Kevin in Liberia

Addressing the Poverty Trap - Imposing Outside Structures

2007-09-19T21:12:00.000Z

Why is it that African countries such as Liberia struggle to re-build themselves? I believe a part of this can be explained away by the imposing of outside structres such as geopolitical boundaries created by colonialist powers - whether it be the French, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the English and the like. Africa is comprised of hundreds of tribal groups (approximately 28 here in Liberia alone) and it was only after the colonization of what we now know as African countries that these political boundaries came into being; regardless if they are now ‘independent’ African countries or not. With the amount of dependency on the continent of Africa the term ‘independent Africa nation’ seems a near oxymoron. Presently you’ll find numerous examples of areas of African land that has been carved into pieces by colonialist governments without much, if any, regard for tribal idiosyncrasies, feelings of community, or senses of belongingness.

So what does this have to do with why a country might struggles to rebuild itself? I believe that with the creation of this political divide has come a social divide as well. Similar to this would be the institution or imposition of a Western rule of law onto indigenous or tribal rules of law. In Liberia, the current judicial system has essentially taken power out of the hands of the Town Chief and into the hands of a national judicial system whose basis for justice is more based around what we may know as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights than anything known to be tribal (whether or not I agree with either the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights or tribal styles of instituting justice is another issue).

Any time you impose something against someone's will, such as the colonialist powers have done with political boundaries and Western rules of law in many parts or Africa it will not go without consequence. I believe political boundaries and a Western rule of law are two tools that have prevented and are preventing Africans from culturally exercising what they know in the process of rebuilding.

Finally, the term ‘rebuilding’ implies that a country such as Liberia was once ‘built’. I suppose the better question would be to ask yourself “What would a ‘built Liberia’ look like socially, economically, spiritually, etc?”

Addressing the Poverty Trap - Seemingly Ceaseless War and Civil Strive

2007-09-06T20:23:00.000Z

Recently, one of my readers posed the following question. In the next series I want to title "Addressing the Poverty Trap" I hope to address and share my opinions in an attempt to educate and create discussion on the idea of 'poverty' as we currently know.

Why is it that African countries such as Liberia struggle to re-build themselves? I could probably make educated assumptions, but from your perspective as having worked there, what do you think and what are the reasons as to why, despite Western aid, there appears to be little or no progress or improvement on the poverty. Can countries like Liberia ever realistically rise out of the poverty trap and its associated difficulties and if so how can such prosperity and advancement be properly achieved?

My Response:

Ok, I'm going to try and scratch the surface as to why I believe that African countries such as Liberia have a hard time rebuilding themselves after war or maybe a more general question as to why Africa in general has had a hard time 'developing' in general - and I use that word very gingerly. And before we get started I'll just offer a brief disclaimer that this is a question that the entire world needs to be faced with and I believe that nobody but God has the answer for. These are strictly my views on the situation and I challenge any readers to challenge me on my views or my hypotheses so long as the discussion moves us forward in our thinking on the causes for and reasons why, currently and in recent history, Africa is in the state that it is.

When faced with this question, and its one that I toy with quite often and one that is up for a lot of debate. There are a few ideas that initially come to mind and its those that I'll elaborate a little more of:

1. Seemingly Ceaseless War and Civil Strife (divisions between Opposing Tribal Groups and Clan)

2. Colonial Geopolitical boundaries

3. Widening Gap of Realities between Western Donors and Recipients of 'Aid'.

4. Corruption of Power-mongering African Governments

5. Increasing Dependence of Local Populations on Foreign Aid

6. Lack of a True Indicator of Well-Being (GDP does not account the for progress of social, religious, and community-centered goals - economic progress is only one aspect of an individual)

1. Conflict - Seemingly Ceaseless War and Civil Strife

If we're going to look purely at the economic development of a country and what falls under that umbrella (infrastructure and transportation networks, currency valuation, and attractiveness of the country to foreign investment, among others...) there is no wonder Africa is 'undeveloped' economically speaking just due to the frequency and duration of varying conflicts on the continent.

Taking Liberia as an example, we need to understand that the Liberian Civil War did not only affect Liberia and Liberia alone. The countries immediately surrounding Liberia were affected on a number of different levels. One of those was the fact that when war was present in Liberia a vast number of refugees migrated to areas of Sierra Leone, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, and Ghana and therefore causing shocks to the local economies of those countries. War affects not only the country in which it is taking place but those who have any immediate interest in the country as a whole.

A couple weeks back I was driving back to our office with our Chief of Security and I asked him how he saw the rebuilding effort coming along in the four years since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2003. I cannot quote him word for word but in essence this is what he said,

...In war, you can tear down and destroy in minutes what it can take years to build up...

If you reflect on the Liberian Civil War that lasted 14 long and destructive years, the nation's entire, and I emphasize ENTIRE, infrastructure was destroyed. Never in my life had I imagined the destructive power that war can have on the physical backbone of a country. Monrovia, until the last 12 months, was the only capital city in the world to hold the claim of not having running water or power to supply to its citizens. The Freeport of Monrovia is the grave for, and don't quote me on this, 17 shipwrecks in the area of possibly three square miles. Most visibly in the harbour is one ship actually on top of another ship, not to speak of the freighter that is completely flipped over Currently there are dirt roads in the bush, 10 hours from Monrovia that are in better condition than those in downtown Monrovia. If it has taken 14 years to destroy this country that has been called by locals 'The New York City of Africa' prior to the Civil War, how long do you figure it will take to rebuild the country to its prior state of existence, if that is even possible? This is just looking purely at the physical infrastructure of the country and not taking into account any social or moral damage done by the atrocities carried out throughout the war.

Diverging from the Liberia example for a minute, not because it isn't relevant or doesn't have tribal issues of its own, I want to bring attention to conflicts between tribal groups or between tribal groups and local governments. Rwanda is an excellent/terrible example of the irreversible damage that can be done through the clashing of tribal groups, especially when spurred on by provocative propaganda encouraging ethnic cleansing. If one looks at the potentially violent conflicts between nomadic tribes such as the Touregs and local governments trying to establish land reform in certain regions inhabited by the Toureg people it is no doubt that violence has and will continue to exist. Any time you impose a Western style of government upon people with a very different way of living, no matter how 'primitive' it may seem to Westerners, it will cause distaste and discomfort in the mouths of those it affects. This is and has been very prevalent in Liberia with the Americo-Liberians imposing a Western rule of law on a pre-Liberian society that was, and still is in some parts dominated by a tribal, chiefdom-based method of administering justice.

There are so many relevant examples of and causes of conflict within Africa but I think the main thing to understand is that conflict is definitely a major problem in Africa and something that plays a major role in keeping the continent from benefiting from the gifts that God has given them (ie. culture, natural resources, etc.)

In the next segment I'll attempt to shed some light on the effects of Colonial Geopolitical boundaries established in Africa and the role they might play in it all.

A Small Cockroach Problem at the SP Guesthouse

2007-08-20T21:03:00.000Z

Well, lately we've been facing a problem with cockroaches and ants in our kitchen. They tend to come out at night so if you're up late at night going for a drink of water in the kitchen you could spot what seemed like hundreds of ants and the odd cockroach scampering here and there. Well, we sprayed some magic 'SpryGone' spray and these pictures are the results we got. It seems like the spray worked. I seriously wanted to vomit as we cleaned this mess up. It was absolutely disgusting and wrong on so many levels!

The South African Concept of 'Ubuntu' - Present in Liberia

2007-08-06T20:44:00.000Z

While conversing with Thomas Moore, a recently laid off 71 yr old Liberian National Police Officer of 49 years, I was informally introduced to the African concept of Ubuntu on a very real level. As we talked about life in Liberia and the past glories of the picturesque rural fishing village of Robertsport, it was immediately very evident to me that this sound character carried higher morals and values than your average urbanite living in the capital city of Monrovia. When asked what he did with all his spare time he now had, he proceeded to tell me that he loved to fish – in a location where the Atlantic Ocean meets Lake Piso. Without any further probing he continued to explain that when he sold the fish to a fortunate customer, Liberian or foreigner, his aim was not to attain the highest possible retail value for his commodity but rather to sell it at such a price as to maximize the best interests of all parties of the transaction. “If I sell my fish at a higher price to a white man, I can feel bad inside,” he admitted. This was Ubuntu experienced in its riches form. Thomas Moore obtains self-satisfaction by maximizing the feelings of others - an amazing concept.

Surfing Robertsport, Liberia

2007-08-05T21:28:00.000Z

One of the few Liberian surfers scouting the rainy season waves at one of the beachbreaks at Robertsport

The UN - Uninvolved in Africa

2007-08-05T14:39:00.000Z

A friend of mine recently showed me this picture from the Februrary 2007 edition of Go Magazine. I found it quite thought provoking.

Smacked Upside the Head by a New Paradigm for Development

2007-08-03T17:47:00.000Z

This chunk of text is so relevant for each reader yet ashamedly embarrassing in the fact that I even have to put pen to paper if you will. Its purpose is to hopefully show an unadulterated attempt at presenting the modern world’s full-hearted, yet retardedly inefficient attempt at addressing the ‘poor’. The word ‘poor’ is put in parentheses because, in specific cases, adjectives in the modern English vernacular have evolved into forms that often put meanings to words that don’t adequately do justice or describe the common use of the word under scrutiny.

