Renita Takes LEAD on the Road

Local Weather: Today's Hi Temp- 108.6F/43C (shade—Temp in the sun unknown; thermometer stopped working at 128.6F) Precipitation- one day of rain since mid November, approximately 1 inch.

News Headlines: Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Liberia on Thursday, promising millions in aid and forgiveness of the Liberian debt.

Renita and I divide our work here into three broad categories—her work, my work, and the work we do together. LEAD is her baby.

LEAD stands for Liberian Entrepreneurial and Asset Development, and offers a 36 hour business management course as well as a matching loan program to help small to medium sized business grow. For its first year, LEAD focused on businesses around Monrovia, and the first three classes were taught there. Already over 90 businesses have benefited from the training and loan program. Ultimately the goal is increased employment for Liberians in this land of 85% unemployment. Since the first loans distributed in July, LEAD businesses have created new jobs for about 20 people.

The long range goals of LEAD are to become national, with offices addressing the needs in each of Liberia’s 15 counties. So this time around, Renita is taking the class and the loans 80 miles down the road to Buchanan, a three hour drive on a very bad road.

The first step in the process is to find businesses that meet LEAD’s criteria for inclusion into the program. To do this, Renita, LEAD coordinator James Hilary and LEAD Buchanan coordinator Moses Haynes spread the word, take applications, and interview each business owner. The classes begin a few weeks later, and after successful completion of the program, each business may apply for a 3 to 1 matching loan from LEAD.

Below are a handful of the people who will participate in the Buchanan class. In each face I see two things. I think I see pride, because it certainly ought to be there. They have accomplished much already against crushing social and cultural odds. Next I see hope—hope that they will gain from this venture, hope that their business will grow and prosper, and hope also that this is not just another NGO big on promises and short on results.

The road to Buchanan, on an early Thursday morning. The road becomes very bad after passing the Robertsfield Airport.

They call Raymond Akinseye the "Shoe Doctor." Sells and fixes 'em.

Samuel Chemwiniin and his men are tailors. You see men at sewing machines all over.

Baryo Haynes sells textiles from all over the world. She and Samuel probably see a lot of each other.

Ah yes, Thomas Ghebhe and his USAID-sponsored Beauty "Saloon." I guess you can get clipped and hammered in one sitting. ( Jes' a yolk, folk-- everybody spells "salon" this way.)

I love this shot. William Kpoupyou and his daughter Grace amidst the car parts he sell out of a shipping container.

Gbaye's Town Gets a New Women's Center

North of Kakata, in Gbaye’s Town, the women of the Konoquellie clan have been working with the Mother Patern Women’s Development Program to create a women’s resource center. The MPC Women’s Program has been helping Liberian women help themselves in villages all over Liberia. Grace Boiwu, a friend, student, and hero of mine, heads the program. She works with humble and fierce determination to empower women affected by war, abuse and a culture that has traditionally relegated them to near slave status.

The women’s resource center will be a place to offer training and support in a number of areas, from developing and managing a business, to trauma related help, to conflict resolution. It will be a place of teaching, learning, praying, holding and healing. The Mother Patern Women’s program will be conducting ongoing workshops at this and the other centers, and hopefully soon I will be able to join them to lend a hand. It is humbling to be allowed to be a part of this work. It is a sacred trust.

2/2/07 UPDATE We were having problems again posting pictures. Please be patient with us when this happens, because somebody needs to be and its usually not me. It drives me nuts because we have such limited access to the net, and when it doesn't work, it might be days before I can get to it again. So thanks. Here are the shots.

The road to Gbaye's Town. Not for the faint of stomach. Impassable in the wet season.

We arrived and were greeted by Kpelle singing and dancing.

As always, the kids watched us. As always, each face says something different.


We gathered in a temporary reed-covered pavilion-- here Grace Boiwu waits for the program to begin. She doesn't like cameras, but I told her the world needs to see her.

A panorama of inside the pavilion. The opening of the resource center was a big deal for the whole village-- and the surrounding villages.

After the ribbon-cutting, the women of Gbaye's Town in front of their new Women's Resource Center.


