The attack of the local knuckleheads. They couldn't budge me.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Friday, November 11, 2005
Election Update
The Presidential Elections are now over and the counting is all but finished. With 95% of the polling places reporting, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf leads George Weah by over 18 percentage points. Ellen Sirleaf has about 59% of the vote, with George Weah at 40%. There is no mathematical chance of a Weah victory. The Weah camp is suddenly claiming bias by the National Election Commission, but I suspect this will not hold as there were hundreds of election observers and thousands of party observers at the 3,000 polling places. By all accounts, the election was a model of civility and order. Liberia, the hobbling land emerging from two decades of strife and self destruction, has elected first woman head of state in Africa. It’s a big deal. I hope she seizes the moment.
CRWRC Executive Director Andy Ryskamp, visiting us for a few days on his way to Sierra Leone, had a chance to act as an official election observer, thanks to Sam Reeves, pastor of the Providence Baptist Church—and Andy and our former co-pastor in Grand Rapids as well. Renita and Hannah also were unofficial observers of the elections, accompanying Edith Bawn, a reporter for USAID. While here, Andy was a blessing and a handy fellow around the house. In between election observing and offering insights on theology and spirituality, he fixed our generator which was having fuel pump problems. Good dog trainer too.
CRWRC Executive Director Andy Ryskamp, visiting us for a few days on his way to Sierra Leone, had a chance to act as an official election observer, thanks to Sam Reeves, pastor of the Providence Baptist Church—and Andy and our former co-pastor in Grand Rapids as well. Renita and Hannah also were unofficial observers of the elections, accompanying Edith Bawn, a reporter for USAID. While here, Andy was a blessing and a handy fellow around the house. In between election observing and offering insights on theology and spirituality, he fixed our generator which was having fuel pump problems. Good dog trainer too.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Update Time
Hello again, faithful Reader, time once more for some toothy tidbits from the ReedNews Network:
Item: The runoff presidential election is a few days hence, with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and George Weah blitzing the country with final campaign messages. The campaign is on everyone’s lips throughout each day. It is interesting to see the constituency of these two candidates. The educated, the urban middle class, the Americo-Liberians, and the established business people seem to be siding with Sirleaf, while the poor, the disenfranchised, the less educated and the ex-combatants seem to be favoring Weah. I think if George wins, his opponents will be afraid and anxious for the country, and if Sirleaf wins, her opponents will be angry and less willing to accept the outcome.
Item: Andy Ryskamp, the executive director of CRWRC is visiting the organizations interests in Sierra Leone next week, and is dropping in on us for the weekend. It is nice to have him, because he can see our activities here and also have conversations with CRWRC partners and former partners.
Item: On a sad note, Deacon Reeves dog was hit by a car yesterday. We brought her back to the house alive, but watched her die within minutes. She had ten puppies, so we allowed them one final milk meal from their dead mother. We think we can keep them alive, as they are nearly weaned. She was then taken around the neighborhood by wheelbarrow to see if anyone wanted her for her flesh, because nothing is wasted here. Someone offered the equivalent of US$4.00, and that was that. No one except our Hannah shed a tear, as the culture does not view pets with the same attachment as in the US. Her name was Survivor.
Item: Our garden continues to grow, with the radishes, lettuce, watermelon, cucumbers and peppers making appearances. We had been waiting too long for the tomatoes, so we planted some pineapple in their place, and I planted some tomato seeds in a baking dish to keep an eye on them, and several now have sprouted.
Item: The kids at the beach orphanage continue to be neglected and are getting sick frequently. Since we have been here, there have been several cases of cholera and malaria, as well as sores and poor nutrition. The other day, the orphanage had two of them selling rice by the cup in the community—bad enough I know—when a couple of older boys took the rice and their money, then dragged them into a nearby house for purposes no one needs to guess at. Fortunately they were rescued by neighbors. There are many times the children are completely unattended at the orphanage. Renita and I are working to get them transferred to a nearby orphanage which is much better supported and administered.
Below are some images of family life, as well as some interior shots of the orphanage.
Item: The runoff presidential election is a few days hence, with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and George Weah blitzing the country with final campaign messages. The campaign is on everyone’s lips throughout each day. It is interesting to see the constituency of these two candidates. The educated, the urban middle class, the Americo-Liberians, and the established business people seem to be siding with Sirleaf, while the poor, the disenfranchised, the less educated and the ex-combatants seem to be favoring Weah. I think if George wins, his opponents will be afraid and anxious for the country, and if Sirleaf wins, her opponents will be angry and less willing to accept the outcome.
Item: Andy Ryskamp, the executive director of CRWRC is visiting the organizations interests in Sierra Leone next week, and is dropping in on us for the weekend. It is nice to have him, because he can see our activities here and also have conversations with CRWRC partners and former partners.
