The Continuing Saga of Enoch the Indomitable

He’s now ten, and not much taller than when we introduced you to him twenty months ago. (See May 2006 Archives). Enoch continues to be part of our lives, although the boundaries of our relationship have changed—literally.

About a year ago or so ago, just as Noah’s friendship with Trokon and Eastman blossomed, we began to have problems with Enoch. It seemed whenever Enoch and Trokon were in the same area with Noah, the two Liberian boys were at it, picking fights, harassing and generally “causing palaver” with each other. Because Noah was not actually friendly with Enoch, we began to invite the young lad into our yard less. This did not quiet Enoch down much, in fact I think it just revved him up. He continued to harass and tease Trokon, Noah and Hannah whenever they ventured out of the yard. Sometimes I needed to get involved, and sometimes Enoch actually listened to me. It has always been the case that I have held a special fondness for him, in spite of (or maybe in part because of) his incredible ability to read people so well and instinctively drive them up a wall. His uncommonly quick wit (and tongue), his resilience in the face of adversity, and his non-stop mischievousness are for some reason irresistible to me.

In time, Enoch alienated enough of us to the point where he was almost never invited into the yard, although I continued to maintain a relationship with him, occasionally taking him with me on errands, leaving food for him, buying him footwear, and giving first aid. About six months ago, Enoch, who never met a temptation he could resist, began stealing Legos and other toys from Noah on those rare forays into our yard. Eventually, after trying short term banishments, I told Enoch he was simply not going to be allowed in our yard at all unless I was there to personally monitor him. So for a couple months, we did not see him. I missed him, but at least it was more peaceful around the neighborhood.

About a month ago, in an ironic turn of events, Enoch and his old nemesis Trokon started to hang out together. Because we see Trokon daily, he brought Enoch back into our world—only this time, when Trokon came over for his after-school-til-dark visit, Enoch could only come as far as our gate. Undeterred, he promptly climbed a mango tree just on the other side of our wall and perched himself there. Then he got active—relentlessly calling out to the boys playing on the porch, calling out to me, or Renita, or Hannah-- hoping for any response. I knew I couldn’t stop him, so I began chatting with him up there from the yard. It seemed to give him something he needed. His visits are now almost daily. Somedays, he is up in that tree for hours, entertaining himself with singing, carrying on conversations—sometimes just with himself-- and laughing.

In the evenings, when we go out and sit in the yard, he takes part in the conversation from his mango tree perch. At dinner, Trokon takes some food out beyond the gate to share with him. When he has first aid needs, he comes into the yard for treatment—not as far as the porch though—and then goes back out. I still pick him up on the way to do errands, and I drop him off at the tree when we return. Little rogue that he sometimes is, I still find it impossible not to admire him. He has adapted to the boundaries—a nine foot cement block wall and razor wired steel gate—as casually as if it was a decorative white picket fence. I guess adapting is what he does best. As always, he gets as close as he can, and with that wit and humor and voice, still gets us all going from his perch on the other side of the barrier. And at the end of the day, when darkness falls and the boys go home and we head into the house, I sometimes pause and find myself looking over the yard. I know it is good that we have the wall. But lately, I'm thanking God for that mango tree.

Outside our wall, Enoch (back to us) hassles the boys whipping the grass, so Eastman goes toe to toe with him.
On another afternoon, Noah and Trokon escort the lad from harm's way.
At days end, with Renita in hammock, and I in the chair, the boy in the tree never lets us feel lonely.
Some days, we engage in heated debates regarding the dietary value of palm butter.
For medical treatment, he is allowed in the yard. Here Trokon prepares to remove what Liberians call "Jiggers" from the lad's toes. The animal burrow into the skin and lay eggs which grow and do damage. Trokon is and experienced Jigger remover...

...but its not pleasant. This day, Enoch had over ten jiggers in his feet. He screamed and cried as Trokon went to work, with Eastman observing.
Its probably good the foot is a bit blurry. Here is what it looks like post-op. I put some anti bacterial stuff on it and bandaged it, but by the next week, more jiggers had climbed into the wounds. With Enoch, self care is all about the next meal, never about avoiding jiggers. Maybe he'll remember the tears.

The other day, just outside our wall, he was playing in a brush fire. Not good, as they can get out of hand even with adult supervision...
... So I put him to work on a "Reed Road" project with Trokon as supervising contractor.
Farwell from up in a tree, over the wall, though the razor wire and across the waves.