As the event closed, while everyone was eating, I took a stroll through the town. Here is a community cooking hut, one of the most common structures in the country.

What seemed like the town sqaure. Very dusty, but they tell me a real mess in the wet season.

Thatched roof and our Land Cruiser.


Our last view of Gbaye's Town on our way back to Monrovia.

Huck Finn Ain't Got Nothin' on Noah

As soon as school lets out, they call to each other with rooster crows-- right out of Peter Pan. On Saturday morning, we hear the calls as soon as we get up. It is Trokon and Eastman, Noah's fellow comrades, warriors, adventurers and chums, come to join forces. Noah answers with an er-a-er-a-eeeerrrr, and they are off.

When we came, we hoped Noah would find Africa a place that would give outlet his huge imagination, a place that would provide him with a chance to laugh and learn all the time. Now, with his two fast friends at his side, Noah is fully occupied, discovering how Liberian boys make their lives work. Trokon and Eastman are very poor, and live with several other adults and children in a 15' x 10' mat and zinc shack. But their mother provides them with school and allows them to play every day with Noah, something many parents could not afford to do. In return, we feed the boys supper and help the family in various ways. But mostly, the boys give Noah loyalty and daily adventures that would make Huck, Tom, and even Peter turn green. Here is a typical week.

One of their several fishin' holes. Noah can't get enough fishin' in.

Tree climbin' tips from an expert.

Making a working palm hut with rooms.

Cookin' rice over a campfire.

A little cement work-- making a play house.

Eastman and Noah trying capture sparks on film.


Running their own soft drink business-- here with Trokon returning the empties.

Making cars completely out of bamboo-- including bamboo nails.

Playing a truly authentic game of "Monkey in the Middle."

X- MPW: The Painful Price of Progress

The MPW stands for Monrovia Public Works. The X means “This structure must be removed.” Throughout Monrovia all the way to our home and beyond, Liberia is preparing to rebuild its major highways. To do this, it has flexed its Eminent Domain muscles and declared that all structures within 75 feet of the relevant highways must go. This is a significant and welcomed sign of progress for the nation and most of its inhabitants, but a crushing blow for families, schools and businesses that are suddenly in the way. If you were to drive from Monrovia to the Reed house, you would see many sad stories in the making, as home after home and business after business display the huge yellow hand painted “X-MPW.” Some of the homes are brand new, or not even completed, whose owners thought the coast was finally clear to build after years of waiting.

Progress is always a mixed blessing, and in a land of poverty, whoever is on the short end suffers far more that those of us in the West. There are many stories here; we know some of the people who stand to lose. As time passes and the work starts, we will share some of those stories with you.

A Parade of Homes...

... of lives about to be uprooted. The Yellow X says it all.

The blocks in front of this home were to go to an addition to the house. Now the blocks, and the family, have no where to go.

A brand new structure, too close to the road, must come down.

A neighbor's storage shed.

One of our favorite gas stations. Slated to be demolished next week, the shocked owners are scrabbling for a plan.

A LEAD business.

This wall will soon come a'tumbling. The line tells the owner where the structure begins to be in violation. But it wasn't in violation until this week. The lines drawn on homes are especially sad. What good is a half demolished home?.

New Year, New Life

While enjoying the Christmas holidays, a local church asked if I would be willing to help them baptize some new Christians New Years Eve morning. Of course I was honored to join them at this joyful event. Baptism is a lovely and inspiring act of submission, and a powerful symbol of death and rebirth.



Renita and I joined the dozen new converts at sun up, and a couple pastors from local congregations were there to assist. We stood in the water, faced the rising sun, and rejoiced at the promise that we are buried and risen with Christ. It was holy fun.

I keep telling everybody that we are not missionaries or a pastors, just Christians trying to live out our faith in meaningful ways. I guess I've figured out by now that "just living out our faith means more that what we thought.

As of January 8, the Reeds are all back to work. The kids are in school, Renita is branching out, taking LEAD on the road, and the MPCHS social work staff is hammering out the details of its new social work program, plus preparing for a visit next year from Calvin College students. The cool Harmattan winds are still with us, but we know that the weather, like the work, is going to heat up soon.

