ReedsNews Update: December Edition

Weather: Sunday night saw the most rain seen in a month. A thunderstorm brought first two hours of very heavy rain followed b y eight hours of light rain. About four inches of rain total. Otherwise hazy, hot and humid most days. Last year, we received virtually no rain from November 20 until March, so the occasional rain may indicate a wetter dry season. But of course, I have no idea. Now, some news:

Item: The Christmas season is here, and that means mostly two things: frantic, pressured shopping and rogues breaking into more homes looking for holiday booty. Vera, who helps us with laundry and weekday dinners, had some guys break her door in the early morning hours Friday. She called out and the rogues fled without taking anything.

Item: Renita’s left arm is in a sling and may stay that way for some time. She has what some people call “tennis elbow,” or an inflammation of the tendons around her elbow. Being left-handed, this has really cramped her style, and not being able to help as much is frustrating for her. But she’s sometimes in lot of pain, so she’s taking it seriously.

Item: We had an uninvited visitor Friday, a four foot long black cobra found its way into our yard and casually made its way across our lawn. Actually, there are three venomous black snakes that inhabit Liberia, the black mamba, the black spitting cobra, and the black tree cobra. Vera and Noah both thought they saw a hood, so this is why we thought cobra. The spitters are more likely to be in area, so that's the one we think it was. These are some of the deadliest snakes in the world, so naturally everyone became very excited. I was at a conference, so I could not join in the adventure. Apparently, there was enough human activity that the snake decided to leave the way it came. So just as some neighbors showed up with their cutlasses—all snakes are killed here on sight—the snake escaped. We discovered how it got in and plugged the hole in our wall with cement.

Item: The conference I attended while the cobra was in our yard was hosted by the World Health Organization. It was on substance abuse in Liberia. As I already suspected, substance abuse is at near epidemic levels, with both alcohol and marijuana at the top of the list. Both are very cheap here—a shot of strong liquor or a marijuana cigarette cost about ten US cents—and both are readily available.

Item: “O’ Henrietta, we hardly knew ye… but you were delicious!” As planned, we bid farewell to the pig our friends in Kakata gave us in the spring. Killing her was unpleasant but I felt an obligation to be there with her, so I helped hold her down while the deed was done. We invited many of our neighborhood friends for the pork roast the next day, and Henrietta supplied full bellies to about fifty folks. None of her was wasted except her hair, and Renita had me save the brain, heart and an eyeball to be dissected for science class the day after the festivities.

Renita, arm in sling. She has a rubber ball wrapped in the ace bandage that covers her forearm and elbow. This supplies additional support and counter pressure, which eases the pain.
The black spitting cobra, likely the type in our yard. Naja nigricollis woodi. Beautiful creature.

Now on to Henrietta. This was last Wednesday, as Rev Zar, Sam Befelon, Bernard the Butcher and I prepare an alarmed Henrietta for dispatch.

After the deed, Henrietta is cleaned of all hair, washed, then her innards are removed. Rev Zar was thrilled to take all the innards home for a "fine pepper soup" for his very large family.

After a night in our refrigerator, we roast her on a home made cooker. Here, after roasting for four hours, we are turning her over. She got a bit burned at first, but just on the surface.

Alex, secretary of FACT, cuts off some meat as some of the fifty guests that came that day enjoy Henrietta.

Debt Relief

Weather: The dry season is here. Days are hot and hazy, with little wind and high temps, nights are often still with temps in the upper 70's. Less than one inch of rain in the last week.

Last week, the international Monetary Fund cancelled Liberia’s 800 million dollar debt to the organization. The IMF decision was a huge victory for the Sirleaf-Johnson administration, supported actively by the ONE campaign and US President Bush. Earlier this year Liberia’s three largest national creditor nations, China, Germany and the US, cancelled Liberia’s debts to their respective nations.

Debt cancellation is a controversial action, as it ought to be. Naturally, nations in debt have a responsibility to repay funds borrowed. But in the case of the Liberian debt, who really is responsible for it? As Josh Peck of ONE.org stated, “On April 12, 1980, Samuel Doe staged a military-coup in Liberia, killing the president in his home and bringing an end to the first African republic. During his decade of brutal dictatorial rule, Doe borrowed billions of dollars from international creditors to consolidate his power. Eventually, his regime collapsed into a bloody civil war that lasted 14 years and claimed the lives of 1 in 12 Liberians.But now Liberia has rebounded. There is peace, and
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, once a political prisoner during Doe's regime, has been elected as the first female head of state on the African continent. Sadly the Liberian people are still saddled with $4.5 billion of Doe's debt.”