LEADing the Market Women

Weather: After a week of very nice conditions, the heat is back on. Harmattan returned for a week, and we saw cool morning temps—the coolest, actually, in the 30 months since we’ve been here. One morning it got down to a record 60F (15C). Once again, however, morning temps are in the low 80s with high humidity. My glasses actually fogged up this morning just sitting on the porch. Daytime highs in the 90sF. Steady, light ocean breeze, and not a drop o’ rain since early December.

February promises to be one of those months where we just hold our breath and rush to the end. Both Renita and I are juggling activities. I’m teaching a conflict transformation and peacebuilding class for the Mother Patern social work students beginning on the 11th, and on the 17th I’ll traveling to Dakar, Senegal for a week of meetings with the CRWRC West Africa Ministry Team. The agenda includes discussing the future of CRWRC’s work in Liberia, and also next steps for the Reeds. Renita has her hands full as LEAD prepares a business class in Monrovia, Buchanan and the new branch in Gbarnga while at the same times gets ready for a LEAD conference on the 23rd—which, I’m happy to report, will feature a keynote address by none other than Liberia’s President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Add to that an upcoming weeklong visit by representatives from our home church, and we find ourselves with overflowing plates.

If that wasn’t enough for her, today Renita is right here with the LEAD team in Foster Town. The women of the FACT Community Market are among the first to participate in LEADs brand new empowerment initiative for microbusinesses. Until now LEAD has been targeting midsized businesses that could conceivably grow and employ more people. LEAD will continue to serve midsized businesses with loans and business education, but this new initiative will assist very small businesses, like those run by the women at the market. So today and tomorrow (Monday and Tuesday) the women will receive a 15 hour business skills seminar, and after saving for two weeks will receive a US$100 microloan to invest into their efforts. If these loans are repaid, the women can apply for larger loans and perhaps eventually apply to be part of LEAD’s midsized business initiative.

It is not only exciting, but satisfying to see this LEAD/FACT partnership come about. We know these women—they are our neighbors. The market was built by members of this community through FACT, the new community development group working collaboratively with friends from North America. Likewise, LEAD is a product our efforts, along with our partners and friends. LEAD has “come home” to join FACT in serving our very own neighbors. It is as if two of our children, after going out and doing good things on their own, have for the first time found reason to join forces and for a time do their good work together. It makes a parent proud.

Next week: The Continuing Saga of Enoch the Indomitable.

First, proof of coolness in Liberia.

The women of the FACT market listening to James Hilary-- LEAD's veteran. He's been with LEAD almost from the beginning.

Renita, looking serene and contemplative at the same workshop, shares pearls of wisdom gleened from living with Yers Trooly lo' these many years.

And finally, who is this kid spending hours in the mango tree peering into our yard and singing day after day? Give ya a hint... tune in next week.

The Bong County Curse

Weather: Hot and dusty during the day with highs in the mid 90s. Pleasant on the porch by morning, with temps in the low 70s—sometimes the high 60s. No rain.

Ok, maybe I overstate. But since we have had the Land Cruiser, every time it travels northeast to Bong County, something goes wrong. We've traveled south, to Buchanan in Bassa County several times over terrible roads, with no problem. Not so with Bong. The first time we took it to Bong Mines, it got stuck and sustained body damage. The second time, it lost a fan belt coming back from Ganta and it took three hours on the roadside to get it back running. (I know what you are thinking--Ganta is in Nimba County, so it can't be the Curse. But it wasn’t until we crossed the county line into Bong that we had the problem. Need I say more? But I shall.) The third time we were on the way back from the Bong County seat of Gbarnga when a timing belt went, but we limped home and fixed it next day. Thursday, Renita took it to Gbarnga and we thought she broke the curse by arriving home safely. We breathed easy when she pulled in the yard. Next morning, I got about two miles in toward town when it died on me. After getting it off the road and waiting six hours for the Mother Patern mechanic Mohammed to arrive, he gave us an ominous initial evaluation. It sounded like something in the engine block—perhaps a piston or something else. The Bong Curse had returned with a vengeance.

Anyway, that was three days ago. We still have no Cruiser and do not know when it will be fixed or how much it will cost. We still have the ’95 Pathfinder, although it is definitely showing its age in this climate. We believe the Pathfinder is also affected by the Bong Curse, even though it’s in no condition to get anywhere near Bong County. We used it to push the Cruiser off the road and it doing so, we broke the plastic hood wind screen thingy. We’ll keep ya’ll apprised.