In the context that I currently find myself (a 26 year old male working in Liberia and studying an MA in International Development) there is an avid common vocabulary that I have come to learn has been either adulterated or in which the meaning isn’t fully, or arguably, even partially understood in their correct context: ‘development’, ‘developed’, ‘underdeveloped’, ‘poor’, ‘poverty’, ‘leadership’, as well as many others that I’m sure unknowingly exist. This vernacular is as much a lens, or way of viewing the current framework or paradigm of the ‘poor’, as ‘profit’ is a lens of viewing success in the highly competitive business world of the North. Ashamedly enough, what I have been recently convicted of (hold onto your seats folks) is that the way the entire world views the poor is, at the very core of its existence, dehumanizing, unquestionably not merited, and fundamentally wrong! To qualify the last statement I must say that the entire world (because of its power and influence) is a rudimentary yet appropriate generalization of the situation currently faced by those in the ‘developed’, ‘underdeveloped’, ‘undeveloped’ worlds, those holding power, struggling to gain power, and those without any misty vision of what the word power means (except in the context of it being exercised against them), those in the North, South, and somewhere in the middle, and those in other polarities not mentioned.

Spending an intense two and a half weeks at the residency portion of my Masters program has irreversibly opened my eyes in a way very much like that of a new believer in Christ. I have to attribute the new lens to the learning environment created and ideas disseminated by Professor Lindy Backues as well as the ideas presented in the highly revolutionary Daly and Cobb book For the Common Good. The fact that these ideas were disseminated in an Economic Development of Developing Countries course seems somewhat contradictory because, like many others, my initial instinct is to think of conventional economics as the maximization of short-term self interest and the allocation of scare resources. That in and of itself may indeed be correct because this newly enlightened paradigm is as conventional as it is currently implemented or understood by those in the ‘developed’, ‘underdeveloped’, and ‘undeveloped’ worlds, those holding power…you get the idea. This new paradigm transcends most modern, scientific thought, and will arguably receive increasing attention and critique as it gains much-needed notoriety and trust amongst common people as well as intellectuals.

So by now you’re most likely wondering what exactly this new paradigm entails and how something can be so revolutionary, life-changing, and thought provoking. In order to best understand the new paradigm and what changes it can potentially bring to the common understanding of the ‘poor’ it is, no doubt, necessary to understand just exactly what paradigmatical umbrella under which we are currently living, working, and breathing. Ultimately, this will enable us to see its fatal flaws and how we have come to our current state of approaching the ‘poor’ the way we do.

Currently, all humanity, not just those of us who find ourselves working and living in Africa, unknowingly finds itself operating in a very contradictory world. A Western world often commonly known for their social marketing strategies and corporate responsibility towards humanity is currently part of a paradigm that, to its core, is dehumanizing.

Following WWII, our post-war, neo-colonial world, has been defined by often confusing terms such as ‘development’, ‘developing’, and ‘developed’ – just to name a few. These are terms that are common to most lay people, not only people in an international context and although we might think we have an idea of what these words mean, we are probably kidding ourselves. What I have come to learn is that the current framework in which we live and operate is not nearly adequate or representative of the reality faced by its recipients or actors. Taking the word ‘developing’ for example, and all the others listed above could be analysed in a similar manner, let me present some hopefully though-provoking questions that will ultimately lead into how our current paradigm is fundamentally wrong.

What initially comes to your mind when you hear the world ‘developing’? Perhaps acquiring new technologies? Something related to eradicating economic poverty? My question would be “…developing towards what?” In order to be ‘developing’ there must be a goal in mind. The paradigm in which we currently find ourselves has defined our goal as economic maximization and the creation of ‘wealth’. If anyone questions this notion, one only needs to look at the use of indicators such as per capita GNP as monitoring tools or gauges of the ‘development’, or financial success, of a country. I would argue that there are more factors at play that ultimately determine the well-being of a country. On numerous occasions I find myself questioning our current paradigm when I see local Liberians, a lot of whom have recently lost family due to the fourteen year civil war, markedly happier than our brothers in the ‘developed’ world whose per capita GNP is arguably far higher. According to 2004 statistics, Liberia was tied for having the second lowest per capital GNP of any country in the world - $110 USD/capita (http://internationaltrade.suite101.com/article.cfm/world_s_poorest_countries). GNP lacks in the sense that it does not account for the social, physical, and spiritual well-being of a nation and therefore is not an adequate indictor of the true well-being of a nation.

Separating the world into the ‘developed’ (the North – Canada, the United States, Western Europe, and arguably parts of Asia) and the ‘undeveloped’ creates a reality in which the citizens of ‘undeveloped’ nations are placed on a lower pedestal and therefore looked upon as objects needing to be ‘developed’. Ashamedly enough, us as NGOs often carry the same mindset into projects that are implemented on the ground and at the community level. For many reasons, but I believe largely due in part to this current paradigm we find ourselves in as well as the fact that African culture is not a written culture and therefore we don’t know much about its history, we often approach communities with a God complex thinking that our projects have the solution to some or all of their problems they are facing.

A large reason why projects and programs are looked upon in this manner is that in many ways they are strategically driven by large multilateral organizations such as the United Nations. Their various development arms each carry burdensome development agendas of their own and ultimately misjudge the true problems faced by communities in the field. I have always been sceptical of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and these recent insights I have discovered have cemented my previous thoughts on the subject. I find in them a weakness in that they do not directly address the issues of social and spiritual well-being.

So if you are reading this and wondering to yourself, “…who is this guy and who does he think he is? If he is so critical of the current paradigm then let him suggests some changes.” Well, and hold onto your seats folks, I don’t have a magic wand and I’m not going to pull rabbits out of hats because I believe that if anyone in the world had the formula to ending global poverty they would have written a best-seller book about it by now. Up to now, what has been exercised in the past 50-60 years as far as ‘development’ in its known context has not worked!

Some discussion, please.

A Packed Fishing Boat - Robertsport, Liberia

2007-07-31T23:27:00.000Z

A Liberian fishing canoe waits packed and ready for its next outing to beat the breakers at Robertsport, Liberia. Prior to the civil war, Robertsport was a former tourist destination and busy fishing village located near the border of Sierra Leone.

Sliding Liberia Trailer

2007-07-11T18:16:00.000Z

Here is the trailer for the newly released Liberian surf film called Sliding Liberia organized by Britton Caillouette. They really hit it good when they were here!

LACES Football Program Update

2007-07-09T11:23:00.000Z

Please check out the LACES Football Program and the strides in making it a reality for the war-affected youth of Liberia.

Be an agent of change in the lives of Liberian youth. The development of Liberian youth starts from the grassroots level and this a great opportunity to get involved.

www.lacesport.org

Surfing Poopy Point, Monrovia

2007-06-11T20:37:00.000Z

The Poopy Point Break [aka Rocktown and the Mamba Point Break (even though its not actually Mamba Point] is arguably the best wave in the greater Monrovia area. In the rainy season this point break can produce some gnarley lefts that come with speed. When its big, the rips at this spot will force you to constantly paddle to stay in the same location, much less make any progress in getting to where you want to be to catch a wave. I would suggest hiring a 'ca-noo' to taxi you back and forth between rides.

Keith Chapman and his bodyboard are locked in on this one.

Community Reconciliation & the DDRR Process in Liberia

2007-06-04T16:28:00.000Z

The challenge of community and national reconciliation is one that the present government of the Republic of Liberia is currently facing and a process that has been directed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the DDRR (Demobilization, Disarmament, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration) process. As the DDRR process comes to a close in mid 2007 the long-term direction and benefits of the programme in the overall goal of the reconciliation of tens of thousands of Liberians, namely ex-combatants or child soldiers, to their families, communities, and the Liberian society as a whole is questioned. What follows is a brief reflection of the DDRR process in Liberia and how it fits into three distinct phases in the reconciliation process.

Reconciliation Process Stages & Significant Developments/DDRR Stages

Genesis Stage

Signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (August 2003):

- Government of Liberia (GOL)

- Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD)

- Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL)

Transformation Stage

- Disarmament

- Demobilization

- Rule of Interim President Gyude Bryant

Readjustment Stage

- Rehabilitation

- Reintegration

- Rule of Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Within a country in which an entire generation of Liberians have been marginalized by the 14 year civil war the Readjustment Phase is proving difficult for President Sirleaf and as well as the international aid agencies and NGOs responsible for the implementation of this process. Commonly understood is the idea that in order for ex-combatants to be fully reconciled and integrated by into Liberian communities and society, they need to become fully productive citizens through education or gainful employment. The real question to be asked is how do we transform brainwashed human beings, trained as ruthless killing machines, into upright, moral, and spiritually productive individuals in society? Also, how do these ex-fighters begin to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and go forward, returning to their villages, often villages in which they carried out thoughtless murders?

I am currently involved in managing the finances for UNICEF-sponsored Skills Training programs; programs that teach skills such as Carpentry, Masonry, Auto Mechanics, Pastry, and Cosmetology. As part of the Rehabilitation and Reintegration phases of the DDRR process, Children Affected by the Fighting Factions (CAFF) are traced and encouraged to enter into either Skills Training programs, such as the ones that I financially manage, or reintegrated back into school free of charge. The problem with these programs, if it doesn’t lie in the methodologies that UNICEF uses to identify these children, lies in the inequality experienced by children who did not get involved with the fighting. They have essentially not been offered any assistance to the level that the ex-fighters have been. Cantonment sites in Tubmanburg, Buchanan, and Monrovia left ex-fighters in very underdeveloped urban settings which provided them with ample opportunities to squander their disarmament benefits which amounted to a mere few hundred US Dollars each. Many of the ex-fighters squandered their benefits leaving them with no financial means of transporting themselves back to their home villages in the surrounding countryside and forcing them into unskilled market jobs or begging in order to find their ‘daily bread’. Very little reconciliation is happening on the community level due to the number of ex-fighters, in a sense, ‘stuck’ in Monrovia.

As the goal of reconciliation and reintegration is pushed by the United Nations, through UNDP, a very important element is essentially missing in the secular development community’s perception of reconciliation in Liberia. This element is the role that the message of Christianity has to offer with regards to forgiveness. As with any free gift, it must be accepted. In the Liberian DDRR reconciliation process, the important question that needs to be asked is whether these ex-fighters are searching for genuine reconciliation (or if they even know what that means) in their own lives or is the war just over? There is a substantial difference between the two and in my experiences there are defined moments which point to the latter.