For over twenty-five years, Liberia was ruled by bad guys and their henchmen. Power was stolen through assassination and maintained by brutal intimidation tactics. The Liberian loans were sought by ruthless criminals who ended up using the money for their own corrupt purposes or just wasting it through mismanagement. The men who secured these loans did not act in the interests of Liberia, and the money was not spent on Liberia. Yet the loan requests were granted. Incredibly, these loans were requested and granted in the midst of unprecedented Liberian instability. IMF and the other lending nations bear responsibility for approving bad loans that never made it to the intended beneficiaries, and it is just that they not require the people of Liberia bear the burden for repaying them.

So today, most of Liberia’s crippling debt burden is lifted. It appears the nations may be trying to do right by the Liberian people. Today, thanks to an honest and tenacious leader at its helm of state, Liberia is doing business with the world in a way that may right some of the past wrongs, and may actually impact the average Liberian. The debt relief removes the burden of crushing interest payments, and paves the way for smaller, wiser loans to be approved for the continued rebuilding of Liberia. We do not delude ourselves in thinking some money will not be eaten by some dishonest politician or contractor. But for the first time in a long time, Liberia is getting better. For the first time in almost two decades, the economy is improving. Roads are being rebuilt. Trash is being removed. The lights are coming on. For the first time in a quarter century, ordinary Liberians are beginning to believe they matter in the scheme of things.

It’s a good sign.

Not Always Easy-o

Weather: Two words-- Hot and humid. The temps are in the mid 90s during the day with stifling, water-heavy air and little wind until late afternoon. Evenings are cooler with a refreshing wind off the ocean. Nightime temps in the lower 80s dropping to the mid 70s by early morning.

Several happenings this week kept us occupied. Renita went up to Ganta as I mentioned, and on the way back the fan belt broke in the middle of nowhere. The LEAD Liberian staff worked the problem with Renita, and after hitching a ride to the nearest town and retrieving a new belt and a mechanic, she got it fixed (mechanic emergency roadside repair fee: $7.00)

Some of our closest friends experienced a two-week string of five attempts by rogues to steal stuff. The last attempt occurred three nights ago, and it was the most serious. The bad guys actually got into our friends’ house and held a machete to a guest's throat. When confronted by our enraged friend—a father of four—the rogues attacked him by slashing his face with the machete. Undeterred, he chased them out of the house before being taken to the Mercy Ship hospital for stitches. Happily by Sunday, the rogues were caught and hopefully our friends can sleep at night. As our Liberian friends say, "It not easy-o!"

The status of the Calvin-Kuyper-Mother Patern College partnership is as follows: both US schools continue to show strong interest and a commitment to what is happening here with the Bachelor of Social Work program. We are waiting to see if a grant request will be approved, but we continue to plan and for another visit from both schools by January of the academic year 2008-2009. For the January visit, the plan has them actually teaching courses and offering technical support to the BSW staff at MPCHS.

Road work has started on the main drag into Monrovia, amen. The workers are completely tearing the old road out and starting from scratch. They are doing it piece by piece, one section at a time so motorists can easily detour around on the side roads. It only took me a half hour to get into work this morning.

I got hit with yet another bout of dysentery over the weekend. This is the fourth or fifth time for me. Its very unpleasant for a day or so, but once you figure out what it is, its rapidly treated with antibiotics.

The deathwatch for Henrietta the Hog continues. She's a dead pig oinking with an execution date of November 28. That's the day before former President Tubman’s birthday, which is a big holiday here. We are preparing ourselves for the upcoming community feast. Henrietta now weighs maybe a hundred seventy five pounds, and she requires a lot of food and water. So while killing and butchering her is not something I’m looking forward to, it needs to be done. It’s why she was given to us. And I am definitely looking forward to eating the beast, that much is certain. Let her slow cook over coals for eight hours, then call in the neighbors. Slather on some barbeque sauce with some jollof rice and chicken wings on the side— man, I’m licking my chops already.

On the way to Ganta, a hundred fifty miles northest of Monrovia. The roads were pretty good and Renita and the LEAD team made it in five hours.

Even up here, clearing trees to make way for road work. A good sign.

Cattle coming back to Liberia. A good sign.

Ganta

On the way back, a broken fan belt between Gbarnga and Kakata means a three and a half hour delay. Could've been worse.

By the side of the road where the Cruiser waits for repairs, a country rice field. On the platform a boy swings a long whipping pole to frighten the birds. That was all he did for the time the LEAD folks were there. Makes for a long day.