Renita and Noah are both sick—Renita is coming off Pink Eye and now seems to have strep throat, while Noah has had a steady, spiking fever for four days along with diarrhea. They’re both miserable. I, on the other hand, remain chipper as ever.

If the hood is up, this must be Bong County.

Tid Bits

Weather: A few days last week were very hot and humid, with temps nearing 100F (38C). The weekend saw moderate temps (highs in the low 90s, lows in the upper 70s) and steady 15mph sea breezes. Monday sunny, with temps in the mid nineties, very light breeze, and moderate humidity. No rain.

Big news from Grand Rapids comes to us from Cheryl Brandsen, chair of the Calvin College Social Work department. Our collaboration team from Calvin and Kuyper Colleges in Grand Rapids and Mother Patern College in Monrovia has been holding our breath for six months, waiting for word on a grant proposal to fund the BSW project. We can breathe now--The grant was approved for us to shift into high gear. The team, including faculty from both US colleges, hope to be on the ground this summer to continue prep work for their teaching visit next January. This also means textbooks!

Our brother-in-law Brian is back with us, here to do some work with LifeWater Canada. He’s gone most of the day, working in the sun on a new operations compound for LWC’s national counterpart LifeWater Liberia. It was LifeWater Liberia that provided the five new wells for Foster Town.

Noah Reed is now a teenager. On the 16th, we celebrated the lad’s 13th birthday with a medevial murder mystery. We invited the usual suspects in for a dinner party, in which everyone played a part. Not everybody quite got the concept, but it was great fun. Birthday boy Noah was the murdering jester, with Mom in a supporting role as the Hag, Uncle Brian as the guard (“Brioon of Lorna Doone”), and Yers Trooly got to dress in drag and play Nurse Roberta. We played host to Kings, Queens, a Princess, a prince and a Duke. In the end, the troop failed to discover “who done it,” so Brioon executed the wrong guy.

The Foster Town Market is doing well. The new market superintendant has submitted a budget, is cracking down on inefficiency and some in-house corruption, and for the first time the market is actually making money for its parent-- the Foster Town Association for Community Transformation (FACT).

The palm civet continues to enjoy human company. In addition to bananas, she loves roaches, crickets and all manner of bugs. I went to take a nap the other day and he was in my pillow. Almost squished that little lady before I realized where she was. We’ve been meaning to get a cat for a while to play host to our frequent mouse and rat guests, so last week we got a kitten to also provide company for Houdini. The cat is named Pebbles, after our long deceased Michigan puss named Rocky. After a couple days of wary adjustment, cat and civet are now playmates.

On Being Grease

Weather: Harmattan visited us for less than a week, with morning temps as low as 64F, a relatively low humidities. We were caressed with perfect weather for about four heavenly days. Alas, all that is over. Temps and dew points are back up with highs in the mid 90s and humid, and outside morning lows are back in the 70s. Morning lows in our house, low 80s.

It is not unusual for Renita or me to get inquiries regarding our work in Liberia. Every week, a curious web surfer stumbles across our blog and contacts us with questions. It is familiar, and really, everybody gets these “So tell me more about your work” requests. Usually, after receiving the information, they say something nice about us and go on with their business. Every once and a while though, we get something like this, “What difference do you think you are making in people’s lives?”

It’s a good question.

To be perfectly candid, I wonder sometimes what difference we make. Not about everything, like I know helping build the Foster Town Market directly impacts a lot of people, but some things I wonder about. For instance, I wonder about the many workshops that Renita and I do. We average a couple hundred hours of workshops every year. We speak before Liberians in rural settings and in schools, in churches and in palaver huts. We discuss topics ranging from “how to manage your microbusiness,” to “resolving conflict in your village” to “Christian leadership.” Is it reasonable to think most of the participants—or even a few—will be changed by what we offer? After spending a few hours together, is it reasonable to expect what we say will even be remembered? Are we wasting our breath if few remember?