Entrance to Marshall Island

2007-05-27T22:28:00.000Z

Belleh Kalata - From the Outside Looking In

2007-05-14T22:36:00.000Z

A turtle in Belleh Kalata looks for his daily bread.

L.A.C.E.S. - A Soccer Program for Liberian Youth

2007-05-14T22:25:00.000Z

The following is a video shown at the L.A.C.E.S. benefit dinner in Chicago in April 2007 raising money to develop Liberian children through the use of sport.

For more information please go to the L.A.C.E.S. website by clicking here.

A Solitary Liberian Child

2007-04-17T20:37:00.000Z

This picture was taken in the village of Belleh Kalata. The forgotten Belleh people are only accessible by helicopter in the rainy season in

Liberia

and due to inaccessibility have been left out of much of the relief and development aid that has flowed into

Liberia

. Untouched by most outsiders, the Belleh people have learned to become extremely resourceful – a small child with what I like to call the ‘Bamboo Barbie’. I took this picture because I find beauty in simplicity and I believe this picture personifies simple beauty.

Rural Education in Liberia

2007-04-14T16:29:00.000Z

The Mississippi in Africa

Rural Liberian children in the Belleh District are still taught about the American heritage of their forefathers.

Mathematics: A Great Divide in Liberia

A young Liberian Belleh girl looks to the heavens as she tries to figure out why six won't go into twelve three times. Math is a very difficult subject for many Liberian children who have just begun to start down their educational path after Liberia's 14 years of intense civil conflict.

The Rights of a Child

An rural elementary school teacher in Belleh Balema teaches grade five students their rights as Liberian youth.

Rainfall in Monrovia, Liberia

2007-04-04T21:28:00.000Z

When it rains in Monrovia minature waterfalls can be seen all over the city and streets get deserted in a hurry.

Rainfall in Monrovia, Liberia

2007-04-04T20:44:00.000Z

In a Western setting a picture like this would be labelled as 'explicit', but not in Liberia. When it rains in Liberia it really rains. Monrovia has the highest annual rainfall of any city in the world - 200+ inches a year and rain is an excuse for young Liberian kids to rip their clothes off and play in the torrential flood of water.

LACES (Life and Change Experienced through Sport) – An Opportunity to Help and Support Liberians

2007-04-01T21:46:00.000Z

In my 3^rd year of a Business Degree at the University College of the Fraser Valley I took a Managerial Economics course that taught a variety of economic principles, one of which I will draw on today. The principle has to do with commitment and the setting of expectations. The context in that course was within the business world and how the idea of commitment sets expectations of your customers and competitors. Although the context in which I will discuss is very different, I believe that the principle still holds.

My girlfriend and Program Director, Seren Frost, has recently embarked on a courageous step of faith by creating a program designed to reach the war-affected children of Liberia. Through sport, and more specifically soccer, or ‘football’ as it is known outside of North America, ‘LACES’, Life and Change Experienced through Sport, has been designed to teach Liberian children discipline, respect, and teamwork as well as an opportunity to spread the saving power of Christ.

After returning home from a three-month stint in Liberia in 2006 in which she played professional soccer in the Liberian Football Association (LFA), Seren saw a need and the impact that soccer can have on the lives of everyday Liberians. After exploring options of working for various sports-related NGOs in Liberia she realized that none of them ran similar projects or shared similar visions. This provided her the opportunity and challenge to design a program that she feels called to run and believes will be effective. Through her time playing in the LFA she met a lot of valuable connections which will undoubtedly prove to be valuable in implementing this project.

So where is the commitment/expectations analogy going to come? In late February Seren officially quit her full-time job to completely dedicate her life to this project. The fundraising campaign has now begun. Her goal for the first year of this three-year program is to raise at least $60,000USD. The next three months will consist of meetings with a variety of interested individuals and organizations, fundraising events, securing of donated sports equipment, logistical support, and other necessary project planning. With all the committment she has put into this project I can only expect big things from this project.

How many of you would quit your only source of income to embark on a journey like this? Quite a few of my blog readers have asked me in the past how they can get involved and contribute to the work going on in Liberia. Well, here’s a very tangible opportunity for you to get involved in a very exciting endeavor. You can find out more about her project and donate online via Paypal through her website by clicking here.

The Paradox of Development Work – Is there Any ‘Relief’?

2007-03-29T22:41:00.000Z

I recently looked at the last time I devoted time to sit down and write a contribution to my blog and was almost appalled at what I saw - thirty five days and counting. That happened to be a few days ago so today it must be closer to forty now.

In the Bible, there is an un-refuted significance of 40 days because, after all, it was 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness and 40 rain-filled days and nights that Noah spent floating about on the ark. What is it about that 40-day time frame that offers such significance and potential relevance in our daily lives? My own 40-day hiatus from the blog-o-sphere has allowed me to ponder various thoughts to a level that I feel comfortable sharing with you all. A lot has happened in these past 40 days – major events that will inevitably change the course of my life.

In the beginning of March I was accepted into a Masters of Arts in International Development through Eastern University. The program is such that I will be able to study the paradoxical issues that I face on a daily basis. Every July I will be attending a 3-week residency at Stellenbosch University just outside of Cape Town, South Africa. If anybody ever thought that my love for international work was an infatuation, think again. On one hand, this is a program that will invariably open many doors with regards to the type of positions I will be able to secure. On the other hand, and I think more importantly, this program is going to assist me to better under stand the paradoxes that I face on a daily basis while in the field. Often, field work can be so strenuous and tiresome that if often doesn’t allow for time to sit, reflect, and ponder the significance, or lack thereof, of the work that you carry out. My last 40 days has given me the opportunity to formulate thought, but not necessarily come to a conclusion, around the idea of the goal of ‘development work’. The argument is as follows:

A very basic understanding of the problem is that there are tens of millions of people around the world in a situation which is being coined ‘extreme poverty’, or earning less than one USD/day – be it in part to corrupt government, lack of infrastructure or adequate social services, conflict, natural disaster, and the list could go on and on. A commonly understood rudimentary idea is that there are two types of assistance/aid that is given by various organizations, large and small alike: relief aid and development aid. One could argue until the cows came home about relief vs. development, and that is part of my discussion today, but before that happens, a brief description of how they differ I believe is necessary.

A ‘relief’ scenario would be typified by a disaster or conflict situation, post or present, where death is imminent or even at hand. These situations are usually characterized as chaotic and filled with very intense emotions due to the circumstances that most people find themselves in. There is a very fine line between the realization of life and the inevitable arrival of death. Economist Jeffrey Sachs, in his book The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, paints this portrait of ‘development’ as being a ladder with societies moving up the rungs of the ‘development ladder’. I’m proposing that if development is a ladder then people in a relief situation are at the bottom of their ride down the snake’s tail.

The term ‘development’ on the other hand can be characterized by a situation where a society is getting back to living a normal life, people are grabbing hold of the first economic rung, institutions are being put in place, and the idea of imminent death is being erased. There is a common understanding that the transition from ‘relief’ to ‘development’ is a very grey area and often misunderstood and misread by many professionals in this field of work. With the transition comes a transition of organizational strategies which are based on profoundly different needs of the population.

So how does this discussion lead us into the personally-experienced paradox between relief and development? Here’s the paradox in a nutshell, a rather large nutshell at that:

Relief and development work seems like a very ‘sexy’ job from the perspective of North Americans, or those of us in the Western world. You’re usually in an exotic location, the pay isn’t very good, but after all you are serving the poor and that is usually viewed upon as a ‘good’ thing to do – you’re bettering society and reaching out to a world in need. Some of us in the relief/development field doing this type of work find it reassuring that we can leave the materialistic Western world behind us and come serve a people who actually have genuine needs and less materialistic wants. Let me take this time to clarify something – wants still exist in Africa. Having said this, there is a profound difference between a suffering Africa population in a country such as Liberia and a very glamorous, relatively easy lifestyle that societies of the Western world life day-in day-out. I find Liberians generally happier and more content with the nothing (in material terms) that they have.

So the paradox begins. Where does the ‘development’ stop? From the urgent feeding, shelter, and healthcare programs characterized by a relief setting to the more, I feel, materialistic programs focused on economic growth and prosperity. I have a hard time reconciling the difference between ‘need’ and ‘greed’. I have heard numerous examples of this economic progression propagated by NGOs, my favourite being the economic progression of transportation for a common Liberian. It goes like this: First you walk, then you’re financially able to acquire a bike, then a ‘kpang-kpang’ (small scooter-like motorized bike), then a 100CC AG100 motorcycle, then at last an automobile. This is a very typical progression but I hope that isn’t what our work is coming down to. The very thing that drives a lot of us away from Western culture, the acquisition of goods (or the perception that this must happen in order for societal acceptability), is what we are teaching the poorest of the poor? What a shame it would be to be teaching such lies to a people who are so content with what they have – which is nothing. The notion that we are here to help the poor, if what we are promoting is this idea of the acquisition of goods, seems very contradictory to me at times. As I said earlier, there is a very fine line which divides the wants from the needs.

A true economist would say there are no needs, there are only preferences. (Ex. You don’t need oxygen to breathe, you would just prefer oxygen over no oxygen. In essence, people make choices). I find that claim very theoretical and difficult to fathom in the face of a broken humanity. What do humans honestly need? At what point does one stop needing and start desiring, or wanting things? And at what point does that start turning into greed and materialism? These are all questions that I definitely don’t have answers to at this moment and questions I constantly continue to ponder.

