Out in the neighborhood

August 29, 2006

Ah, the summer is drawing to a close, at least back home. We will be starting dry season here in a month or so.. I am looking forward to an increase in my daily sun intake. I feel more inspired when it is sunny out. This afternoon I took Joy and William to Coopers beach, just near the house. There is a great lagoon for swimming in, as the ocean waves there are pretty strong. It was us, plus about 15 boys all swimming and having fun. Its okay, but I always feel a bit obtruse....as soon as we start swimming, the whole group sort of migrates our way. I know they are just curious, but it can be a bit unsettling to have so many people watching you swim. They were worried about Joy in the deep water, I tell them, its okay, she can swim. As the boys were leaving one told me, “that girl, she never gets tired...” I guess they were impressed with her swimming ability. On the way home, guys were playing football in the back field behind our house, so we cut through the neighbors yard. As we walked by I apoligized and asked if it was okay to walk through. He said “no problem, any time, we are neighbors”. When ever you go walking around, many of the paths cut right through peoples front yards. You will see women bathing their children, or making dinner, or plaiting hair. Here it is polite to say hi as you walk by. And there are chickens and ducks everywhere. Just wandering around. Some have things tied to their ankles, like bits of plastic, I guess to tell whose is whose. Yesterday we were out walking and saw a cock fight. Pretty cool to see...their feathers all fluffed out. Speaking of chicken, we ate one of our roosters today. Noah wouldn’t eat it. He says he won’t eat chicken from the yard, only from the store.
Tonight we had dinner by candlelight. It is nice sometimes not to have the generator on as it is so noisy. I have been home for the last few weeks alot as Kathleen has had to go to town pretty much every day to the minister of finanance to try and get DutyFree privilages to clear our container. She will be going back tomorrow, and also to immigration. I only have a week left until I need to get a new stamp on my passport.
Oh and on a totally different note...I am sure I don’t have athletes foot. My one toe was peeling, but I think it was just a blister, becuase they were never itchy, and I have had no reoccurance. Yay. And Kathleens outbreak on her hands is gone. But our deer and dog have mange, so we need to treat them. We got some medicine, so we just have to sort out the dosage. I also learned how to tell if a goat is anemic. You look at the bottom rim of the eye...it should be red like a persons, if it is pale pink it means they are anemic. Its becuase of all the parasite worms. We gave our goats all a shot of iron on Sunday. Fun times. Every day is a new adventure. Did you know the femur is the longest and strongest bone in the human body. Yep, I have been studying my anatomy. On that note, I will end. Nighty night. BEC

Past Week or So

Well, it is Tuesday and the sun is shining, the generator is humming, and the kids are cleaning their room. If they get done soon we will take a trip to the beach. Last week was a busy one. We were hosting three Mercy Ship Reps who were here for meetings with the government in preparation of their return to the country in 2007. It was a fun week, but its amazing at how many more dishes get used with only three extra people. I was behind the scenes during the week, at home with the kids, helping with cooking and cleaning while everyone else was busy attending meetings and writing up reports. Every night it seemed there was a new draft or report to put together. I enjoyed visiting with our guests, who are originally from Texas. The Mercy Ships does amazing work with facial sugeries and eye surgeries amongst many other things. This weekend we celebrated the boys Noah (8th) and Josh’s(13th) birthdays. We drove, along with another family to Tubmansburg, where there is a lake that used to be a mine for Iron ore I believe. It was rainy, but that didn’t dampen the fun. I brought my passport this time, just incase we got stopped by any immigration. We segregated into the girls vehical and the boys vehical. I am sure ours was much much quieter. We led the way, and when arrived James complained that Kathleen drove too fast. I, in fact was surprised at the speeds we reached. Kathleen says “I don’t break the law often...” -only when she really needs to. Apparently taxi drivers make her mad. I told her, when you get angry, that’s when accidents happen. I am often the voice of reason:) At the lake, we couldn’t go to the beachy area as the Pakistan Battalion is stationed right there, and they were having a special program as it was their independance day. Apparently we should have phoned ahead. We went down to another area with a couple palava huts, and broke out the cake and chicken wings and inner tubes. There was a rocky cliff where we were, and the children and Mr. Wains were all jumping off the cliff. I didn’t jump. My excuse....I can’t see to make my way up or down the cliff without my glasses, and I can’t jump off a cliff whilst wearing glasses....just not willing to take that risk. I did have a nice little swim though. It is really clean water and deep. I swam out and of course scenes from Lake Placid jump into my mind, and I wonder, is there any crocadiles living in this lake. I remind myself it is man made and not likely. Plus, I figure they would go for the smaller children anyhow :) It’s like when I swim in the ocean, I always imagine sharks swimming beneath me. So it was a good day had by all. On the way home we were in a market area, very congested, and muddy sholders. Kathleen was getting frustrated and decided to pass a taxi....I momentarily thought we may have a head on collision. Thankfully she gunned it. While passing, Joy screaches....that man just blew a kiss at you. Apparently he liked Kathleens driving.
This week I am increasing the amount of time I spend studying Anatomy and Physiology, and have been working on the resettlement project paper work. Grandma showed up yesterday from the village, so will be staying with us for some unknown amount of time. She has a room out in the cottage. Kathleen is trying to get the Dell computer to work as it has some error message and won’t boot. Also she is working on getting the Duty Free status for the container. As far as we know, the boat is in port, but that is all we know. James bought cement today, so David the mason can start building a cement pad for the container to live on once it is emptied. Cement prices have rocketed I guess becuase of the demand, for all the construction going on, then there is not enough on the market, so they jack the prices. I am not sure what price we got. So....I hear fighting in the other room, wonder how the “cleaning” is going. That’s it for now. Until next time. BEC