Last Friday I sat in the conference room at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. There were a few of us from various organizations and from the Ministry. We were discussing the fact that mental health is low on the government budget priorities. For the umpteenth time. It seems that as the country emerges from its devastation, focus remains on the most serious, most visible damage: roads, infrastructure, and in the health arena, on medical conditions like malaria and HIV. Mental health is difficult to address, or maybe to even think about. So for two and a half years, I’ve faithfully attended most of the Ministry’s “Mental Health Task Force” meetings. I may have attended more meetings than anyone. I’ve offered input, helped with studies, written reports, and conducted a national reporting workshop. And there I was Friday, after two and a half years, listening to some new Ministry guy telling us how important our voice is, that we must continue our advocacy of mental health programming, that the country cannot recover without it.

Blah blah blah.

I thought, “Who are we kidding? Nobody has listened to our advocacy yet, what makes us think anybody will start now? The country is not ready to address its huge mental health needs. We are not making any difference.” I decided I would speak up and say just that. So, in a lull in the conversation, I started to speak. The acting chair person’s phone rang (and in Liberia, phones are almost always allowed to interrupt whatever is going on.). I waited. After the call, we got diverted. Another lull came. I started to speak. The conference door opened, and a latecomer arrived and had to be brought up to speed. Then another diversion. Then another lull, and for the third time I started to speak, only to be interrupted again. I realized that maybe Somebody wanted me to keep my cynical mouth shut. I realized I was being told to take a step back.

I took a step back in my mind, and with a new inner perspective came a new thought. Maybe we are just one part of a process. Maybe we are supposed to be advocating regardless of who's listening, giving workshops that may be forgotten, supposed to be banging our heads against the wall. After all, if you bang your head long enough, the wall gives way. Maybe someday the country will be ready for prioritizing mental health, and then they just might listen to our advocacy, even if we are long gone.

Then in my mind I took another step back, and it hit me that whatever we do, whether we see immediate results—like building a market—or nothing at all, we are everywhere part of a process, like cogs in a giant machine. Or not like cogs, because we are not that important. Maybe we are like grease helping cogs run well. We do our part, get used up, get replaced, but in time our sacrifice, and the sacrifice of those before and after us, pays off. In the end, only the Master Machinist knows the how and where we changed things for the better. I guess in the end, it doesn’t necessarily matter that we see what difference our being used made. In the end, I think it matters mostly that we can say we were available for use and got used doing what we were made to do.

The difference comes in being available.

A couple available people in our lives. Trokon, here 2o feet up trimming the lower branches of one of our two coconut trees. The 12 year old climbs without a ladder and wields the cutlass like a pro. Insert shows him up close in the tree.

Sis' Vera-- available to us every weekday, making shopping, laundry and cooking much easier for the Reeds in Liberia.

ReedNews Update: January Edition

Weather: Hot in the days, cooler at night, with daytime highs in the low 90Fs (33C) every day and lows as low as the upper 60Fs (19C) by dawn. Light ocean breeze throughout the day. Virtually no rain since December 1.

Harmattan is returning as I write and promises to give us a couple weeks of cool dry breezes, which makes this the most pleasant season of the year for me. We've been sweltering in hot temps and moderate humidity.

The most humid time is May but dew points have still been high enough to produce lots of sweat and tee shirt changes. I've been going through about four a day. This is a dusty time, with virtually no rain from December to April. We have had a couple cooler nights—got down to about 79F in the house. Very nice relief from the norm. We are just coming off Christmas break which means back to work for Hannah, Noah and Yers Trooly, and simply turning up the volume for Renita. Here’s more news.

Item: Former president Charles Taylor's trial in the Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity has begun after a six month delay. There are supposed to be many eyewitness to his actions. Keep up with the developments on the BBC.

Item: Road work is happening in lots of places, with resurfacing and patching being the primary activity. So far we’ve seen no signs of widening any roads. They really need to rebuild the shoulders at least, because it is not uncommon at all for there to be a foot or more drop on either side of the road. Traffic is fairly jammed during rush hours, but it clears up during the day and on weekends. The government just received a bunch of buses from Spain that they say they are going to use for public transportation.

Item: The cost of living is exploding with food and gas prices leading the increase. As the economy improves, merchants see an opportunity to boost profits. Everyone, from Lebanese building supply owner to Liberian microbusiness operator is asking more for their product. For us it has meant a 20% increase in operating costs this year, with most of that in the last quarter of ‘07. In addition, the value of the Liberian dollar is showing signs of weakening.

Item: Renita continues her LEAD collaboration with the World Food Programme while also interviewing candidates for the new LEAD office in Gbarnga. She is also preparing for a LEAD-sponsored conference on the future of small businesses in Liberia. More on this later.

