This is what the well looked like before the work began. Hannah and I doing the daily chore of drawing and hauling 30-50 gallons of water.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Monday, January 23, 2006
What Are We Doing Here, part 2
This week finds a couple of new activities on our work list. Renita has started the LEAD series of twelve weekly workshops for the twenty-five business owners that were accepted into this round of the program. Businesses involved range from bread making to steel work, from construction to solar lights, from hair salons to tailoring, from soap making to wood carving. Potential new jobs as a result of loans from LEAD will be around 130. She took some shots of some of her co-presenters—hopefully next week she will get someone to take a pic of her in action in front of the class.
I and Noah are off to the interior, Gbarnga in Bong County, to be exact. I will be attending a three day workshop starting Monday the 23rd with some of Mother Patern College’s partners, and I thought Noah might like to tag along and see some of the country. He’ll have school work and I’ll bring my laptop to keep him occupied on the compound where we are staying while I’m workshopping a few yards away. The purpose of the workshop will be to more clearly define the psychosocial training needs of our partners so that I and others can design programs to meet each organization’s respective needs. I will have images of the landscape and our time upon my return.
I and Noah are off to the interior, Gbarnga in Bong County, to be exact. I will be attending a three day workshop starting Monday the 23rd with some of Mother Patern College’s partners, and I thought Noah might like to tag along and see some of the country. He’ll have school work and I’ll bring my laptop to keep him occupied on the compound where we are staying while I’m workshopping a few yards away. The purpose of the workshop will be to more clearly define the psychosocial training needs of our partners so that I and others can design programs to meet each organization’s respective needs. I will have images of the landscape and our time upon my return.
Friday, January 13, 2006
ReedNews Update
Well, Julie DeGraw is back in the USA, and we are settling back to normal. Here are some news tidbits:
Item: On Monday the 16th, Liberia will inaugurate its president, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. By now most of you know what an historic event this is for Africa and the world. It’s a big deal, with dignitaries from around the world coming. George Bush’s better half and the Secretary of State will be here, so the security is already tightening. And the entire country is sprucing up. Every where you go, roads are being patched, brush is being cut, junk and trash is being picked up, and buildings are getting a new coat of whitewash. The capitol building looks great. I’ll get you a picture.
Item: The beach orphanage is no more. On Saturday, the children were transferred to a home run by a registered nurse, Esther Wleh. Interestingly, only five children were transferred—the other eight found their way back to their families. This was what we wondered: how many of the beach children actually had family who should be taking care of them, and when mild pressure was applied, the truth came to light. So eight children went back to their families, and the remaining five—truly abandoned or orphaned—joined the Wleh orphanage. Thanks to some of you, a new room was added to the building, a well head repaired, six new bunk beds, mosquito netting for all 38 children, uniforms for school, and there is still enough to provide a few bags of rice each month for a year.
Item: All the recent rogue activity has brought with it increased community activism. Leaders around us have been meeting to discuss ways to join together and form a night-time watch. Even though we have not been the only ones targeted, we sense some of this care is directed toward us. The community folks have been very kind in their words about us and seem to fear that if the rogue activity does not stop, we might leave. This will not happen, but we appreciate them looking out for us.
Item: Despite our desire to not spend time and resources on security that our neighbors can not have, we have come to see the need for what our neighbors are urging us to do. So the wall is now about nine feet high, with glass shards cemented in the top. There are neighbors patrolling our area at night, we have solar powered flood lights around half the house, and today some guys are covering our windows with chicken wire to keep hands from cutting our mosquito screens and reaching in through the bars. Is this too much? Not here, where these kinds of measures are in use in any home that can afford it.
Item: Noting the absolute worthlessness of Nikki as a guard dog, we have added yet another pooch to the family—Pinky. However, this one is a barker and in the most recent rogue event, she woke us all up and warned us of the intruders. We’ve had her about three weeks now, and we think we have a winner.
Item: Renita is busy these days visiting many businesses for LEAD. She is getting to know folks and word is spreading about this organization empowering Liberian businesses to grow. Of course, the Dynamo is also teaching the kids. This semester, in addition to the regular courses, she’s throwing Spanish and typing at the lil’ nubbins.