Back home, a typical evening outside-- puzzle for Hannah, dog teasing for Noah, feet up for Renita, and getting it on film for Yers Trooly.

One last shot-- more roadwork, this time in the city. Its going to be a long dry season for drivers once all the work commences.

More “Life in Liberia” Factoids

Weather: Strong storms Monday night dumped a couple inches of rain in an hour. Tuesday mosly cloudy and very humid with dew points in the upper 70's. Almost no breeze.

Well, Renita is up visiting the towns of Gbarnga (pronouced BANG-ga) and Ganta today (Tuesday the 13th) doing some advance work for LEAD. Ganta is on the Guinea border and is about five hours away on ok roads. She should be back by 7:00pm tonight-- 2:00pm EST.

Meanwhile, I'm home with Hannah and Noah having some nice chats. I told them I did not know what to write today, so they suggested a few more of our ever increasing list of items that we find interesting about this place we call home. I included a couple Monrovia pictures.

- Monrovia has about ten daily newspapers. Most costs about 35 cents. (20 Liberian dollars)

- Night time temperatures in our house rarely fall below 78 degrees Fahrenheit. At 79F, we start shivering and reach for our blankets.

- If you are sending your child to a Liberian school, you may be asked to supply the desk, which the school will keep. You must also supply toilet paper.

- Mosquitoes in Liberia are three times smaller than Michigan mosquitoes. One rarely feels the bite.

- If a schoolboy’s hair is over a quarter inch long, he is sent home, sometimes with a chunk of hair shaved out.

- If you need to go to a hospital, be prepared to pay a deposit before treatment and if admitted bring toilet paper, soap, towels, plates, and usually food.

- A 55 gallon steel drum used for burning trash in our yard falls apart from rust after five months; by eight months it will have completely disintegrated without a trace.

- Price of a typical Liberian meal (Rice, greens, meat or fish, oil) for four: About $2.00

- Price of a typical American meal (Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic toast) for four: About $12.00

- When a mouse dies in our house, Renita always smells it first. Bob always gets to dispose of it.

- A favorite treat of Liberian children is “putuh,” a light gray smoky flavored chunk of dried mud.

- DVDs containing up to 16 movies sell for $5.00 apiece in downtown Monrovia. The movies are bootlegged. The worst are simply videos of the movie taken off the theatre screen, so you can see silhouettes of patrons getting up and sitting down.

- The soil quality of Liberia, as in much of Africa, is classified by experts as “poor” or “very poor.” Plants grow here because of the enormous availability of water and the rapid decomposition of everything dead.

- Large pineapples cost a dollar out of town, up to $8.00 in town.

- Foster Town Market ladies love to pray, and they love to dance.

- If you need to go to jail, your friends or relatives must feed you. And provide toilet paper.

The view from Monrovia across the Mesurado past Powder Island to Bushrod Island and the port in the distance. Looking NE.

Traversing the only operable bridge linking Bushrod Island/Freeport with Monrovia. Traveling North, looking West.

ReedNews Update- November Edition

Weather—Warmer and very humid, with daytime temps in the upper 80’sF, mid 70’sF during the night. Rain almost every night, sometimes heavy, but little or no rain during daylight hours. Hazy, partly cloudy skies. Light breezes, mostly from the East.

UPDATED Friday November 9
Time continues its inexorable march to wherever it is going, and as it marches, some things change and some things stay the same. We’re here to tell you which is which in our corner of Liberia, West Africa.

--Changes: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was in the US last week getting a Medal of Freedom from pal George W. This is further evidence of Sirleaf’s standing around the world, but back home we continue to wait for the oft promised improvement to water, power, transportation and health infrastructure. We are reading in the papers that major demolition of roadside houses, followed by major road construction will begin any day now. Meanwhile, the potholes are getting deeper. Interestingly, the one thing that has already been completed refurbished is the 50,000 seat Samuel K. Doe football stadium.

--Changes: The tomatoes have arrived! Monrovia is stocked again with Romas, although we are still getting gouged a bit—about three small Romas for over a US dollar and a half. My sandwiches are whole again.

--Changes: Next door, Patience, the 18 year old granddaughter of the late Deacon Reeves, delivered a baby girl. Renita was closely involved in the labor and delivery process, and has since been getting her “baby fix” by stealing the lil’ dumpling for hours on end. The baby’s name is… Renita. This is the fourth kid that has been named for my dear wife, while I on the other hand, am batting zero in the “named after me” department. Yes I’m jealous. I keep telling myself it’s because her name is so unusual and mine is so common. But the truth is my wife is a honkin’ saint, and me, well, I’m something else. She, they love. Me, they laugh at.

