It was about 2:15 as we stepped into our front yard – just enough time to see the wedding processional lurch slowly through the rutted street toward the church/outpatient department of the hospital. By our estimations we were right on time. We headed single file in the same direction, taking the pedestrian path that flanks […]
I sat on the front steps this evening, watching the sky flash purple streaks in the cloudy distance. As the night threatened rain that never arrived, I felt the slight stir of a breeze carrying the cacophonous music of crickets, frogs, or whatever animals live in the moist darkness of a Liberian November. Two men […]
Where can I even begin on this? I didn’t pack many clothes. I was told before-hand that I could get stuff made and I was ecstatic. Some simple skirts and shirts would serve me well and would also provide some souvenirs upon my return home. So into Gbarnga to buy lapas (colorful cloths) and then […]
I get around on foot a lot here. There is really no reason not to, this place isn’t especially huge. And the portion of it that I deal with, the hospital compound, the university up the road, is all reachable by foot. Sometimes the trail is obscured by lakes of water pooled at the foot […]
I showered with Fred tonight. At least I think that is his name. He didn’t tell me otherwise as I urged him to stay on his side of the stained tub. He complied and clung to the whitish tile, close to the window, and didn’t say much that I could hear. Normally I shower with […]
You’d think I’d have pulled it together by now. But I’m still in transition mode because everything is still pretty much in flux. A perfect example is today’s food intake: a piece of beef jerky, half a little baggy of plantain chips, and some water. At least that was the case for the first part […]
Sundays are rough. The other volunteers warned me. And whether it was rough because I was anticipating the antithesis of smooth or because, well, Sundays are rough – is a moot point. The problem began with me waking up earlier than I would have liked. I had to pee. and if I were at home […]
Still new to Liberia, I find myself trying to find a pattern to the people, the behavior. I continue to fight against what I knew to be true in South Africa because it is worlds away and does not apply here. Everything here is a product of the war. Or at least that’s what humanitarian […]
When we took the left the paved road ended abruptly. The throng of vendors and people milling about thinned and the green of long grass and leafy trees took over. The range rover spit out the occasional gust of black exhaust and kicked up red dust obscuring the view from the rear as we bumped […]
donor pendulum
The delicate balance between need and dependency is a pendulum that easily swings too far in one direction. Helping people pull themselves from the ravages of war, starvation, and poverty does not lend itself to platitudes about God helping those who help themselves. Babies die. Men are broken. Women weep…and in those moments they cannot […]
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