On My Mind

August 10, 2006


This week I have been going through the files of all the people we have interviewed at Coconut Plantation and the Group of 77. I am trying to pick out 10 families or individuals that will be candidates for our resettlement package, which will be supplemented with some building supplies. (This will be done through Grassroots Ministry, some of the people have greater needs, and the package we have will not be sufficient....and so the Group off 77 will try to help these other people in different ways). It is hard for me. I start reading a file, and I look at the photo, and try to imagine what it will be like for this family or person to go home. I have been to a few different villages now, and to different homes around Monrovia. This past week I got a glimpse into what it is like to be disabled in Liberia. We went to see where one lady lives, we'll call her Dee. Now, she has two club feet and walks on the sides of her feet, or really, her ankles. Her job is sweeping at a government office. I am not sure if she is paid by the government for this, or if people just give her money that are walking by. Whatever she makes, it is not enough. When we went to her house, we parked on the side of the road. Then we walk down a rocky hill, I think I had to use my hands to get down. Then we walk along a path that is flooded with water and full of large jagged rocks. It takes us 10 minutes as she can’t walk very quickly. A few places she needs a hand to manover over some water or what have you. This is bad enough when you have two good feet, but when you can barely walk on an even surface it is just not right. When we arrive at her “house” I wonder what is holding it together. It looks like just a bunch of zinc sheets propped up in the shape of a house. There are rocks on the roof holding down the roofing, rusty zinc. Not only that, when I walk out the back door, it is only a skip and a jump and you are in the water, I believe a lagoon. There are no wheelchair ramps or nicley paved walkways here....I know, though I would like to imagine otherwise, her living situation is not an isolated one. People are living in unbareable conditions. I can’t even try to relate to this. This land is a lot her mother bought and gave to her. Many of the disabled people, they don’t want to go back to the interior, where they are originally from, becuase life is that much harder there, perhaps there is no access to medical services, or they are afraid when they can no longer hustle on the street, they will have no way of getting money. But life in the city, as I see it is not a very good environment. There is so many people living in cramped quarters, and so much garbage and pollution. They don’t have designated dumps here, so garbage just gets dumped here there and everywhere. Back to the files of people, several of them own a lot within the greater Monrovia area, but how do you send someone home, when they have land, but the house was burned down or destroyed int he war, or there is no structure on the land at all. Many of these people are in wheelchairs, how are they going to build any sort of structure, and what if the lot doen’st have road access, or is far from the nearest road. I wish I could wave my wand and provide housing for all these people. I have been on the internet looking at Low Cost housing alternatives, special dirt bricks and aerated cement .....it would be so amazing to help build houses here for these disabled people. Well, we will start with the few that we can give some help to, that have family they can go and live with, or have some sort of home to return to, and have some skills that they can run a business or do some trade. They need confidence to go back home, that they can do it, that they have the ability to do something more with their life then exist by begging. They need encouragement and prayer, and support. It is hard in a country, where even the able bodied people are barely getting by. I have no answers, but I hope that in some way, the small thing I have done in interviewing some families, and putting together files, will lead to something greater for them. Please pray for wisdom for Kathleen and I as we choose 10 families, that the packages will be a blessing to them and that they will be happy to return to their homes and extended families.