--Changes: The Foster Town Market is accepting applications for a superintendant. The truth is the market has been suffering under the effects of “management by committee,” and needs a paid point person to do the job. In addition, there remains a small group of very disruptive women who are doing what they can to sand bag the whole operation. They never accepted the fact that they were not placed in charge to run the operation from the beginning, and are now actively engaging traditional magic women to cast curses on everybody involved. It’s a real spiritual battle, but the faithful women of the market are holding prayer vigils and some of the disruptive ladies have actually repented and begged forgiveness. It’s going to be all right.

--Changes: The little piggy we received from the Kataka farm in the spring is now a hundred fifty pound hog and growing. We are planning a community pig roast the end of the month. This of course means the hog will get killed and butchered right here. Many of our Liberian friends are clamoring to do the deed. We’ll let you know what happens.

--Changes: Speaking of the Kakata farm, we took a trip last Saturday to see how the rice planted over the last few months is doing. (See April 2007 Archives, "Kakata" post for a "before" view.) The farm, co-owned by our friend and local pastor Augustine Zar, is one of the places some of you are supporting through your contributions our “community development fund.” Because of these gifts and the hard work of this large extended family, they will not only have food to sustain themselves, but they are employing a number of farm hands and they will be providing rice, eggplant, pepper and cassava to local markets. On the path to the fields, we passed about arm's length from a four foot long cobra in the bushes, about chest high. It slithered off before the boys could get to it with their machetes.

--Same: Nikki, our two year old female mutt turned actress, was not pregnant. We think the introduction of a male dog into the yard got her hormonal juices flowing. She produced milk for two weeks and actually appeared to be growing. Noah, a hopeful believer to the last, finally admitted the truth the rest of us had accepted when he realized we were three weeks past the gestation period for a dog. We believe she will become “available” sometime after the new year, and we’ll see what Max and she can produce together.

--Same: The humidity is wrecking more things (dvd player, padlocks), and I’m dripping.

On a trip through the city before heading out to the Kakata farm. Monrovia's main road by the end of the rainy season. We keep our fingers crossed for the promised rebuilding.

Our way along the path to the rice. This was taken just after our encounter with the cobra; you can see how easily the creatures can find places to hide.

We break out of the brush and we get a panorama of the rice fields.

Renita and Rev Zar discussing the progress and process of farming rice. The rice n the far left is ready for harvest.

Yers Trooly Grokking the Groovy Glory of Green.

This is what happens when we leave for the farm. "Are they gone? Can we come in now?"

The Impossible Task of Liberian Counselors

Weather: Humid, with nightime rains. Occasionally heavy, with local flooding. Daytimes are mostly partly cloudy, humid with little rain. Temps in the upper 80s during the day, the upper 70s at night. Light and variable breezes, mostly from the East.

I tend to gush when I talk about Liberians engaged in providing psychosocial support to fellow Liberians. Working in the minds and souls of people is the type of work I’ve been doing for twenty five years, so I know something about how difficult it is. For Liberians engaged in counseling their countrymen and women, the work needing to be done is usually incredibly challenging, and sometimes cannot be done at all.

I am not one given to overstatement or hyperbole, but it is difficult to discuss Liberia without sounding like I am exaggerating. The plain facts sound like overstatement. Fourteen years of civil war. 20,000 child fighters. One in ten dead, one in three displaced. Tens of thousands raped. Thousands tortured. A failed state. Education, transportation, and health Infrastructure destroyed. Rampant poverty and crime. Almost every Liberian above the age of fifteen has a story to tell of terror and victimization.

The facts regarding the psychosocial response to the Liberian Crisis sound equally melodramatic. The typical Liberian counselor has had little or no professional training. International NGOs like the UNICEF or USAID have provided some help, but their training workshops last at most a few months and offer the most rudimentary and fundamental counseling principles and techniques. Most of the time, ongoing support and supervision is not included in the training package. Follow up is rare.

Many professional counselors, including myself, have argued that the majority of counselors working in this country are not qualified for the task. We have argued that most Liberians in this field should not be providing counseling at all, let alone working with people suffering the effects of severe trauma. Many professionals have suggested some of these counselors are doing more harm than good. They are probably right.

However these arguments are moot. Very few qualified mental health professionals—and particularly the vocal critics— seem to have any alternatives to offer, and fewer still are in Liberia themselves doing any work. The people who are here doing the work are the “unqualified Liberians.”