The more I ponder these questions, the more I am attracted to the relief side of relief and development work. For me, I can truly see the need that people have when a tsunami has only recently swept through a village, killing scores of civilians, their families scattered abroad, their belongings washed away, and hopes and dreams close behind. When the hunger strikes, disease sets in, and death toll begins to rise I can see an uncompromised, unadulterated need. I would like to believe that it is at this moment in people’s lives when true need is shown and human greed is put to the back burner.

Who draws the line between relief and development? More specifically, who draws the line between need and greed? It may possibly take another 40 days of silence and reflection to come to a better understanding of it all.

Even Wars Have Limits - Broad Street, Monrovia

2007-03-29T20:58:00.000Z

The Geneva Convention: August 12, 1949 - August 12, 1999

Liberian Civil War Cannibalism

2007-02-21T20:54:00.000Z

Rule of Law and the Liberian National Police

2007-02-17T18:12:00.000Z

In any country you live, work, or travel in there is always an element of adventure. Some countries you have to create adventure, where as others adventure is created for you. Take for example a 'simple' trip into downtown Monrovia, a trip that was supposed to be as simple as riding into town snapping a few pictures to share with you all.

What started out as 'simple' has left me pondering the simpleties of a developing nation and idiosyncrasies that hinder national and international respectability. Power is something that I view as necessary in society. Without the notion of power, anarchy is soon to rear its ugly head. With an abuse of power, the same is often the outcome.

Let me introduce to you the Liberian National Police, otherwise known as the LNP. This is a group of individuals just as desperate as the majority of Liberians, speaking of financial and social stability, and often taken advantage of by the ruling governments of the past. Presently, this problem has receded marginally. According to the Manager of Police Statistics, a member of the LNP himself, and a man I spoke to for twenty odd minutes in Robertsport over the New Years, Liberian National Police Officers earn $90USD/month legitimately. Those who chose to 'earn' extra income through using their position of power illegitimately, earn a fair bit more than that.

If you have lived or worked in Liberia, especially Monrovia, anytime in the last three years, for at least six months, chances are that you've encountered the LNP in some way, shape, or form. This post will outline my recent encounter with the LNP and how it has left me questioning the precedents that the LNP are setting by their actions.

It was a Saturday afternoon and I had just left the Liberian National Museum where I talked to the Curator about tours and various artefacts that the museum has to offer. I headed down Broad Street, leading out of the city, and it wasn't two blocks before I stopped at an intersection while I waited for the traffic police officer to wave me on. He took one look at me and walked towards me. "You na wearin' da helme'! Das a violation a da law."

I do realize that riding motorcycle in Monrovia is a dangerous thing there is no doubt about it. Riding without a helmet can be potentially fatal, just ask my friend Marcel. I decided to not wear a helmet that day due to the fact that I didn't want to deal with taking my lid off and on after shooting pictures. You be the judge how smart that was. I have no comment. I was not aware that it is illegal to not wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle. There are many states in the USA in which it is perfectly legal to wear a helmet. In its history, Liberia has tried to duplicate a number of American ideas and laws so whether it is legal or illegal to wear a motorcycle helmet is up for debate. If one is to assume that the mass majority of a society actually follows the laws of their country, a quick glance at the Liberian population would lead an outsider to assume that indeed it is legal to ride a motorcycle without wearing a helmet. Back to the encounter…

Instead of starting a 'palava/palaver', or heated debate, because that never works with a Liberian, I decided to question the officer on these rules, partly to find out what exactly the rules are, and partly to see if he knew what he was talking about. After talking to him I have come to the conclusion that he could very well be making up a lot of what he was passing on to me. Take for example the question, "Officer, does both the driver and the rider have to wear helmets or is it only mandatory for the driver to wear a helmet?" He was adamant that it was only the driver of the motorcycle that was required to wear a helmet. His rationale was that it was my duty as driver of the motorcycle to protect my rider in the event of an accident. That line or reasoning still has me scratching my head. So when I am flying head over heels through the air when I ‘T-bone’ a car that has just inadvertently pulled out into the middle of the road, the first thing I should try to do is play Superman and rescue my rider? Hmm…

What I did find out is that there is an actual book that I can get to learn the rules of the road. I am very curious to get this book and find out how many drivers actually maintain the rules of the road. I’m positive that the bus full of LNP officers driving over the double yellow lines into the oncoming lane in order to pass morning rush hour traffic and then trying to cut back into traffic when they’re about the get into a head-on collision aren’t those actually following the rules. What is it in a person that makes them act so irrationally? Power perhaps?

I tried to convince the LNP officer that I quite frequently see LNP officers riding motorcycles without helmets (see picture at left). If individuals are to look up to the LNP as an example of law-abiding citizens, one would think that they would want to do the best possible job of standing above the average citizen as far as ensuring that laws are being followed. After all, these officers are here to “Serve and Protect”. I would assume they are protecting others from those who harm people by breaking the law.

Society looks to leaders. Whether they be social, academic, spiritual, or political, leaders provide individuals with a focal point in which to aim towards. What will it take for the LNP to become respectable among not only expatriates but Liberians alike. A recently returned Liberian refugee colleague of mine explained to me that before the civil war the Liberian National Police were individuals that the public respected, individuals not looking to squeeze a buck out of an unsuspecting victim, individuals that waited their time in traffic just like the majority of society, and individuals that people were drawn to for help, not driven away from fear of being extorted. After returning to Liberia after 15 years of refugee status in countries such as Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, and Nigeria, he was blown away at the current state of affairs within the world of law enforcement in Liberia. I thought maybe it was just me.

On my ride home from work today another sight caught my eye that really got me thinking and drove me to share it with the world - another LNP Officer riding a motorcycle with a helmet - another LNP Officer breaking the laws that are in place for them to patrol. This time I have it on film.

Surfing Robertsport, Liberia - Perfect Waves

2007-02-16T13:35:00.000Z

Back by popular demand, here is another picture of the waves at Robertsport. This is a rather small one but still unbelievable form.

Surfing Robertsport, Liberia - A Liberian Out in Front of This One

2007-02-12T18:26:00.000Z

Surfing Robertsport, Liberia - Broken Boards & Broken Dreams

2007-02-12T07:40:00.000Z

As a way of relaxing for the weekend, I went up to Robertsport with a group of people from Tearfund. Earlier on in the week I had checked the US Navy Website and it was showing a big system moving in from the mid-Atlantic. A lot of 'green' moving towards Liberia so I knew for sure that there would definately be some big surfing in Robertsport, so big in fact that it snapped one of my boards in two. One Liberian surfboard repair coming up!

'Loco' as they call it, a point break with a rocky bottom where the surf is always twice as big as anywhere else in Robertsport, was definately working! What I have discovered is that Liberian kids now have four surfboards which they share amongst maybe ten of them, or whoever is brave enough to venture into the water. I don't think these kids realize what they have on their hands with living in Robertsport and being able to see the surf day in/day out, seeing the best of the best and the worst of the worst days that it has to offer. Alfred, a young kid who has been surfing for approximately two years now has developed some decent skills in such a short period of time. I would expect that from anyone who has the opportunity to surf Robertsport day-in/day-out without fighting anybody for waves - every surfer's dream.

Anyways, enjoy the pictures.

Liberia Under President Tubman's Rule

2007-01-30T22:31:00.000Z

This is a great video that shows the Republic of Liberia during President Winston Tubman's time in office. Although I am able to point out certain landmarks, others looks so well developed that they are difficult to recognize!

Review of Robert Calderisi’s The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn’t Working

2007-01-28T12:11:00.000Z

What I’m about to write is not a book review in as much as it is a personal commentary on the ideas and suggestions of the author about the current state and future direction of foreign aid and international participation in Africa. At the end of The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn’t Working Robert Calderisi lists ten fundamental changes that are needed in Africa, some intuitive and straight forward, others more dramatic and profound. I have found two concurrent themes running through the ten changes mentioned and have categorized them into the following lists:

Governmental Accountability & Reform

Introducing Mechanisms for Tracing and Recovering Public Funds
Require all Heads of State, Ministers, and Senior Officials to Open their Bank Accounts to Public Scrutiny
Require All Countries to Hold Internationally-Supervised Elections
Promote other Aspects of Democracy, Including a Free Press and Independent Judiciary
Establish Citizen Review Groups to Oversee Government Policy and Aid Agreements

Aid Reform

Cut Direct Aid to Individual Countries in Half
Focus Direct Aid on 4-5 Countries that are Serious on Reducing Poverty
Supervise the Running of Africa’s Schools and HIV/AIDS Programs
Put More Emphasis on Infrastructure and Regional Links
Merge the World Bank, IMF, and UNDP

Whether or not the author purposefully made a distinction between Governmental Accountability & Reform and Aid Reform is exogenous of this discussion and could very well be just a coincidence of the themes I have chosen to use for my discussion.

Throughout Africa’s decades of problems, although differing greatly between regions, one common theme is often present, violence. I would challenge you to find a country, or group of countries, in Sub-Saharan Africa where violence wasn’t just another colour in the spectrum. Calderisi, in his ten proposed fundamental changes, does not mention one adjustment that would directly target fighting and infighting amongst Africans. Is this because Calderisi believes that violence is not a current problem in Africa, that its bloody history is a thing of the past, or that one or more of his proposed reforms would indirectly affect the levels of conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa? This can most definitely not be the case because, unless one is exclusively watching only American-broadcasted CNN, any half-read individual kept up to date on current world events knows that there are currently genocidal bloodshed in countries such as Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), among others.

Calderisi’s proposed adjustments will only combat violence if corrupt government is in fact the root cause of the violence itself. They do not take into account violence caused by ethnic hatred (Rwanda) or anti-imperialistic sentiments (Cote d’Ivoire). My experience with the mass populace of Liberians, and I can’t speak for the rest of the continent, and this is evident in the fourteen years of bloody civil war, is that they believe almost anything that is propagated to them by a person in position of authority. Imagine the positive effects that a capable government could have on a population in that type of condition. Could it be true that the phrase “violence as a last resort” is ringing true in Africa?