Quick Trip to Town

August 7, 2006

So today I spend my morning doing some paper work. Yipee. I was so hungry by 12:45 I was having a hard time thinking straight, so I was very happy to have lunch at 1:30. We had cassava leaf with rice, without red oil much to the dismay of the children (what no red oil they ask, and Joy is off to the pantry for the red oil) You have to understand that cassava leaf is quite dry without the red palm oil. Anyhow. At lunch Kathleen asked if I would like to go with her to the Ministry of Finance in the afternoon. Oh, another trip to some government office. Yippee ki aye. I said I would go if she thought I would help. Perhaps I could smile sweetly at the government man. I suggested perhaps she should take William who is quite good at this sort of thing. We are trying to get the Duty Free status to clear our container. Anyhow. We head out for town. First stop, Fed Ex building. Yesterday Onesimus broke the antennae on Kathleens car. It is one of the ones that goes up and down when you start the vehical. Now it is broken, it has fallen over and drags beside the car. When we stop, a man tells me, the antenna is broken. I know I say. Before I know it, several men are surrounding the anntenna and trying to fix it. I jum out to protect the antenna from the well meaning strange men, who just want to help fix it. I jam it back in its hole. An old beggar man tells me, “your a mechanic now” and as I get back in the car, he is saying “bye mechanic, bye mechanic”. I tell Kathleen how I love it here that when you break down, there is always so much help, everyone wants to give you advice etc. When ever I break down in Canada, I could be on the side of the road for hours with no gallent men to come to my aid.
We continue on to the Minsitry of Finance. We have to show ID to get in. We go in, do our business, and leave with no major problems. We get to the car. We have a flat tire. Completely. Not just a little. Kathleen gets out one of those air compresser dealys that you plug into the cigarette lighter. I am on the ground attaching the hose, and feel the air and hear the horns of vehicals passing very closely. Kathleen is concerned that I will get run over. She would get in trouble for that, letting her little sister get hit by a taxi. So, there she is down there, fiddling with the thing. I think, she is just as likely to get hit as I am. Oh well. I sort of giggle to myself, becuase Kathleen’s blue underwear are peaking out from her nice african dress. There is a group of young men standing and watching the whole process. I think to myself, she has just made their day, they saw some white woman trying to fix her bust tire, and her underwear was showing. There is a fairly steady leak. I suggest we fill the tire, then move to a location nearby that we can change the tire safely without fear of being hit. This is what we do. We pull over on UN Drive, between a no parking zone and right in front of where they are putting in a new electrical pole (apparently they don’t have telephone poles here, no land lines, just cell phones). I get out to get the spare tire from the trunk. A young man comes to help me. Then we realize, we have no tools. Kathleen phones James and he says he will come and bring the tools with him. We are saved. Now we can sit back and relax. Just then I notice that they are going to install the pole. No big machinery though to lift it into place. Nope, there are 10 men, all working together to lift the pole, place the end in the hole and heave it into position. I am amazed. I take out my camera for this opportune moment. A crowd gathers to watch. It is a heavy pole...the men are working very hard to get it into place. Cars and people continue to travel underneath the pole, when with one slip it could fall and crush someone. It takes about 20 or 25 minutes to get the pole in place. It is facinating to watch. They have put in 360 large poles so far and 460 smaller poles. You can see why it is going to take a long time to bring power to all of Monrovia, when the machines are mere men. After that, a boy from Mali comes by selling belts. I have been using Joshuas, so I decide to buy one. You stay in one spot long enouigh and you can buy almost anything. Towels, clothes, toiletries, peanuts, pirated cds and dvds. I stick with my belt. While we wait for James we watch the people go by. The sun is starting to go down, and every where is bright with the setting sun. I am glad I came for the quick trip. It has been a lot of fun for me. Perhaps not too productive, but seeing a electrical pole installed by a bunch of men, well worth the trip.