It is because of these plain facts that I find myself in awe of the work Liberian counselors are doing. These are men and women with inadequate support and training, getting paid next to nothing, in the field listening to everyday stories from fellow Liberians— including many stories that would make most of us ill. Some do not know their limits, some offer bad advice, some make it worse. But they are all there-- in the midst of the sadness and confusion and loss and horror of their Liberian countrymen-- because no one else is, and somebody has to do something. They stand in the gap in order to help heal others—often an impossible task given the damage they face and the limitations of their training—in part because no one else will. Humanitarian observers and mental health professionals owe Liberian counselors more than criticism for being unqualified, we owe them more than disdain for sometimes working beyond their skill level.

At Mother Patern College, we are the first to offer a professional training program that will provide counselors with more tools than they have ever had to address the colossal psychosocial needs of Liberia. But we will only be graduating a couple dozen Social Workers every year, and that not until 2011.

In the meantime the best we can do, the best I can do, is to work as close as I can to as many counselors as I can to provide support, ongoing training and supervision as they work with their overwhelming case load. In the meantime, we continue to try to build the skills of those standing in the gap.

For the past two weeks, I offered a fifty hour seminar to eleven Liberians who every day hear the stories, who every day sit with people and offer hope. They were from several organizations—a health and development group for women, an HIV-AIDS program, a women’s legal advocate, a counseling agency, the Catholic Church. It was a privilege and a learning experience for me as well, and a lot of fun to boot. I hope we can continue to work together. After all, the task is impossible, and really, none of us are qualified to do it by ourselves. Impossible tasks ought to be shared. As always, you’re invited to join in the fun.

Yers Trooly in front of some Liberian Heroes as we open another workshop day.

Many exercises. Here, we sit back to back to see if we can get the message of our partner without using non verbal cues.

Some face to face practical counseling exercises.

Counseling is not something you can learn from lecture. You have to do it. Sister Thava, on the left, practices counseling Wannie Mae.
The last day-- class picture time. Ten Liberians, one Sri Lankan, and a privileged facilitator from Michigan, USA.

Tomato Jonesin’

I’ve been dyin’ over here. Tomatoes, man. I got it bad. And there are none in the city. You got that? A city of over a million, and its out of tomatoes. None in any of the large Western style super markets, none in the local Liberian open air markets, none on the street. And hey, I need tomatoes. They are necessary for my sense of culinary wholeness.

See, I’m a sandwich guy. I love them. Easy to make, sandwiches are a complete and balanced meal in one hand. You got your grains in the bread, you got your meat for protein, you got your dairy with cheese, and you got your vegetables—onions or cucumber maybe. But what is a sandwich without a cool slice o’ tomato? It’s a honkin’ disappointment, that’s what it is, a letdown. A sandwich without tomato is a promise unfulfilled, a dream unrealized. And in Liberia, a sandwich made right—with tomato—tastes like home to me.

Ok, so for almost two months, the Capital city of Liberia has been sans tomato. Tomatoes do not grow well here, so they have to be shipped in. Usually whoever does the shipping keeps the city stocked with a steady supply. It’s the same for all Western produce. Apples, pears, carrots, good onions all get shipped in, so when they are gone, they’re gone for everybody all at once. Some produce, like apples and tomatoes, are more abundant than others. We see good lettuce maybe twice a year. Plums the same. I can’t remember ever seeing a peach. But right now, Monrovia seems out of everything.

We’ve seen two or three week dry spells before for but this is ridiculous. Until today, I hadn’t seen a tomato since early September. And I’ve been looking. In fact for over a week I’ve been driving in every day because I’m conducting this two week seminar for Liberia’s counselors (which I’ll tell you about later.) Not only that, but because the government is working on the pothole-filled roads in town, it takes me an hour and a half to drive the twelve miles. So I get a long look at all the markets along the way.

Today I got lucky. Driving in, as I broke through a traffic jam, I glanced to my right at a little produce stand we often visit. Like everywhere else, the produce was green or yellow: grapefruit, pineapples, bananas, papayas, or butter pears (avocado). Same old thing. And then I saw a hint of red in a box. I thought: “Is it? Could it be? It is!” It was a box of tomatoes. But I couldn’t stop. Traffic was too heavy and I was already past. I felt panic. “Where did they get them? Why do none of the other markets have them? The only tomatoes in town, and I just passed them! How long can they possibly last?” During our lunch break, I needed to rush to the bank which took me back past the same stand. Again I was unable to stop because I had to get back to the workshop. The tomatoes were still there, but the box was half empty. Other tomato junkies were beating me to the goods. Probably some were hogging more than their fair share. Not good.