Item: I’m working on a joint project with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the MPCHS Women’s development program on a series of workshops in the village of Koons Town. Ironically and appropriately, the women’s program is targeting the men of the village as it tries to reduce Gender Based Violence (GBV). More on this later. I’m also getting ready to teach a course in Conflict Analysis and Peacebuilding for the MPCHS social work students.

Item: Without getting graphic, Max and Niki are behaving rather “amorously” toward one another this week. Very touching. I don’t want to get anybody’s hopes up, but we will be listening for the patter of little paws sometime in early March.

Item: Trokon’s mother, who lives in the interior, brought us a creature from her neck of the rainforest. It is an African palm civet (Nandinia binotata). I actually ate one a couple years back in Cestus City with cassava leaf over rice. Kinda chewy. Most Liberians call it a “Tree Coon.” These creatures are not in the same family or genus as most civets, and are sometimes confused with another civet of the same name. Common creatures, they are not threatened, and do quite well in captivity. So we’ll keep her a while. Reminds me of a cross between a house cat, a raccoon and a teddy bear. Omnivorous, she loves bananas and crickets. Noah named her Houdini.

Look at this lil' lady! No, she's not getting squished, just held with authority. Note the pink feet.
She eats a banana a day. Finding a warm shoulder to rest upon.
A non-civet related shot of the kids. This was actually last Halloween. They banged on our bedroom door demanding candy.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Weather: Hot and Humid. Daytime temps in the mid 90s, lows in the mid 70s. Light variable breezes. No precipitation. Less than one tenth of an inch of rain since December 1.

So 2007 is history, and 2008 is upon us. The year promises to be eventful for this country in transition. Year end is the right time to look over our shoulders at what has been accomplished through the efforts of a few of us . We know what we’ve done is small for this nation of three million, but there are thousands joining in to rebuild Liberia. So we feel good about that small part we’ve played. For those who might wonder what we were up to on ’07, here is a partial list.

• Helped develop and launch the first academic program to train professional social workers to support individuals, families and communities get back on track in a postwar environment through the Mother Patern College of Health Sciences. 25 first year students.
• Saw LEAD Inc. expand to two more counties; Liberian staff increased from one to seven. Trained more LEAD businesses, bringing the total to 233 businesses with 71 business loans.
• Working with the fledgling Foster Town Association for Community Transformation (FACT) we constructed a major community market place where a hundred women can come and sell food, clothing, and other products-- plus have a central place to simply connect.
• Conducted many workshops, developed and taught another college course.
• Made important recommendations to the Liberian Government and key players regarding mental health training standards; developed and presented a related national workshop.
• Continued our partner relationship between Calvin College, Kuyper College and Mother Patern College of Health Sciences.
• Provided 22 school children with full tuition scholarships for the entire year through your gifts to our community fund.
• Underwrote eight Foster Town business start-ups (apart from LEAD) through your gifts to our community fund.
• Facilitated new partnerships between
  o LEAD and the World Food Program to work with women who are HIV/AIDS positive in creating self-sustainability through business.
  o LEAD and the International Labour Organization for the creation of 40 new trash removal businesses, a much needed utility in Monrovia.
  o Active Kids Canada and five Liberian schools for building libraries, and the shipment of thousands of textbooks and reading books—arriving January 2008.
  o LifeWater and FACT for the construction of four new wells in the Foster Town area.

So it’s been a good year. What does 2008 look like? Well, we will continue our work with LEAD, Mother Patern College, and the Foster Town community. Our volunteer agreement with CRWRC ServiceLink ends June 2008, although we’d like to continue at least into the fall. We have not the first clue as to what follows our work in this country, but since our hands are full while we are here, I guess we’ll find out when we are supposed to about life after Liberia. When we know, you’ll know.

Until then, stay tuned, hang on, enjoy the ride—and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Note: internet is acting up, so no pictures. Next week, we’ll introduce you to another of Liberia’s indigenous creatures: the Two Spotted African Palm Civet! She’s a real sweetheart.

MERRY CHRiSTMAS!!

In this season of Advent, anticipation, and delight

In this season of hurry, jostling, and anxiety

In this season of remembering--

With tears of sadness and joy

In this season of hope;

The Reeds wish you, our many friends,

* near and far away *

All the warmth and goodness of this most special day.