As I look over the two sub-categories of reforms proposed by Calderisi and reflect on the Liberian experience since the inauguration of Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the reforms that I have seen first hand fall directly under the category of “Governmental Accountability and Reform”. In Madame Ellen’s inauguration speech she spoke directly in favour of having all governmental officials declare their assets before and after leaving office as one mechanism to track possible corruption. The elections themselves were internationally-supervised, and deemed “free and fair” by Election Supervisors. Although protests were made by the presidential runner-up George Weah they did not stand. After some comments made by George Weah upon losing the election its difficult to take anything the man says seriously. The final reform that I can see taking place in Liberia presently is that of promoting a free press. Not much more than a few days following the swearing in of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf a chalkboard news billboard called the Daily Talk was erected on Tubman Boulevard, arguably the busiest street in Monrovia. Every day, in the African sense of the word, a new message is carefully chalked on the board, carrying political, spiritual, and social messages updating Liberians on the goings on.

These findings are also backed up by survey results from a poll that I have created for the Kevin in Liberia blog. The question was, “Based on your best knowledge, newly-elected Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has played a leading role in the improvement of which of the following areas?” As of January 28, 2007, 75% of respondents chose ‘Governmental Accountability’ as their response. ‘Infrastructure’ received 17% of the votes. To vote, see the poll on the right hand toolbar.

To purchase The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn’t Working, click here

Photo Essay of Liberia

2007-01-20T09:17:00.000Z

Recently, a blog reader emailed me a link to a photo essay by photographer Paolo Pellegrin, sponsored by Medecins du Monde (MDM). This slideshow has some amazing photos of Liberia, specifically Monrovia. I have included a link to the slideshow on the right hand toolbar. You can also get there by clicking here.

Liberia's History - The Bong Mining Company

2007-01-17T15:27:00.000Z

I have just recently found a video of how the Bong Mining Company and Bong Town came into existence. It is very interesting to me to see how this all came about, especially now seeing how destroyed the whole infrastructure is and how they are scrapping the entire facility. Its almost like the end of an era. Fifty years after it all began it now seems to be reverting back to where it started, this time leaving giant gaping holes of what used to be the Bong Range. The Bong Range, or what is left of it is, even to this day, a very magnificent view over parts of Liberia. Enjoy experiencing part of Liberia's history with this great documentary that must have been pulled from the archives somewhere in Germany. Its a classic!

The Indian company, Mittel Steel, has just signed an enormous $1bn contract with the Government of Liberia to begin mining operations in the Yekepah/Mt. Nimba regions of the country, near the Guinea/Cote d'Ivoire borders. If this is the construction project that went into the Bong Range area in the 1950s, just imagine the possibilities that this country has once the infrastructure up in Yekepah is restored to operational capacity.

I've included the Bong Mining Company Video on the sidebar on the right under the heading 'Video Links'.

For additional information on the Bong Mining Company and Bong Town please see the Bong Town Website.

Surfing in Robertsport, Liberia: Sweet Liberia with Dan Malloy

2007-01-16T06:50:00.000Z

This past summer a group of surfers came out to Liberia and surfed Robertsport for a few days. I just found this narrated slideshow of their trip. It has great pictures of a picture-perfect day surfing Robertsport. Robertsport doesn't always work like this but they caught it at just the right time. I've seen bigger waves at Robertsport but you can get an idea of the form of these guys. As Dan mentions in the commentary, we are truely spoiled here. I don't agree with him that these Liberians have never seen surfing before because there have been people surfing/bodyboarding here for at least three years that I know of and possibly even longer. I've put a link in the side bar on the right hand side as well. Check out Sweet Liberia with Dan Malloy

I think this slideshow really shows the potential that Robertsport specifically has for tourism in Liberia. The natural beauty and perfect waves that Robertsport has to offer is unbelievable. Its only a matter of time people, only a matter of time!

A Liberian Devil

2007-01-12T22:22:00.000Z

Any masked dancer or performer,whether for entertainment or ritual. Not to be confused with the Euroamerican concept of "devil, "Satanic," or "evil," though this is the way the term was applied by early missionaries and other travellers to Africa. When a Liberian speaks of "devil business," he means something sacred or mysterious connected with tradition. It is still common usage among English-speaking peoples of urban and rural Liberia, but there is an increasing avoidance of such terms by sophisticated Liberians. It is best to learn the specific local names for any ritual figures and to refer to them respectfully by these names.

Liberian English Lession #2: "belly"

2007-01-08T20:57:00.000Z

Pregnant. "That woman got
belly" (That woman is pregnant).
Also is standard term for stomach.
+To move or spoil the belly
means "to abort the fetus."

Video Footage Liberia in the Mid-1980s

2007-01-06T07:04:00.000Z

This is a great video of Liberian culture in the mid-1980s, during Samuel Doe's regime. Strangely enough, it looks like Liberia in the 21st century. Many of these places and occurances in the video I recognize: Bong Mines, coffee picking, what I believe is the unfinished Ministry of Defense building, Randall Street, roasted cassava vendors, shoe shining, overloaded vehicles (men hanging off the back), the Dukor Hotel, basketball games at the Sports Commission court on Broad Street, palm log bridges, and dugout canoes. This video is a great summary of many of the things you'll find if you were here on the ground in Liberia.

Liberian Civil War Video Footage

2007-01-06T06:58:00.000Z

It is interesting to read and see what Liberia has come through. I think its only after you truly understand the atrocities of the civil war that you can try and fully understand Liberians. This video isn't much, but its a start.

Liberian English Lession #1: "reach"

2007-01-04T22:16:00.000Z

to arrive. "I reach' Monrovia
yesterday." "Da ti' never reach to
go yet?"

Julius B. Sundifu - The Legend

2007-01-04T21:12:00.000Z

New Years in Liberia with The Legend - Julius B. Sundifu

2007-01-04T20:41:00.000Z

After a couple weeks of deliberation as to what we would end up doing over our extended Christmas break in Liberia, we decided to do a multi-day surf trip up to the North-West corner of Liberia, to a quaint, dilapidated little fishing village named Robertsport. The little, previously prosperous village was named after the first Liberian president named Joseph Jenkins Roberts who held office from 1848 to 1856.

We initially tossed around ideas of a multi-day adventure trip down to Sapo National Park in Sinoe County, the most bio-diverse region of the world. Just imagine…lions, and tigers, and bears….oh my! I was figuring that this extended Christmas break that we were about to embark on would be one of the only opportunities I would have to travel to the South East portion of the country and explore rainforest that is being progressively diminished by human activities. The logistics of such a trip seemed not impossible, but definitely overwhelming, as we thought about our other possible options. As the days grew on, the realities of making it down to Sapo were virtually eliminated. We could fly on a free UNMIL helicopter flight but then how would we get to the national forest, charter a car? The 8-12 hour drive to Sinoe in one of our own Land Cruisers would be a more convenient option but virtually impossible given the time frame and the fact that we would be in un-charted territories. We finally decided on our default choice of Robertsport. Not a bad default choice if I may – 3^rd best surf spot in Africa. If I remember correctly from last New Years Eve, the surf isn’t that great at Robertsport this time of year. Even bad surf at Robertsport is good surf, so we decided to go.

On Friday, December 29^th, I set out for Robertsport with Nick, a Canadian carpenter from Equip Liberia, and Peter, a local Liberian kid who I’ve known for well over a year – a cool kid and decent surfer for a beginner. We would lead the pack with Marcel following suite Saturday morning on a Yamaha AG-100 motorcycle and two whole other vehicles packed with friends, some looking to surf, others just looking for some rest and relaxation on the most gorgeous beach I’ve ever been to in my life. The Caribbean has nicer water than Robertsport but the beaches cannot even compare. Black and tan sand beaches lined with acrylic black stones and palm trees lining the shores. On more than one occasion I mentioned to friends that this is seriously paradise. Walking back from a beach called Loco, amazing point break for surfing, I mentioned to my buddy Luke that its amazing that people pay thousands of dollars and travel thousands of miles to find locations like this and we have it at our disposal only two and a half hours from Monrovia.

As we pulled into Robertsport I immediately started looking for any dramatic change I could find in the seven months I had been absent from Liberia. Initially, I noticed two things:

1. There was a noticeable UN presence at the entrance to Robertsport – something that I ended up finding out was primarily in place for the New Years festivities they were anticipating. Being in Robertsport for New Years 2005 I didn’t think anything got too out of hand but I guess they had some insider information that told differently. I wasn’t complaining. Heightened security could only help if anything did happen to get out of hand. The added security force ended up being a great source of geographical information on accessible beaches in and around the Robertsport area.

2. The other noticeable difference was a small sign cut out of a log, reading ‘Robertsport’ painted on the front, was missing half of its face. It was a good thing I had been there before and knew where I was because some newcomers may think they have just arrived in ‘ertsport’.

I had noticed on the trip up that I had forgotten to buy gasoline to run my MSR stove and if we were expecting to cook ourselves some hot food we had to find someone in this small village who sold gasoline. It turned out that there is only one place that sells gasoline and it took us a couple of inquiries of local marketers to find where this place was. It ended up being in a small shed behind one of the stores in the market, A terrible location if you are in the business of selling a product. I suppose if you’ve got a monopoly on a certain product people will go to great lengths, speaking of distance and price, to acquire what they need. Most of the market vendors were selling ‘small small’ items such as vegetables, fruit, and small ‘knick-knacks’ such as batteries and cell phone accessories. As I maneuvered around small children a dusty figure caught my eye. “Workings of a legend…,” I thought to myself as I approached this scrawny old figure. This was one of those characters that you just had to know more about.