Item: Plans are underway with the staff of Mother Patern College to have something they’ve never had before—A Bachelor of Social Work program (counseling emphasis). Joseph, the MSW at the school, and I are hammering out the curriculum and will teach many of the courses. But we could use a hand and are thinking of asking a US college with a BSW program to lend us some expertise. Any thoughts from you as to who we might consider?
That’s the news. Here are the images.
Item: On Monday the 16th, Liberia will inaugurate its president, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. By now most of you know what an historic event this is for Africa and the world. It’s a big deal, with dignitaries from around the world coming. George Bush’s better half and the Secretary of State will be here, so the security is already tightening. And the entire country is sprucing up. Every where you go, roads are being patched, brush is being cut, junk and trash is being picked up, and buildings are getting a new coat of whitewash. The capitol building looks great. I’ll get you a picture.
Item: The beach orphanage is no more. On Saturday, the children were transferred to a home run by a registered nurse, Esther Wleh. Interestingly, only five children were transferred—the other eight found their way back to their families. This was what we wondered: how many of the beach children actually had family who should be taking care of them, and when mild pressure was applied, the truth came to light. So eight children went back to their families, and the remaining five—truly abandoned or orphaned—joined the Wleh orphanage. Thanks to some of you, a new room was added to the building, a well head repaired, six new bunk beds, mosquito netting for all 38 children, uniforms for school, and there is still enough to provide a few bags of rice each month for a year.
Item: All the recent rogue activity has brought with it increased community activism. Leaders around us have been meeting to discuss ways to join together and form a night-time watch. Even though we have not been the only ones targeted, we sense some of this care is directed toward us. The community folks have been very kind in their words about us and seem to fear that if the rogue activity does not stop, we might leave. This will not happen, but we appreciate them looking out for us.
Item: Despite our desire to not spend time and resources on security that our neighbors can not have, we have come to see the need for what our neighbors are urging us to do. So the wall is now about nine feet high, with glass shards cemented in the top. There are neighbors patrolling our area at night, we have solar powered flood lights around half the house, and today some guys are covering our windows with chicken wire to keep hands from cutting our mosquito screens and reaching in through the bars. Is this too much? Not here, where these kinds of measures are in use in any home that can afford it.
Item: Noting the absolute worthlessness of Nikki as a guard dog, we have added yet another pooch to the family—Pinky. However, this one is a barker and in the most recent rogue event, she woke us all up and warned us of the intruders. We’ve had her about three weeks now, and we think we have a winner.
Item: Renita is busy these days visiting many businesses for LEAD. She is getting to know folks and word is spreading about this organization empowering Liberian businesses to grow. Of course, the Dynamo is also teaching the kids. This semester, in addition to the regular courses, she’s throwing Spanish and typing at the lil’ nubbins.
Item: Plans are underway with the staff of Mother Patern College to have something they’ve never had before—A Bachelor of Social Work program (counseling emphasis). Joseph, the MSW at the school, and I are hammering out the curriculum and will teach many of the courses. But we could use a hand and are thinking of asking a US college with a BSW program to lend us some expertise. Any thoughts from you as to who we might consider?
That’s the news. Here are the images.
The transfer of the five remaining kids has begun. Unpacking at the new facility. Clean water, better food, access to medicine, an RN manager, supervison and night security, and much more support. Not the conditions where most of us grew up in, for sure, but at least no longer life/health threatening.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
A friend stops by from Michigan
Tis been a busy week for us, thus blog work is more infrequent. That’s a good indicator of how preoccupied we are: more blogs, more time on our hands to write them. Fewer blogs, we are up to stuff.
Anyway, our dear friend Julie DeGraw visited us from Ann Arbor where she is working on her PhD from the University of Michigan. (we don’t hold that against her.) She joined us just at the right time. Our spirits were a bit on the wane due to recent rogue behavior, and Julie is the kind of person who is always upbeat and optimistic, but completely authentic. Don’t the fake upbeat people drive you nuts?
So, Julie was here to help us celebrate 2006, organize a Birthday Party for Jesus with about thirty neighborhood kids, and deliver some support funds from some of you. The moneys are going to the orphanage we selected to take in the kids from the beach orphanage.
We’ve been having a lot of fun, despite the work involved in upgrading the orphanage and putting on the party. Julie is still here, so things are a bit hectic. The kids are having a riot—Noah just got back from an overnighter with friend on the Mercy Ship docked at the port. Hannah is enjoying teasing the several Liberian boys who seem to have a crush on her. Our wall is being raised a few feet, the crazy season is over, and we are getting ready to get back to work.