By the time the workshop ended for the day, I knew only one purpose. After answering a few post workshop questions from the participants, I excused myself and bolted to the Cruiser. The traffic was a bit lighter, although the potholes were just as treacherous. After a few jolting minutes, I could make out the market. And even from down the road, I could still see the glorious red glint of ripe Romas beckoning me hither. I pulled into the parking area, jumped out of the Cruiser, and there she was: the Tomato Lady. She was charging premium prices for her stash, but in my state, I would have given her my wallet. I bought nine Romas for $5.00, and I should have bought more. I know I may not see them again for a while.

This afternoon, I had an egg salad and tomato sandwich. Later, I’ll snack on a cheese, potato green and tomato—or maybe just tomato and mayo. For breakfast, maybe a grilled cheese and salami sandwich—with tomato. The Romas might make it to Tuesday night, but they might not. Until then, I’m good.

I’ll worry about Wednesday Wednesday.

Slip Slidin' Past Bong Mines

Weather: Very heavy rains the past few days, with over a foot since Thursday. Some strong storms. Mostly cloudy skies in the morning, clearing to partly cloudy by afternoon. Dew points in the upper 70’s. Hi Temps in the mid 80’s, lo temps in the mid 70’s. Variable and shifting breezes.

After some discussion, we decided Renita would try the trip to a banana and corn farm past the Bong Mines area with the LEAD staff, and that I would mind the fort back home. I originally thought I'd drive but I think this was in part due to some cave man part of me that thought maybe "I oughta take the wheel, honey." We both decided to let that go.

LEAD is looking at some farms for investment opportunities. The area where this farm is lies roughly sixty miles north of Monrovia. We were told the roads were good. Listening ‘twas a mistake that shan't be repeated.

It took Renita over five hours over terrible-- and intimidating--roads to make it there, and of course five hours to get back. The Land Cruiser got stuck briefly four times, and she was exhausted by the time she made it to her family that night, but she proved what a great bush driver she is. Here is what it looked like last Thursday, although the pictures fail to capture the extent of the treachery of these roads.

On the way out-- even the big fellas fall victim to the deep muck.

The roads are deceptive. The mud is part clay, and very sticky and slippery. Another semi "heech."

This was once a vital iron ore mining town.
Off the big bad road, now onto the two track bad road.

In some places, the forest almost swallows the road.

Here, Renita got stuck for a few minutes. We're still trying to figure out wha' happened.


The Team finally made it to the farm. Consulting with the folks tending the plantains.

For a few Liberians, a Field of Dreams.

On the way back, the LEAD guys attempt to offer muck-avoidance counseling.

It didn't work. Renita "heesh da jee' on da stum'." Some body damage, but after a half hour, some friends and a machete (here called a cutlass), she was back in business.
Hurry lady! It's gettin' dark, and this road ain't any nicer at night!

Ebb Today, Flow Tommorrow

Weather: Mostly sunny and hot during the day, with thundershowers during the night. Locally heavy rains for brief periods. Highs during the past few days in the upper 80s, lows in the upper 70’s. Today (Monday the 8th) begins very bright, and should be sunny most of the day. Nice breeze out of the east, 10-15mph.

We’ve had a bit of a breather these last few days, which has been nice. More time to sit in the yard at day’s end, more time to visit with some of our community and church friends. As the rainy season transitions into the dry, we are afforded lovely sunsets and in the evening, refreshing off shore breezes.

But it’s a brief respite. Beginning late this week, we enter a few weeks of intense activity. Renita’s work with LEAD will have her—and the rest of the Reeds-- traveling deep into the interior to Lofa County. Lofa is NNW of us, on the Guinea/Sierra Leone borders. Because of the road conditions, even though our destination is less than 150 miles away, we will take all day to get there and have to spend the night. Renita is traveling to Lofa, and also to a place called Bong Mines in Bong County, to evaluate two agricultural projects that LEAD is considering as investment prospects. The Lofa project is a coffee plantation, the Bong Mines project is growing bananas and corn. The Reeds just purchased a well maintained 2000 Toyota Land Cruiser from Mother Patern College, so we’ll see what she can do in the Liberian bush. We would never attempt these journeys with the old Pathfinder, which we are hanging onto for backup. Anyway we should have some great pictures for you of a very different Liberia upon our return.