He wore this matching outfit that you could have found in Las Vegas in the 1960s. His pants were held up by an amazing belt buckle that only dreams could recall…and the shoes. His shoes were a semi-high top, dusty black leather boot with diamond sized studs covering the outsides equidistant apart. His instrument was a rickety, three-quarter sized guitar with his name etched into the body with a pen. “Julius B. Sundifu” it read. I found out later that his sister-in-law from North Carolina sent him his guitar back in 1982 and it was from then on that he cherished this prize possession for the next 25 years. For some people music is a way of expressing one’s self, a way of communicating to the outside world your world and your most intimate feelings. You could see it in the way this man walked, in the way he talked, that his guitar was more than just a musical instrument, it is a part of him and an avenue of expression. The brim of his sun-faded St. Louis Cardinals hat told romantic stories of old when Robertsport’s streets were lined with colonial style houses reminiscent of the US South. The ‘Harry Carey’ glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose highlighted expression-filled eyes and the seatbelt that doubled as a guitar strap told a story of silent perseverance and resourcefulness, of survival and inner joy.

I asked him, “Pape, you will play a song for me?” He smiled a left-cheek smile and began to play. His guitar was tuned in an ‘open-something’ chord and, because of its brittleness, was fairly limited to where on the neck he could play. He was very limited to the first to third frets due to the gap between the fretboard and strings growing to over an inch as you moved up the neck. The nut was completely far past ‘well-worn’ and the strings dug well into the first fret. Honestly, I don’t know how this guitar made a sound, but he knew its limitations and he worked well within them and made it sound surprisingly well. During the war, while others were fleeing their villages with a cup of rice, Mr. Sundifu carried his guitar wherever he went. I asked him about the nails so intimately fastening the fretboard to the neck. He described how, ‘in the bush’, the guitar had no protection from the rain and the consequence was an exaggeratedly warped neck and detached fretboard. Using the materials he could get his hands on he made it work.

In a very Sierra Leonian, ‘palm wine’, sounding song, he sang impromptu of how I wanted him to sing a song - pure genius at work.

We made our way down to Cassava Beach where we found we were the only campers thus far, a bonus that wouldn’t last for long. After convincing the ‘owners’ of the place that we weren’t the same people who didn’t pay them last time we proceeded to pick out our favorite spot to pitch out tent, directly under the giant almond tree overlooking a point break that when its working I would argue is some of the nicest waves in the world. This weekend, it wasn’t working. The only new physical developments at Cassava Beach were a new bathroom and change room facilities as well as three palm huts that provided a five-foot diameter circle of shade under each one of them.

Mid-morning on Saturday, while the fishermen were bringing their boats ashore, Nick began to barter with the fishermen for a fish that realistically could have fed up to 20 people. How the fish got to shore was quite the sight as well. Dialogue went back and forth between a Liberian on shore and the fishermen in the boat, something equivalent to “whi man wan your fi-oh!” This Liberian fisherman who was holding up this 25+lbs fish in his canoe immediately jumped overboard!

Fish in one arm he swam to shore. It took him at least five minutes to swim that 100 feet to solid ground. One can’t swim very fast with only one arm, add to that a 25-30lbs fish in your other hand. Once on the beach the negotiations began. After walking away a couple times Nick ended up buying this fish for the equivalent of about $6.50USD. The same fish in Monrovia would go for at least $15USD. He did pretty well for only being in the country for a month. After posing with our dinner we proceeded to gut and cut it up, filling one big soup pot full of meat.

With Marcel and his AG-100 came an extended search for Mr. Sundifu. I suppose he couldn’t resist our stories of this legend so him and Nick went into Robertsport and started asking random people if they knew this man. Eventually someone knew who they were looking for and led them to the man’s house. They wanted to see if we could get Mr. Sundifu to play a private show for us on New Years Eve. As the story goes, Mr. Sundifu was surprised that they came to his house. He said that he was planning to come down to the beach anyhow. Wow, what a treat! New Years Day he ended up coming a few hours early, 2pm to be exact, and sat on the beach for the better part of four hours while we were off surfing and just relaxing. We invited him to eat dinner with us and when the food had half-settled in our stomachs we sat in a circle on the beach and listened for the better part of an hour and a half to his palm wine melodies of how his wife was cheating on him and the injustice of how a ‘Coca-Cola wata’ costs $25LD in Robertsport and only $20LD in Monrovia. I wanted to pipe in about the economic argument of transportation costs but I thought that could wait for another day. This was an experience that I didn’t want to ruin. I remember sitting there, running my bare feet through the sand, thinking that I really needed a pencil and paper to write down some of these lyrics that I was hearing, but I didn’t move. In between songs we would probe him with questions about the war, his past employment, and his family and he would go into three-minute monologue answers before piping into his next tune. Part way through we offered him one of our nicer, newer guitars to play but he couldn’t play it. He knew what he could play and he was good at what he knew. Why spoil a good thing?

As I drove him back into town at 11pm on New Years Eve I promised him that I would get a hold of a new pair of strings for his guitar. I know where he works and I know how to find him so next time we’re up in Robertsport I will go out of my way to make sure I track down Julius B. Sundifu at least just to say ‘hello’. As he got out of our Toyota Land Cruiser I hopped down from my driver seat and met him at the back of the vehicle. Shaking his hand in thanks I slipped $5USD into his hand and wished him a Happy New Year.

He smiled a left-cheek smile, turned, and walked away.

Things You'll Find on Monrovia's Beaches - "Poo Poo"

2006-12-24T22:44:00.000Z

As disturbing as it is, its a reality. Many Liberians opt to go "poo poo" on beautiful beaches such as Fisher's Point. Most latrine-building projects are focused in more rural areas of Liberia but I would beg to suggest that parts of Monrovia are just as needing of latrines as some of the people in the bush. For some reason, the beach is a very popular spot for one to do one's business. On my walk down to Fisher's Point I witnessed two people going "poo poo" and many other remnants of business done in the past. Its a sad and disgusting reality for some people here in Monrovia, a reality that all of us have to deal with.

Things You'll Find on Monrovia's Beaches - The Beach

2006-12-24T21:58:00.000Z

One of Monrovia's finest beaches - Fisher's Point

Things You'll Find on Monrovia's Beaches - The Sea Shell

2006-12-24T21:23:00.000Z

Of the many natural sea-based items found on Monrovia's beaches, the sea shell is very common.

Rice Harvest in Lofa County

2006-12-20T15:48:00.000Z

We are working with Liberians in Lofa County to build rice swamps. We visited numerous rice swamps on our monitoring visit in early December. I had the privaledge to harvest rice the West African way...with a switch-blade. We did a crop yield estimate where an approximately 3 metre circle is harvested and then that yield is used to project total crop yield.

Exploring Liberian Culture

2006-12-18T07:05:00.000Z

It was 7:30pm. Darkness had come to North Eastern Liberia and as Marcel and I walked down the heart of the central road in Foya City my mind shifted back to life in North America. Not longer than ten days prior I had been enjoying the luxuries that it provides. As my attention focused back on the scene at hand I tried to comprehend exactly where I was and how I could relish this rare moment. Dozens of young boys and girls, some of which are barely thirteen or fourteen, sell items that vary from oranges to plantain chips, from roasted cassava root to red oil-filled Liberian soup over locally-grown rice. A convoy of giant Mercedes transport trucks raise dust over the vendors’ goods as another UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) shipment rumbles quickly past. The smell of burning ‘fire coal’ is partially smothered by the dirt suspended in the air, particles that slowly line the inner walls of my nostrils. I haphazardly mention to Marcel that the average age of everybody inhabiting the streets that night must be around sixteen.

Sixteen may have been a bit of overstatement but I believe it reflects the seriousness of the situation. In reality there was a few middle aged Liberians selling random items as well as the odd experienced ‘Ol pape’ (old man) staring at the developing vista from a comfortable distance.

Having made it a goal of mine to better understand the current culture and past experiences of individual Liberians, I decided to enjoy a little snack and talk to the local Liberians. For $10LD (the equivalent to about $0.20USD) I bought both Marcel and I a roasted cassava root. It might not sound very good but it actually looks and tastes a lot like a giant French fry. To moisten our mouths and wash some of the accumulated dust in our mouths we proceeded to buy green orange after green orange from a group of young ladies selling their product from a round platter-like dish suspended twelve inches from the dirty ground below.

The young girl I bought my oranges from stood out to me. Of the three of them selling oranges, she had a baby. “Awdio la naam dan?” “What is your name?” she said in her native Gissi tongue. “La naam dan Kevin.” Our conversation in Gissi didn’t last very long as I only knew two or three very basic phrases. We reverted to her speaking in broken English, most of which I could make out, some of which I don’t know that I wanted to. I asked her how old she was and she told me that she was fourteen. Initially I was maybe a little taken back by the fact that she had a kid at such a young age but in reality that isn’t anything new to Liberians. A commonly held belief in Liberia is that if you are thirteen and not having sex then you will get sick. Hence, you have a lot of young girls, some even younger than thirteen, attributing the HIV/AIDS problem thanks in part to a belief that most Westerners would view as “na corre”. As I went back and forth with this girl, Marcel was at an arms length teaching the other kids everything from songs from the BoneyM Christmas album to ‘Borat’ian phrases like “…itsa nice”. We all had some hearty laughs from it all. It was a perfect example of the clash of cultures.

Before every coming to Liberia I was warned by certain individuals that I would probably have Liberian girls try to pick me up. Up to this point I had never encountered this, until now. As I continued my conversation with this girl, her name I cannot recall, she slowly moved off her wooden block she was sitting on and leaned forward, her baby hanging only inches above the grill she used to fry the cassava roots she sold. I also leaned in to find out her little secret. “Ma babe want to no you.” I thought I had heard it all until I heard that one. The baby wasn’t old enough to speak. How could this baby want to know me? Anyways, we didn’t stick around much longer than that. We said thank you for the oranges, hopped on our motorcycles, and sped off into the night. The best of our Foya trip was yet to come.