Village

I can’t tell you how long I have wanted to go to the village. Okay, maybe I could....since last time I was here two years ago. I wished and hoped, but never had a way to get up there, as travel was not as safe as it is now, and I had no one to go with me. So when Kathleen said we were going to Gbarnga, I was so happy. And, not only was it for fun, but we got to squeeze some “work” in there too. We decided to go to the village on our last day there, Saturday morning. Okay, maybe I should explain more about the village, since it is a little vague perhaps. I just assume people know what I am talking about. This is the village that James my brother-in-law’s mother lives in, and his brother and sister and their families. Grandma, as we call her, or Yakata (her name is actually Younger) is in her 70’s I believe, and doesn’t speak english, except to say Thankyou. She speaks Kpelle. The one word I understand is yes, which sounds like ohwee. I think last time I was here she came down for one or two months and lived with us. I sat next to her at the table, and felt like we bonded. We broke a barrel handle once too, trying to carry it up the stairs (it was full of water and very heavy). I know this, she likes her tea with lots of milk and sugar. Anyhow, so back to the trip. We woke up Saturday morning, and it was pouring. I thought, oh no, maybe we won’t be able to go. (rain always puts a bit of a damper on things:) We had a slow morning, ate our breakfast at the dining hall at the Catholic Retreat centre, packed our bags. Thankfully by this time the rain seceded. (is that a word, I am pretty sure it is, if not, the rain got less) and so we headed out. The kids were very resistant to going, complaining about the rain and the hike through the “jungle” and the “snakes”. Then they were worried we would get lost....Anyhow, we went anyhow. We were able to drive alot farther into the village than they had done previously. There was one very steep hill that was all muddy, but Kathleen drove like an old pro, apparently growing up on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island prepared her for times such as these. I think half the battle is thinking you can make it, and the other half prayer. It is kinda fun driving through small villages that you know very little vehicals pass....especially ones full of white people. Sometimes you can just see the surprise on peoples faces. As always, the children wave and shout, white woman, white people, even white children...We wave as we drive by, feels almost a bit like a parade.
We get to the last village before ours, and park the truck next to a mud hut. The people are sitting outside, under the outdoor kitchens. It works out very nicely, becuase Samuel who is Kumbah’s husband (James twin sister) just happens to be in the village, so he walks with us, and carries the 50 kg bag of rice we have brought as a gift for Yakata. It is raining, so we bring our umbrellas and I change into my runners, just in case of big mud or snakes. It is only a 25 minute walk to the village. It is called Pilliloweh ( I have no idea of spelling). As we walk there is a woman in front of me carring a big bowl on her head full of something. She is in flip flops and almost slips a few times in the mud. I am in awe of anyone that can carry something on their head. This one guy that is walking with us and helping carry the rice his name is John. He says, if you slip, you will fall down. Makes sense. The mud along the trail is red like the colour of rust, and very slippery. The kids have stopped complaining and despite themselves are enjoying the trip. Along the way, through the bush we see a woman at the river washing clothes. As we are almost entering the village there are two young women huddled under an umbrella shucking corn. Its corn season now. I also notice as we walk that there is alot of bush cleared along the path. Samuel tells me that they are trying to clear a path so that cars can come out to the village. The one obstacle is the river, they will need to build a bridge heavy enough for cars to cross. This would be a major help as the village is only accesible by foot, or bike I suppose. The children reach the village first. We come last. I am trying to take photos on the way. As we enter there is two palm clusters hangin at the entrance. Samuel tells Kathleen that it is medicine, becuase the palm harvest has not been going well this year, and so they hope that this will help.
We walk in and say hello to a group of women shucking corn. We go to where Grandma is....she does a little dance to welcome (even though she is not well) us and hugs Kathleen, we have surprised her with our visit. I get a hug and then shake hands with several other people and get a hug from my neices mother. I recognize her from pictures. We go to Kumbah and Samuels house and sit down for a short visit. I brought a mug and soap from Canada as a small gift for Yakata, and we tell her the bag of rice is for her. She jumps up, saying thankyou thankyou...she is so happy about the rice. Our visit is very short, becuase it is still raining, and we don’t want to get stuck in the mud on our way out. We will have to go up the muddy hill this time. The other problem is that before we left Monrovia, James did a little electrical work. Our horn wasn’t working so he fixed it temporarily so you just squeeze two wires together to honk the horn. The only problem, somewhere along the line the lights stopped working, and so we can’t get stuck out after dark and have four hours of driving ahead of us. We apologize for the shortness of the visit, and start walking out. I take a few more photos of family members and the huts. As we are leaving, they give us fresh corn to take home for roasting. I was so glad we got to go, despite the briefness of it, and the rain, it was all worth it. I hope I get to return later on this year for a longer stay.