Anyway, our dear friend Julie DeGraw visited us from Ann Arbor where she is working on her PhD from the University of Michigan. (we don’t hold that against her.) She joined us just at the right time. Our spirits were a bit on the wane due to recent rogue behavior, and Julie is the kind of person who is always upbeat and optimistic, but completely authentic. Don’t the fake upbeat people drive you nuts?
So, Julie was here to help us celebrate 2006, organize a Birthday Party for Jesus with about thirty neighborhood kids, and deliver some support funds from some of you. The moneys are going to the orphanage we selected to take in the kids from the beach orphanage.
We’ve been having a lot of fun, despite the work involved in upgrading the orphanage and putting on the party. Julie is still here, so things are a bit hectic. The kids are having a riot—Noah just got back from an overnighter with friend on the Mercy Ship docked at the port. Hannah is enjoying teasing the several Liberian boys who seem to have a crush on her. Our wall is being raised a few feet, the crazy season is over, and we are getting ready to get back to work.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
... and a Happy New Year
Many of you know that last week was a tough one for the Reeds, but tough for the ones who made it tough—the infamous Liberian rogues. Three times on two nights they attempted to break into our house and car respectively, and managed to badly damage five window screens and then break out the passenger side window of our car. On the 21st, they slashed our window screens while we were sleeping, reached in with a stick and pulled some flashlight batteries into grab range. On the 23rd, we were awakened at 2:45am by a phone call from our neighbor who heard a loud noise. I went out to find our car’s passenger door smashed with a cement block and my spare tire messed with, but nothing missing. I went inside and waited a half hour in the dark, and sure enough, the guy came back to the scene of the crime. He got into the car, and opened the glove box as I came to the door. He heard me and bolted, jumped over our newly erected security wall, and was gone. Renita and I were at first rattled, but after going through a range of emotions, we let go what we never had anyway—guaranteed security. A lot of damage and drama for about twenty dollars worth of batteries.
Since then we spend a very nice Christmas day with several missionary families who have been here for years. They report this kind of activity is common, especially around the holidays, and during times of political transition, both of which are happening now. They also had some tips for us, some we will implement immediately. We felt much better after our time together. All in all, we are doing quite well, although finding a replacement car window in Monrovia might take a while.
In a few days we will have our “Happy Birthday Jesus” party with about 30 kids and a dear friend from the US, Julie DeGraw. We’ll have games and prizes, and tell the Christmas story, and everyone will make a gift to give to Jesus.
Soon also, we will usher in another year, and this one will be past. 2005 was one for the books, and we are happy to see it drift into memory. During the coming year, we hope some of our efforts here will begin to show some fruit, and we hope new relationships just now beginning will blossom. It is lonely here sometimes, so far from home, so friends that know something of what we are experiencing here will be very nice. To those of you supporting us with well wishes, prayers, money and gifts, thanks so much for all you do.
Since then we spend a very nice Christmas day with several missionary families who have been here for years. They report this kind of activity is common, especially around the holidays, and during times of political transition, both of which are happening now. They also had some tips for us, some we will implement immediately. We felt much better after our time together. All in all, we are doing quite well, although finding a replacement car window in Monrovia might take a while.
In a few days we will have our “Happy Birthday Jesus” party with about 30 kids and a dear friend from the US, Julie DeGraw. We’ll have games and prizes, and tell the Christmas story, and everyone will make a gift to give to Jesus.
Soon also, we will usher in another year, and this one will be past. 2005 was one for the books, and we are happy to see it drift into memory. During the coming year, we hope some of our efforts here will begin to show some fruit, and we hope new relationships just now beginning will blossom. It is lonely here sometimes, so far from home, so friends that know something of what we are experiencing here will be very nice. To those of you supporting us with well wishes, prayers, money and gifts, thanks so much for all you do.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Update Time
Dear friends, family and web heads, the Reeds continue to get accustomed to a land that presents new challenges almost everyday. Here are some tidbits from our world.