That story is coming soon.

HCS Situation Report

2006-12-16T23:14:00.000Z

1. RETURN & RESETTLEMENT

Repatriation of Residual IDPs Ends

The repatriation of 5,500 former IDPs ended on 4 December with the final convoy of 169 persons to their communities of origin in Lofa County. On 3 October 2006, UNHCR, the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) and other partners in the IDP Consultative Forum started the resettlement of an estimated 5,500 former IDPs who were identified as residual cases by an interagency joint verification exercise in mid-2006. The IDPs included those who were omitted from the official resettlement of IDPs for various reasons, and have been living in camps outside Monrovia and in other areas.

UNHCR and its partners have to date assisted 326,824 IDPs to return to their places of origin and provided them with non-food-items, secondary transportation allowance and protection assistance since the exercise commenced in November 2004. Humanitarian agencies have directed assistance to improve basic social services in areas of high IDP return.

Update on Refugee and IDP Return in Lofa County

According to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), between October 2004 and 8 December 2006, 69,697 IDPs have returned to Lofa County spontaneously. Most of the spontaneous returnees are concentrated in Salayea District (37%), Zorzor District (32.7%), and Voinjama District (27.3%). NRC also estimates that during the same period, 124,047 Liberian refugees returned to Lofa County unassisted. These refugees returned mainly to, and are concentrated in Foya District (32%), Voinjama District (29.7%), and Kolahun District (20.5%). From these data, NRC estimates the population of Lofa County during the period at 364,453 people.

The data indicate that districts which lie on the borders between Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, have the highest rates of spontaneous return of Liberia refugees. However, Vahun District, which lies close to Sierra Leone, has received fewer numbers of returnees due partly to poor road conditions. Lofa County borders Guinea and Sierra Leone, and a large portion of its pre-war population fled to these countries.

2. HEALTH

Official Launch of Child Survival Programme in Grand Cape Mount County

The President of Liberia officially launched a USAID-funded Child Survival Programme in Grand Cape Mount County. The North-West Medical Team will implement the project in collaboration with the Christian Health Association of Liberia and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. The programme will be funded by a US$ 1.25 million USAID grant and a US$ 710,000 match in supplies and medicines. It will focus on nutrition, pneumonia case management, control of diarrhoeal diseases, immunizations, and prevention and treatment of malaria. Additionally, it will train 150 community health care workers and 250 traditional birth attendants.

Suspected Cholera Cases on the Decline in Liberia

Surveillance reports from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare indicate that the number of reported, suspected cholera cases increased gradually from January to September 2006 and declined afterwards. The reports showed an association between the rainy season and an increase in cholera cases. During the height of the rainy season (June – September), there was an increase in the number of suspected and actual cases of cholera and diarrhea in Montserrado, Grand Bassa and other Counties. The Government of Liberia in collaboration with it is partners (WHO, UNICEF, etc.) devised and implemented various case management and preventive measures to address the situation.

3. FOOD SECURITY AND LIVELIHOODS

Agriculture Agencies Estimate Gaps in Seed Rice Availability

The Agriculture Coordination Committee (ACC) in Liberia estimates a gap of 3,015.5 MT to meet seed rice requirements for an estimated 140,660 targeted farmers in 2007. According to the ACC, agencies have so far committed only 500 MT to meet the estimated requirements of 3,516.5 MT of seed rice for 2007. The ACC is the highest decision making body of the agricultural sector in Liberia, and comprises donor agencies, UN organizations as well as national and international NGOs and community-based farming groups.

During the planning process in 2005, the ACC estimated that 171,096 farm families were eligible beneficiaries of assistance for 2006. These beneficiaries included farmers who received partial assistance in 2005 and those who were not assisted, such as late arrival returnees, ex-combatants and host community residents who were eager to improve their lives through farming. Prior to the start of the planting season in April 2006, agencies realized that this number was far less than the actual number of beneficiaries thereby compelling the Government of Liberia and FAO to secure additional seed rice from neighboring countries to satisfy the demand. For the 2007 planting season, it is expected that more people will engage in rice cultivation and that yields would improve with good agronomic and management practices.

WFP Resumes School Feeding in Sinoe County

WFP has resumed food delivery to schools in Sinoe County, after a temporary halt due to poor road condition. The UNMIL Chinese Engineering Contingent has repaired some parts of the Zwedru to Greenville Road, which connects Grand Gedeh and Sinoe Counties, thereby making it easier for heavy vehicles to travel between the two counties. During the reporting period, WFP and partners distributed 1,917.7 MT of food to 291,783 students, refugees, IDPs and other beneficiaries in Liberia. Emergency School Feeding (85.4%) and Food Support for Local Initiatives (9.1%) accounted for the largest proportion of food distributed.

CCF Constructs Four Women Centers in Grand Cape Mount County

The international NGO, Christian Children Fund (CCF) is constructing four women centers in Grand Cape Mount County in order to provide an environment where women can discuss issues that affect them in their communities and also acquire training in life skills. These centers will serve as a useful medium of empowering women, especially widows and single mothers.

4. WATER & SANITATION

Nearly 1,400 Latrines To Be Constructed in Grand Gedeh County

The Water and Sanitation Working Group in Grand Gedeh County has earmarked 1,389 latrines for construction in Gbarzon, Konobo and Tchien Districts in 2007. The Group is also discussing plans for the maintenance of water and sanitation (WATSAN) facilities. UNMIL Military Observers will assist in providing information on WATSAN needs in communities that they visit.

Mass Well Chlorination Underway in Grand Cape Mount County

The Grand Cape Mount County Health Team is training 300 water and sanitation (WATSAN) committees for a mass well-chlorination campaign in the county. The campaign will help improve the quality of water from all water sources. Meanwhile, an assessment of all damaged and non-functioning wells fitted with hand pumps have started in the county. It is important to include training in repair and management of facilities in all WATSAN projects, in order for beneficiary communities to maintain these facilities after completion of projects.

5. PROTECTION

Anti-Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Campaign Launched in Liberia

Activities marking the start of a nationwide campaign to eliminate Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) were held all over Liberia during the week. Some of the activities included street parades, in-door launch programs, cultural dances, etc. These activities will lead to a year of awareness in 2007 on the prevention of SEA in Liberia. The UN and the Government of Liberia are spearheading the anti-SEA campaign.

Courtesy of UNMIL Coordination Section (HCS)
November 4 - December 10, 2006

The Art of Eating an Orange – Liberian Style

2006-12-16T10:23:00.000Z

I believe the way Liberians eat oranges could be very revolutionary for the Western world. An orange is, potentially, one of the messiest fruits on the market today. I'm not quite sure the historical context of this practice but Liberians have found a way to eat an orange that keeps ones hands free of that sticky mess that we commonly associate with that task:

Liberians peel an orange in the same manner a Westerner will peel a potato (an Irish potato as Liberians call them). They will peel the outer green or often orange coloured rind off leaving the orange with the inner rind still intact. This remaining rind is the key because this is what you hold onto when actually eating the orange.
The Liberian you buy an orange from on the street usually then scalps the orange in order for you to get at the insides. Like a Native American practice of old, the Liberians have resurrected this exercise and used it as a humane method accessing the insides of this fruit.
Once the top is off you then place your mouth over the gaping hole and squeeze the juices out. If you’re wanting to eat the actual insides of the orange you may be out of luck and might have to try another method. The juices are all we’re after anyways isn’t it?
Throw the remaining remnants on the ground.

Eternal Love Winning Africa (ELWA Compound)

2006-12-09T13:21:00.000Z

A lot of the trucks used by Liberians are what look like WWII/Alaskan Highway "hand-me-downs". This particular one on the left is used by an NGO, most likely for transportation of project supplies.

Eternal Love Winning Africa (ELWA Compound)

2006-12-09T13:10:00.000Z

This is a view from the lawn in the front of my house at the ELWA Compound. I couldn't ask for a much better view. The view is of the atlantic ocean. Thousands of miles directly across this expanse of water lies Brazil, South America.

Eternal Love Winning Africa (ELWA Compound)

2006-12-09T12:52:00.000Z

This is a view of the ELWA Compound where I live. A lonely dog watches candidly. There aren't many lonely dogs on ELWA.

Improving Access to Water and Sanitation in Liberia

2006-12-05T18:16:00.000Z

Many rural and urban residents in

Liberia

lack access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation in their communities. According to the 2006 Comprehensive Food Security and Nutrition Survey, although water is abundant in

Liberia

, only 32% of all households surveyed had access to safe drinking water. The Survey also found that less than a quarter of the households surveyed had access to an improved sanitary facility, usually a public pit latrine. In areas that were worst affected by the civil crisis, and in others where road access is difficult, residents struggle to get safe drinking water, and are constrained to drink water from creeks and streams. The Government of Liberia concludes that ‘water, sewerage and treatment facilities are out of operation, except for a limited supply of water in parts of Monrovia, and that garbage collection ranges from minimal to non-existent’ (Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy – final draft). During the rainy season, poor water and sanitation and hygienic practices contribute to an increase in cholera and other water-borne diseases.

More than 95 international and local NGOs and UN agencies are engaged in providing water and sanitation facilities in the country. The interventions include borehole drilling, shallow well rehabilitation/construction, family, institutional and communal latrine construction/rehabilitation, hygiene promotion, response to disease outbreaks and emergencies, and capacity building (training). As of November 2006 over 1,000 wells fitted with hand pumps and 350 latrines have either been constructed or rehabilitated. However, due to inadequate reporting by agencies, it is believed the actual number of water and sanitary facilities constructed or rehabilitated in 2006 may be higher. Hygiene promotion is maintained alongside construction or rehabilitation activities. The WATSAN Cluster led by UNICEF and three Government line ministries coordinate activities of agencies involved in water and sanitation (WATSAN) at the national level. At the county level, coordination is done through sector working groups. The Government of Liberia is reviewing plans to take over coordination of Cluster activities. Coordination activities include monthly Cluster and sector meetings, joint assessments and monitoring, coordinated response to emergencies and other needs, and maintenance of activities database.