I will also be revving up. In addition to acting as driver and comic relief for the two LEAD trips, starting October 15 I will be conducting a sixty hour seminar on counseling skills for a group of Liberian counselors from several organizations. Basically, I get to be in front of the class for two weeks, Monday-Friday, from 8:30am to 3:30pm. It’s a gauntlet, but I am looking forward to it. I find I enjoy talking about the craft, especially with those who are practicing but know they need more training. I get to impart my know-how and tricks of the trade while they get to share their experience of field work in this deeply challenging culture. Hopefully, everybody will leave enriched and more connected with each other for future support.

Around town, some road work is beginning. For a couple weeks now, it has taken us up to an hour and a half to get into or out of town as the government works on building up secondary roads to act as bye-passes for the really big job just around the corner. They will be resurfacing the main road through Monrovia, out right past our house all the way to the airport, thirty miles from here (forty five miles from downtown Monrovia), then beyond the airport all the way to Buchanan, some eighty miles away. Obviously, even with an army of equipment, I don’t think this can be done in one dry season, but I think they’ll get a good portion of it done. Unfortunately, this will mean demolishing homes, schools, and businesses that have built too close to the road. Some of our friends will see their homes and business structures vanish before the wrecking ball. We’ll keep you informed.

A bit o' the morning routine. Homeschool includes P.E.. Here, Noah tosses a perfect spiral to Hannah during real football practice.Meanwhile, the Pathfinder's fuel lines are corroded and pouring gas. The mechanics from Mother Patern come to do what they do best. That's Mohammed in the wheel well, lead mechanic Mohammed observing, and MPCHS driver Matthew keeping company.

More of Renita sharing toothy tidbits. "Use your Brain more than your Back." Amen.

Last night, facing due NE, sittin' in the yard with the sun setting at our left shoulder, lighting up the papaya tree on the left with the new Land Cruiser on the right. In the background a storm is a'comin'.

Liberian English

Liberia is classified as an “Anglophone” country. Despite its 15 active tribal languages, the official language of the country is English. This makes it easier for us to work here, obviously because we did not have to learn a completely new language upon arrival. I said it makes it easier, but understanding the Liberian version of English is not always easy, and even after two years sometimes it is impossible. Being the amateur linguist that I am, I’ve been able figure out what is behind this difficulty in understanding my native tongue when uttered by many Liberians. It is not simply a matter of accent.

First, and most obvious to the listener, is in the way Liberians pronounce many words—the end of many words are left off. “House” becomes “haw”, “dog” becomes “daw”, “serious” becomes “seria”, and so on. Sometimes even each syllable in multi syllable words are deleted, so “redlight” might become “re’li’”, “everything” is “e’ry’tin’, or ” kool aid” is “koo aye.”

To complicate matters significantly, Liberians use different English words than most North Americans choose. For example, “reaching” means “leaving” as in “I’m reaching to my hou’,” “finish” means “to be out of something,” As in “the rice is finish,” or “flog” instead of “beat,” as in “My brother tol’ me he wou’ flog me.” Finally, Liberians finish many words randomly in “O,” as in “fini-o” for “finish,” or “daw-o” to give “dog” a little more panache.

Therefore when you combine words pronounced differently with word choices that are different than what you’ve lived with all your life, you get sentences that are just a little beyond reach until you understand both the usage of the word and the pronunciation of all the words in the sentence.

So, putting these factors together, we might have the following sentences—see if you can figure them out:

1. “Trokon carry mah own sef pla’ toe to hi’ hou’.’” (Literally, “Trokon carry my own self play toy to his house,” or “Trokon took my toy to his house.”)

2. “Dea’ ca’ be sweeo.” (Literally,” Deer can be sweet-o,” or “Venison is delicious.” )

3. Leh ca’ta’ eh sleepi’ bah da’ pi’ hou’ (Literally, “the carter it sleeping by the pig house” or “The carter (a clothe pad used to cushion the head when carry things) was left out all night near the pig pen.”)

4. “De ro’ he wah a bri’ one and dryo.” (Literally, “The rogue he was a bright one and dry-o,” or “The thief was light-skinned and very thin.”)

5. “Leh pum’ eh spoi’. Le’ carry de jeep to tow’ fo’ new pah.’” (Literally, “The pump is spoiled, let’s carry the jeep to town for new part,” or “The pump is not working, so let’s take the 4wd vehicle into town for a new part.”)

6. “Boieh! Boieh! Boieh!” (Literally, “Boiled egg, boiled egg, boiled egg!” which children shout as they carry hard boiled eggs for sale on the street.)