Its Like Harmattan on a Hot African Day

Three days ago, we woke up our typical 81 degree morning, but something we do not see much here: fog. Fog, as you know, develops when the temperature reaches what is called the “dew point.” Dew point is also related to humidity, especially to how uncomfortable the air feels. Back home in Michigan, when the dew point reaches the upper 60s, it begins to feel what we call “muggy.” By the time it reaches 72, the air is thick and we are sweating heavily. In Michigan, the dew point rarely reaches 74, but when it does, it is almost unbearable. Everybody complains and runs for the AC. I do not believe I ever saw a dew point of 75 in Michigan. So imagine a dew point of 81. The sweat, unable to evaporate, drips off your face and body.

Yesterday morning, I woke up to what looked initially like an overcast day. I headed outside on my morning routine (feeding chickens, weavers, deer, monkey and dogs) and saw the sun cutting through a haze. I realized I was not looking at clouds, but dust. Within minutes, I began to feel a most heavenly breeze. It was something I had not felt in 17 months: cool and dry. The humidity dropped 30 points within minutes. I stood in my yard, arms outstretched, and received the grace with a smile.

Harmattan had come. Harmattan is the name of the winds that come from the Sahara in the north. They usually occur sometime between December and February, although last year they did not come at all. This was our first experience, and after 17 months of daily working in some of the highest dew points on earth, I cannot convey the relief we felt. This morning, the dew points were in the 50s and temperature was 65F degrees for a few hours. That is the lowest temp we have felt here by at least seven degrees. I was almost cold. I even turned my bedside fan off for a few minutes. Then the mosquitoes showed up and back on it went.

But we are loving the gift of cool, fresh feeling air during this holiday break. Enjoy a few relaxing photos of the creatures in our lives. One of these days, we'll get back to work.

Dog meets Deer. Notice the delicate paw/hoof dance.

Dear meets Deer. Renita has two new kids. We spend every night with the monkey on our lap and the deer at our feet. Now we get a cool breeze to boot.

Kids in the trees, monkey on the ground. Deer supervising. Seems about right.

Happy New Year!

So our first year is “fini.” True, we have been here a year and a half, but the first few months were all about getting accustomed to life on the West African coast. 2006 saw adjustment, and we began in earnest what we came here to do. For those of you who wonder what we do here besides hang around the porch and collect animals, here is a list of activities that kept us feeling useful in 2006. For those of you who support us in any way, from the US, Canada, or Liberia, include yourself in the “we.” Some of you may have seen a similar list in our Christmas letter. If so, feel free to feel good all over again. Working together, "we..."

* helped facilitate a budding partner relationship between Calvin and Kuyper Colleges with Mother Patern College of Health Sciences working to develop Liberia’s first professional social work program.

* trained through LEAD 90 businesses in three twelve week courses, distributed business loans and saw new jobs created.

* developed and taught 3 new college courses for the upcoming Mother Patern BSW curriculum.

* Worked with the Liberian Ministries of Health and Education, to forward key progress toward improving national mental health standards and service for the future.

* assisted in the creation of community development association in our area— The Foster Town Community Development Association. (FoCDA). Three community workshops were offered by FoCDA, with attendance over a hundred at each. More coming.

* are lending our heads and hands as the community establishes a market. Currently people travel miles to get daily food; donations from Madison members have been used to secure land and start building a structure and tables-- allowing many to shop near home.

* taught and trained in a dozens of workshops, ranging from two hours to two weeks long, offered to hundreds of people in settings throughout Liberia—topics: counseling skills, psychosocial skills, classroom management, phonics, teacher/student and teacher/parent relationships, Reformed theology, alleviating poverty, starting a business, church leadership.

* participated in establishing neighborhood watch groups, in partnership with the local police station.

* are helping facilitate partnerships between 2 local schools and Millbrook Christian and Beaver Dam Christian in Michigan. Letters exchanged, money raised for school improvements.

* providing ongoing monthly support of local orphanage: school scholarships and uniforms plus food money for 37 children.

* raised funds for two new roofs—one on a local church, the other on a local home, and a new pump-head for a neighborhood well.