Bob, Renita, Hannah & Noah

A Working Birthday

Weather: Hot and Hazy most days, with daytime his in the mid 90sF and nighttime lows in the upper 70sF. Light, variable breezes through the day. Moderate humidity. No rain in two weeks.

Renita sees another birthday today, and the love of my life is spending it in Monrovia starting another three-day business workshop with women in the WFP’s HIV program. In the midst of the workshop, she needs to run off and attend a meeting with a large US NGO on behalf of LEAD. Then back to the workshop, run a few errands, and maybe get home by six. (She left at 7:30am) Meantime, I’m taking the day off to take over teaching duties, and make sure the birthday cake gets baked.

Last week, in addition to preparing for the new Gbarnga office, Renita also attended two graduation ceremonies as LEAD completed its sixth and seventh classes, these in Monrovia and Buchanan. To date LEAD has trained 233 businesses, offered 7 twelve week courses which impacted 755 jobs. She reports that 59 new jobs have been created. LEAD has approved 71 business loans and over $40,000 US dollars have been distributed, with a 92% repayment rate.

It has always been the case that Renita works hard and smart. Where ever she goes, she makes things happen. Projects get completed, contacts get made, employees get trained and supported, proposals get written, all while at the same time providing support to the local community and managing things around home. She is in an African culture, yet even here, as in the States, people respond to her, look to her, follow her. She is respected because she delivers results. Renita remains focused, regardless of how slowly everybody else seems to moving around her. She never quits, rarely lets up. She is forever imagining, planning, preparing, or completing. I do not know anyone who applies so much energy to doing a job right.

And yet, she is almost completely unsupervised. She answers to almost no one. Nobody monitors her, and she remains fanatically scrupulous. No one watches her clock, yet she shows up early and leaves late. She is a volunteer, gets paid nothing, yet fights to make sure LEAD continues to grow, that the staff gets paid fairly, and that every dime is accounted for.

There really is only one reason that anyone would work this hard. People never put out this kind of energy or generate this level of productivity unless they care about something. Ambitious people are caring people, passionate people. For some, the passion is for recognition, for others it is status, or money or influence. And the level of energy is proportional to the amount of passion. Care-- or passion-- can exist for anything and can drive us anywhere. For Renita, it is simple and obvious: she loves God. She loves seeing righteousness and justice prevail, she cares about His people, and she is passionate about pleasing him. She works because she loves. She works for Him.

Today, her birthday, is like any other for her. She’s got stuff to do.

Happy Birthday, my love. See you soon. The cake is waiting.

Just last week, two graduations.

Today, the birthday girl is in Monrovia all day in meetings and leading the WFP-LEAD workshop.

Meanwhile, the kids bake a cake and decorate the house (their faces too).

With one of a dozen "MOM"s hanging, the family awaits her return, cake in hand.

LEAD Spreads Out: 3 Counties Down, 12 to Go

By now most of you know that Renita's primary work in Liberia is to support and act as consultant and acting director for LEAD, inc. 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. Starting off in the capital, Monrovia, the plan is to become national, with branch offices addressing the needs in each of Liberia’s 15 counties. LEAD continues to garner attention as the "little NGO that could" from big organizations like the UN, the World Food Programme and the Liberian government. More to the point, LEAD has offered substantive business training to hundreds of Liberians, loaned tens of thousands of dollars to strengthen businesses and create new jobs.

In February 2007, LEAD opened a satellite office to the southeast, in the Grand Bassa County seat of Buchanan. The Buchanan branch is operating well, offering the same training and loans that the Monrovia office provides.

Now, Renita and the LEAD team is traveling back and forth to the Northeast, to the Bong County capital of Gbarnga (Bang-ga). Working closely with Liberian Senator Franklin Saikor, LEAD has secured an office and is in the process of hiring staff.

Getting oriented-- LEAD has offices in Monrovia and Buchanan-- Gbarnga (red arrow) is next.

The soon-to-be Gbarnga LEAD office. Not much too look at, but dig that ga-roovy rustique "tow truck" lawn ornament. Kewl!

Senator Saikor, lending his support to the efforts.

Meeting witha women's group in Gbarnga-- very excited about LEAD coming.

Weather: Hot and dry, with moderate levels of humidity. Little night time breezes, with light and variable easterly winds throughout the day. No rain in a week.

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.