Item: For the last week we have been without much power in the evening, just batteries running dc fans, and candles for light. Our generator seems to be having serious problems; apparently the Liberian climate and what looks to be a mechanical flaw have conspired to take it out of action. Our solar panels and batteries are running smoothly however so we have all we need from about 10:00am to 4:00pm. During that time, we charge batteries, cell phones and computers, compose emails for later sending, write the stuff Renita and I need to write, Hannah and Noah play video games, and ready ourselves for quiet darkness. Three mechanics have looked at the generator since we began experiencing problems a month ago, and although we think we can affect something like repairs, time will tell if it will functioned as designed.
Item: George Weah, the football player who lost the presidential election to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, last week declared himself president of Liberia, and has created all sorts of disruption because of it. The BBC reported that UNMIL uncovered a coup plot being orchestrated by some of Samuel Doe’s old cronies who have aligned themselves to Weah. Doe was the corrupt president who murdered president Tolbert in 1980. After his video taped torture and murder, Doe was replaced by the despot Charles Taylor. We feel safe in the midst of this craziness, and firmly believe with the strong international backing Sirleaf has, she will be inaugurated on January 16. The latest news is Weah denied claiming to be prez and met the other day with Sileaf, hopefully to make peace.
Item: We have an agreement from the orphanage at the beach that it will close and allow us to facilitate the transfer of the thirteen children there to a healthier, safer facility. Thanks to some of you, we will have the funds necessary to make this happen within three weeks. Our task now is to find a safer facility in the area. That is a challenging task. We have look at three in the area so far, and all three are only a little better than the one at the beach. The most promising is just down the road, and has a safe well and sanitation, but is still very poor. Anyway, I told Renita that if even if we left next month, transferring these kids will have justified the trip. We will have more on this transfer, with pictures, over the next few weeks.
Item: Renita roped me into leading workshop last Saturday on our home church’s beliefs and structure to about ten area congregation reps who have requested the teaching. I did not think I was here to do this kind of work, but He with Renita’s help doth work in unpredictable ways. I think it’s ironic that a guy like me, who has gotten in trouble several times for challenging the dumb ideas and assumptions of my denomination, is now about to teach church theology and structure. More evidence of God’s existence, or at least Somebody’s sense of humor.
Here are a few shots to meet your image needs.
Item: For the last week we have been without much power in the evening, just batteries running dc fans, and candles for light. Our generator seems to be having serious problems; apparently the Liberian climate and what looks to be a mechanical flaw have conspired to take it out of action. Our solar panels and batteries are running smoothly however so we have all we need from about 10:00am to 4:00pm. During that time, we charge batteries, cell phones and computers, compose emails for later sending, write the stuff Renita and I need to write, Hannah and Noah play video games, and ready ourselves for quiet darkness. Three mechanics have looked at the generator since we began experiencing problems a month ago, and although we think we can affect something like repairs, time will tell if it will functioned as designed.
Item: George Weah, the football player who lost the presidential election to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, last week declared himself president of Liberia, and has created all sorts of disruption because of it. The BBC reported that UNMIL uncovered a coup plot being orchestrated by some of Samuel Doe’s old cronies who have aligned themselves to Weah. Doe was the corrupt president who murdered president Tolbert in 1980. After his video taped torture and murder, Doe was replaced by the despot Charles Taylor. We feel safe in the midst of this craziness, and firmly believe with the strong international backing Sirleaf has, she will be inaugurated on January 16. The latest news is Weah denied claiming to be prez and met the other day with Sileaf, hopefully to make peace.
Item: We have an agreement from the orphanage at the beach that it will close and allow us to facilitate the transfer of the thirteen children there to a healthier, safer facility. Thanks to some of you, we will have the funds necessary to make this happen within three weeks. Our task now is to find a safer facility in the area. That is a challenging task. We have look at three in the area so far, and all three are only a little better than the one at the beach. The most promising is just down the road, and has a safe well and sanitation, but is still very poor. Anyway, I told Renita that if even if we left next month, transferring these kids will have justified the trip. We will have more on this transfer, with pictures, over the next few weeks.
Item: Renita roped me into leading workshop last Saturday on our home church’s beliefs and structure to about ten area congregation reps who have requested the teaching. I did not think I was here to do this kind of work, but He with Renita’s help doth work in unpredictable ways. I think it’s ironic that a guy like me, who has gotten in trouble several times for challenging the dumb ideas and assumptions of my denomination, is now about to teach church theology and structure. More evidence of God’s existence, or at least Somebody’s sense of humor.
Here are a few shots to meet your image needs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