7. “Unca Bah, I juke mah foo-o. Plea’ pu’ plasti’ on mah cuh.” (Literally, “Uncle Bob, I juke my foot. Please put plastic on my cut,” or “Uncle Bob, something jabbed or poked into my foot. Please put a band aid on my cut.”)

8. “Eneh, i’ yaw wais’ wateh on ma’ trouseh, I weh sureleh blow yaw mouf.” (Literally, “Enoch, if you waste water on my trousers, I will surely blow your mouth, “ or “Enoch, if you dump or spill that water on my pants, I will certainly punch you in the mouth.”)

9. Deh worsha’ weh fi’fi’. We gettin’ yaw puh-lenti!” (Literally, “The worshop was fine, fine. We getting you plenty,” Or “The workshop was very good. We understood you very well.”)

10. “Whi’ ma’, plea’ buy suh’ re’ oi’ fruh me. One hundreh LD.” (Literally, White Man, please buy some red oil from me. One hundred LD.” Red oil is palm nut oil; LD is Liberian Dollars—in this case about $1.80 US. )

11. “Sis Renita, I cuh’ to spe’ to yaw.” (Literally, Sis Renita, I come to speak to you,” or “Sister, Renita, I dropped by just to say hi.”)

Not everybody speaks like this, but these phrases reflect a large portion of the people with whom we live and work each day. Some people, such as government or business leaders speak very similar English to me, with only what I call the attractive “African accent” distinguishing us. Others speak a version of English so different in cadence, inflection, pronunciation, syntax and vocabulary as to require interpretation. Most children are harder to understand than adults. In our neighborhood, English is a second language to Bassa for many, and a significant minority speak virtually no English. So getting to understanding each other always takes a little extra time, even for simple things. Bu’, we ah tryin’, sma’ sma’, wid dis talkin’ ting he’. An’ soo’, we wi’sureleh be gettin’ e’rybodeh puh-lenty clea’, an den’ we ha’ a googoo ti’ togeddeh.

The East Wind: Harbinger of All Things Dry

Weather: After about eight inches of rain this week, the wind did something it has not done since June—it shifted from West or SW to the East. It brought us at almost two glorious days of bright sunlight in cloudless skies— all day yesterday and today (Saturday) until about 3:00pm. This is rare in Liberia. There are less than ten really cloudless days all year. Even in the dry season months, the sky is almost always hazy with humidity and partly cloudy. So to have this in September of all months is great. Hi Temps upper 80’s, Lows upper 70’s. Afternoon rain Saturday, about one half inch.

Renita is performing quite the juggling act. For LEAD she is managing two new contracts—the World Food Program’s Women with HIV microfinance project, the International Labour Organization Waste Management project, two new regular LEAD 12 week classes of 35 businesses each (one in Buchanan, one in Monrovia), keeping track of 60 loans from LEAD grads, and preparing for a new agricultural partnership—along with the Grand Rapids based Nehemiah Liberia Group-- in order to generate long term income and sustainability for LEAD. This is in addition of course to home schooling three days a week and the community development activity with FACT.

The FACT market continues to grow. We are witnessing more women selling diverse wares, a new sign board, an administrative office, and a good board running the operation. The Reeds shop there for five out of seven main meals.

“Reed Drive” is almost finished, and we’ve got a problem. If you look at last week’s pictures, you can see the gate is covered over top with blocks. The clearance is low--exactly six feet. Our Nissan Pathfinder only needs 5’8”, and most cars need less, so we thought we’d be fine. Oh how foolish! We are just about to purchase another vehicle to replace the beaten up Nissan. The new used vehicle is a 2000 Toyota Land Cruiser. It requires a clearance of 6’5”. It don’t fit, man! So, we are today busting out the overhang, welding extensions onto the gate, and putting razor wire on top. I’ll go snag a picture for you.

Here are some of the week’s pics.

The new LEAD office in Buchanan. Two counties down, thirteen to go!

Renita sharing toothy tid-bits with some of the LEAD staff.

A couple new LEAD businesses. Now does this look like a Father & Son business or what?

The mini-mart, Liberian style.
The other day it rained crazy all day...
... Hannah was a bit bored...
... Noah went slip-slidin' away... at 7:00am!

This mornin', the day broke bright and clear. Henrietta was awaitin' for her breakfast slop.
Down at the market, the new sign is up-- the small print says Foster Town Association for Community Transformation-- Where Transformation is a Matter of FACT" Catchy, huh? All mine.
No, Enoch does not have some tropical wasting disease-- this is after his red clay fight with Trokon. He lost. I told ya-- he looks like "The Thing, Jr."
The new new gate. Just a few hours ago.