* established a new community library (our living room) – at least 30 books and games loaned weekly to neighborhood kids.

* are sponsoring and lending our enormous athletic talent to the Eleven Dangerous Dwarves – the local boy’s soccer team.

* have placed hundreds of band-aids placed on cuts, given out thousands of pinches and administered countless “conks” to dozens of little heads.

* distributed scads of clothing, Bibles, books, toys, educational materials, loans, school scholarships, gifts to families for various needs (funerals, sickness, housing, etc.).

We have said it before many times. The Reeds are in Liberia as servants, mostly doing what we can to help others—from the US, Canada, and Liberia—as they work to rebuild this nation. I think of us all as builders and farmers, creating structures for the future, planting crops that produce for many years to come. We are in this together, and we are humbled to be a part of the effort.

May 2007 see more building, more planting, and more fruit.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Blogger is finally up again after a week of not letting us in, so here we are. We try to give you news at least once a week, so if it has been longer than that, it's almost always a technical glitch. Here is our Christmas entry, which has been updated a bit.

We are in a quieting down mode these last few days. LEAD and Mother Patern College are taking a break, school is out for a few weeks, and even though rogue activity is up again, we are responding with a night time neighborhood watch. It seems much quieter than last year. It feels like Liberia is healing.

Monrovia is a crazy town as shoppers flood the street side markets looking for gifts for family and friends. Here, as in America, Christmas is too much about buying and getting. It is tough to watch the pressure Liberians put on each other to “give me my Christmas,” especially with such extreme poverty and unemployment. So the Reeds are avoiding the city at all costs, and happy to live far enough away not to feel the chaos.

Back home, we are taking things in stride. Our struggling generator, a very generous gift from our friends Mary and Ron Van Valkenberg, finally gave up the ghost after fourteen months of suffering the effects of Liberia’s salty humidity and terrible gasoline. Yet even living without electricity for many days during the last month was ok. The evenings were quiet, and the candlelight was nice. The new, much smaller and simpler generator we bought Monday is humming along beautifully. All’s well that ends well.

The living room is decorated with cut-out snowflakes and birthday wishes for Jesus, and we even have a two foot high plastic tree adorning one of our end tables. Christmas day, we’ll have our traditional birthday party for Jesus and enjoy a meal of chicken thighs and legs (we never see chicken breasts here)m mashed potatoes, gravy, cornbread dressing, canned green beans and homemade apple and chocolate cream pie.

As we enjoy the breather, enjoy these cheery Christmastime images.

Noah and Trokon building a palm leaf hut. Planning a camp out soon. Getting help from Christmas elves. Why are they white?

Trokon up the plam tree cutting down a ripe bunch of palm nuts. Palm butter and dried fish! Yum! A holiday treat!

Hannah and Andrew. I'm watching him like a hawk.

Time for Christmas cookies-- hold the palm oil.

The next door neighbor pup and the monkey making out under the mistly tow. Look, I know its holly, but these guys use any excuse they can.

The monk and Renita enjoying an elf fly-by.



Christmas morn, sunrise in the Reed home. We caught the elves trying to rip us off.

They say there is a resemblance, but this picture proves otherwise.

Ground Breaking Stuff

I mentioned a while ago that FoCDA, our very own community development association, is hard at work to get our neighbors involved in making Foster Town/Thinkers Village a cohesive community. A few months ago they agreed that the neighborhood needed a market, where people could buy and sell food and other general store items. In Liberia, as it is throughout much of Africa, most people have no electricity, no way to refrigerate food. Someone must go to a local market every day for that day's meals. Currently the nearest market to us is miles away and means people with very little money must find it daily to pay for transportation for food.

Now, thanks to to some very active Liberian friends and neighbors at FoCDA, and a few American supporters, a Foster Town Market will soon be a reality. The ground breaking was Friday the 8th, and folks are busily clearing the land and preparing to build the structure.

Foster Town and Thinkers Village friends and neighbors gather for the ground breaking.

Rev Augustine Zar digs into the sand in front of the large field that will become a community market. If all goes as planned, this will make daily life easier for several thousand people living in the area.