Item: On a sad note, Deacon Reeves dog was hit by a car yesterday. We brought her back to the house alive, but watched her die within minutes. She had ten puppies, so we allowed them one final milk meal from their dead mother. We think we can keep them alive, as they are nearly weaned. She was then taken around the neighborhood by wheelbarrow to see if anyone wanted her for her flesh, because nothing is wasted here. Someone offered the equivalent of US$4.00, and that was that. No one except our Hannah shed a tear, as the culture does not view pets with the same attachment as in the US. Her name was Survivor.
Item: Our garden continues to grow, with the radishes, lettuce, watermelon, cucumbers and peppers making appearances. We had been waiting too long for the tomatoes, so we planted some pineapple in their place, and I planted some tomato seeds in a baking dish to keep an eye on them, and several now have sprouted.
Item: The kids at the beach orphanage continue to be neglected and are getting sick frequently. Since we have been here, there have been several cases of cholera and malaria, as well as sores and poor nutrition. The other day, the orphanage had two of them selling rice by the cup in the community—bad enough I know—when a couple of older boys took the rice and their money, then dragged them into a nearby house for purposes no one needs to guess at. Fortunately they were rescued by neighbors. There are many times the children are completely unattended at the orphanage. Renita and I are working to get them transferred to a nearby orphanage which is much better supported and administered.
Below are some images of family life, as well as some interior shots of the orphanage.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Honey, I'm Home
Hi folks, Bob here, back from my work in Rivercess County. I was away with CHAL, the Christian Health Association of Liberia. During the eight day excursion, I had a chance to receive at least as much as I offered to the good people of Cestus City, Little Liberia, and other small rainforest communities.
I was there to lend myself to the CHAL Trauma and Reconciliation Team to participate in offering mediation and conflict resolution skills training. The five of us conducted a six day, forty hour workshop to a group of thirty-six community elders and leaders. The days were long and at times a bit tedious but over the six days most everyone seemed enriched. It was an honor to eat with and listen to the participants during breaks or over meals. I was continually moved by their generosity and graciousness, especially since I stopped by some of their homes and knew they daily lived with a poverty that is impossible to convey in this short space.
The evenings with the CHAL team were filled with stories from Bassa (the ethnic group dominating the area) tradition and we enjoyed laughter and stimulating debate. I learned much about rainforest life, and by contrast, much about the Liberians living around us. Our conversations ranged from the spiritual to the political to the cultural, with a healthy dose of the culinary tossed in for good measure.
Speaking of food, we had an opportunity to sample ketaly (a tiny very bitter berry, sort of a concentrated bitterball. Back in Michigan we would have called them choke cherries, spit them out, and moved on), lots of smoked fish, dried fish, and freshly killed bush meat— in this case a Liberian version of our raccoon supplied by a local hunter—which we ate with cassava leaf over the perennial Liberian staple, white rice.
It was difficult to be out of communication with Renita during this time, especially on the 20th, which was our 15th wedding anniversary. The first few nights seemed to go on forever, but the return home was as sweet as the ketaly was bitter. All in all, I return with a sense that both Renita and I are beginning to understand what we are supposed to do here. A few images of my week follow. I took about a hundred twenty pictures but these few capture the essence. Maybe someday I’ll figure out how to archive them all, so you can view at your leisure.
I was there to lend myself to the CHAL Trauma and Reconciliation Team to participate in offering mediation and conflict resolution skills training. The five of us conducted a six day, forty hour workshop to a group of thirty-six community elders and leaders. The days were long and at times a bit tedious but over the six days most everyone seemed enriched. It was an honor to eat with and listen to the participants during breaks or over meals. I was continually moved by their generosity and graciousness, especially since I stopped by some of their homes and knew they daily lived with a poverty that is impossible to convey in this short space.
The evenings with the CHAL team were filled with stories from Bassa (the ethnic group dominating the area) tradition and we enjoyed laughter and stimulating debate. I learned much about rainforest life, and by contrast, much about the Liberians living around us. Our conversations ranged from the spiritual to the political to the cultural, with a healthy dose of the culinary tossed in for good measure.
Speaking of food, we had an opportunity to sample ketaly (a tiny very bitter berry, sort of a concentrated bitterball. Back in Michigan we would have called them choke cherries, spit them out, and moved on), lots of smoked fish, dried fish, and freshly killed bush meat— in this case a Liberian version of our raccoon supplied by a local hunter—which we ate with cassava leaf over the perennial Liberian staple, white rice.
It was difficult to be out of communication with Renita during this time, especially on the 20th, which was our 15th wedding anniversary. The first few nights seemed to go on forever, but the return home was as sweet as the ketaly was bitter. All in all, I return with a sense that both Renita and I are beginning to understand what we are supposed to do here. A few images of my week follow. I took about a hundred twenty pictures but these few capture the essence. Maybe someday I’ll figure out how to archive them all, so you can view at your leisure.
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