions and the materials to build the filters; obviously we also had the water technicians who were very experienced at installing these. You first need to find out where the family want the water filter and place it on level flooring or make it level – this is very important. Once level, you can then add the course gravel to about 5cm; level it off, then add the smaller gravel for another 5cml level that off and proceed to add the sand. Once you’ve established the right amount of sand/gravel you are able to add the dirty water to the top of the filter and check the pressure. 
Once everything with the filter is working correctly you need to discuss the use of the filter with the family and how to maintain it. You also need to ask a few questions so that SP can keep track of the data. Had a great time playing with the children in the village whilst waiting for the rest of the filters to get installed then headed off to Woh (sp?) to see water filters in action! This was one of the poorest villages we came across. They were so happy to see us and very proud to show off their water filters. We even shared a cup of water with them. 
We asked them to show us where the water source was. This was a good 10min walk, which with buckets on the ladies head, is a mammoth effort as all up hill on the way back. As the average person has to walk 4 miles each day I guess they are lucky!The water source is a tiny stream and was almost empty. It was full of bugs, algae and generally very dirty> I cannot imagine having to drink this every day.
We travelled back very tired but satisfied and fulfilled only to be challenged by the local SP office to a game of volleyball. It was great fun and a large crowd of villagers gathered to watch us make fools of ourselves...again.....
6th May 2008
Packed up for a 9-hour, sore-bottom journey back to Monrovia.
The night of the 5th was an eventful one. We had gone off to sleep late-ish considering the early morning starts and it had started to rain quite hard; stopped and then rained again. It wasn’t unusual so we went to bed and the guys that were sleeping outside weren’t too fussed as they were under cover. Well, unbeknownst to us – rainy season began in earnest! All was okay until about 3am. There had been thunder, heavy rain and lighting but then the wind came up! Mark got soaked and was lifted (like Aladdin) across the floor into Paul’s tent. The wind was so strong a part of the large and sturdy bamboo fence had been ripped down. Hard to put into words, but quite frightening. Once the winds had died down a bit all headed into the house and Mark tried to sleep the rest of the night in a chair! 7th May 2008
Packed up to leave the guest house and see everyone at the SP office in Monrovia – has it been a week already?! Spent 4 hours in a very cramped, humid and dirty airport lounge with no toilet facility to speak off. It was a great relief to get onto the luxury of a plane for a 14 hour journey home.
8th May 2008
Arrived back in England after flying home via Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Brussels. We were all pretty tired but feeling good.
.JPG)