The Government of Liberia has set a target of providing nine water treatment facilities in fifteen counties of Liberia to provide safe drinking water to residents by June 2008. The long-term targets set for the Millennium Development Goals for Liberia seek to provide coverage of 63% for both improved water supply and sanitation for all residents. In line with Government’s objective of ‘increasing safe drinking water and improved sanitation for all in both urban and rural areas’ the WATSAN Cluster has set out its priorities for assistance in 2007 to include participatory community hygiene promotion in cholera hot spots, construction of new facilities and rehabilitation of old facilities in areas of relative low coverage (Lofa, Grand Kru, River Gee, Sinoe, Rivercess and Gbarpolu Counties), and integration of mechanisms for maintenance of all WATSAN facilities, improving urban water supply in main towns, rapid emergency response and information management capacity building of local NGOs, and update of WATSAN information systems. Overall, a concerted effort to coordinate and monitor agencies’ activities is crucial to avoid duplication, ensure efficient use of resources and steer agencies’ activities in line with the Government priorities.

Courtesy of UNMIL Coordination Section (HCS)
November 2 - December 3, 2006

Liberia: Part Deux - Rebuilding and Reconstruction

2006-12-04T16:24:00.000Z

After seven long enduring months back in North America the time has come to resume my work in Liberia, a country that cries out for you when you’re not there and often leaves you on the verge of tears when you are. Seven long months were highlighted by a drawn out application process with Samaritan’s Purse International Relief (aka SP), a process that I’m glad I went through, but in the meantime contributed to me feeling very lost at times. I wasn’t fortunate enough back in April 2006 to have any sort of debriefing or re-entry coaching in order to get me ready to face western culture once again; I paid for it dearly. Whether it was social, mental, or spiritual awkwardness, my first few months back in Canada were extremely hard. I often found myself questioning things I never questioned before. I found little things that were just ‘normal’ to me prior to working in Liberia often very irritating and even annoying. Over time these things unfortunately worked themselves out in my own mind but I knew it was time to get back over to Liberia. It’s a shame how comfortable we can all get while living in North America, myself included.

So here I am with one hour and nineteen minutes left on a trans-atlantic flight that will eventually lead me back to Roberts International Airport, an airport just outside Monrovia built by the US Military about 60 years ago. Unlike last May when I first came over to Liberia, this time I know exactly what I’m getting myself into. I know the job and what it entails, I know the culture and the neighborhood I’ll be living in, and I know, for the most part, all the people I’ll be working with. This time around is also very different in the context of what I am leaving behind. Even though I feel like at this point in my life I belong in Liberia and not North America, I still have a lot of apprehension in my blood. The last two months of my prior stay in Liberia introduced to me an amazing girlfriend named Seren who has blown any previous concept of what it means to love and be loved. Leaving her behind is probably the hardest thing to do at this moment but something that is necessary regardless. She plans to come and serve in Liberia as well in the near future and we both need to have faith that God will provide an opportunity and a way.

In May 2005 I had so many different thoughts going through my head not having been in a war-torn country before: What are the people like? How dangerous is it over there? How has the war affected the Liberian people? After living in arguably the poorest country in the world for a year and opting to go back for two more, a whole new realm of questions exist that are a product of my current knowledge of the country and my time spent there: Is foreign aid beneficial to the Liberian people or is it just making them more dependent on ‘rich’ countries? Am I a missionary or a relief/development worker? In an often pressure-packed environment, how can I take a more compassionate approach to Liberians as a whole? What can I do to ensure that I keep the focus of our work in Liberia at the forefront of my mind?

The position I accepted is a two-year post as Field Finance Manager/Accountant. This position is very much like my previous position but without a lot of the clutter that caused a lot of stress and confusion in my last position. Indeed, there will be times when I will want to pull my hair, or gouge my eyeballs out, but I will be surrounded in an environment that looks out for the physical, spiritual, and mental well-being of their employees, an environment filled with some of the most quality people I’ve ever met.

I’m looking forward to what I can imagine happening in the next two years in Liberia. Some events that I can foresee happening are: 1. The Conviction and Sentancing of Charles Taylor for War Crimes/Atrocities (and the jubilation or potential violence that follows), 2. Full Compliance to the Kimberley Process by the Liberian Government and the Subsequent Lifting of Diamond Export Sanctions by the UN, and 3. Partial Re-Construction of Water and Power Infrastructure. There are many other events and much more progress that will realistically happen in these two years but these are the three main events that I can realizably see happening. Do I see corruption coming to an end in the next two years? The next five years? …even the next ten years? No. I don’t think corruption will ever cease in Liberia, much less the entire world, but with anti-corruption campaigns, more governmental accountability, and increased economic status of Liberians one would hope that these would all be factors at reducing the amount of corruption in the country. Some of the cultural issues within Liberia, corruption being one, are issues that I believe will take a generation to change. I hope I’m wrong.

A partial goal for my blog this time around is to expose what it was like for Liberians during the civil war that plagued this volatile country for 14 years. While I was in a deep sleep a week or so ago I got the brilliant idea that I would interview various Liberians, profiling their trials and success stories throughout the war in an effort to expose the atrocities that can be caused by large-scale greed and corruption. Through this process I hope to also expose some very moving stories of survival and change as these people look ahead to reconciliation and redemption. If I talk to enough people I’m positive that their stories will blow your mind and hopefully change the way you view the world. My initial intention is to create a standardized survey containing a variety of questions, mostly open-ended. I believe that with a well designed survey and some additional probing that I’ll be best able to convey their stories as accurately as humanly possible.

I also believe that through the purchase of a Canon 20D camera I’ll be able to provide more telling pictures of Liberia and the people who call Liberia home. This camera was an expensive investment but in order to capture the essence of Liberia I felt that it was necessary. I am looking forward to a more increasingly interactive and informative blog. Part of this is my responsibility through providing the necessary information and resources but part of this relies on you, the reader. In order for the entire international community to better understand Liberia, I believe that constant participation and dialogue from my readers is necessary. I look forward to getting back on the ground and ‘into the thick of things’ as they say. Keep posted and keep posting comments. I want to hear from you!

Currently in the Brussels airport…

Liberia Video Archives

2006-05-14T19:30:00.000Z

I would like to take this time to introduce a new section to the blog, located on the right hand column, called "Video Links". It is through Video Links archive that I will try to connect all my readers to video footage of the civil war, UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), and other missions within Liberia in the past as well as presently.

The following video clip is civil war footage of rebel soldiers being shot at:

Note: I have noticed that this video is only playable in the FireFox browser and certain versions of Internet Explorer.

Serving the World’s Poor, Profitably – A Personal Critique in the Liberian Context

2006-05-13T02:34:00.000Z

This article is my personal synopsis of a recently read article written by C.K. Prahalad and Allen Hammond and included in the September 2002 Edition of the Harvard Business Review, its titled Serving the World’s Poor, Profitably. This is neither an academic exercise nor a critique backed up by published academic sources but rather a personal critique given my past experiences within the country of Liberia, a country currently digging itself out of 14 years of bloodshed and civil war.

Throughout the article the authors try to prove, or it seems like they’re really taking a first stab at trying to prove, that it may indeed be profitable for multinational corporations (MNCs) to enter and invest in some of the world’s poorest markets.

Firstly, the authors make a very bold statement when they assume that, in an “all-goes-best” scenario of foreign investment, “The resulting decrease in poverty produces a range of social benefits, helping to stabilize many developing regions and reduce civil and cross-border conflicts.” I totally agree with them when they say that decreasing poverty produces a range of social benefits. If poverty is reducing, the social masses stricken by poverty will, by default, benefit in one way, shape, or form. Increased income would lead logically lead to better nutrition, transportation, and communication which in the end increases the quality of life of any individual. What I would tend to question would be the notion that is made that decreased poverty would reduce civil and cross-border conflicts. Does “poverty’ ultimately lead to violence or are there invariably other facts that play a role, especially in the Liberian context? In the Liberian context one could argue that the following factors would also play a role in violent behaviour: greed, lust, a western judicial system super-imposed over that of a tribal system, endemic corruption, and the deadliest of all sins – pride.

Under the heading “Untapped Potential” the authors pinpoint the exact problems Liberia is facing today in their fight for foreign investment and commerce abroad: corruption, illiteracy, inadequate (or almost non-existent) infrastructure, currency fluctuations (Liberia’s aren’t too outrageous but the threat is always there like many other developing countries), and bureaucratic red tape. As I read this article, a very optimistic outlook of the under-developed world, I was waiting for the disclaimer that the authors strategically placed at the end of the article, “All of the strategies we’ve outlined here will be of little use, however, unless the external barriers we’ve touched on – poor infrastructure, inadequate connectivity, corrupt intermediaries, and the like – are removed." Liberia is a country very rich in natural resources: iron ore, diamonds, gold, timber, and distinctive beauty. It will take extensive human and physical capital investment on the part of MNCs in order to exploit the endowments that have been placed within Liberia. It will take an even larger investment by the government of Liberia and citizens as a whole to attack the problem of corruption and poor infrastructure. Its time for Liberians to take ownership of the problems they face. There is one key element to the whole equation and that is confidence on the part of investors, its just not there.

I like the idea of targeting aggregate demand brought on by the “shared access” model, a model that disaggregates “access” from “ownership”. Elements of this model are currently being practiced on a small scale in Liberia and the example I will spotlight is that of cell phone battery recharge centers, or better known as “small small business centers”. It doesn’t matter which little town you drive through in Liberia you are guaranteed to find a little business center that you can plug your cell phone in to recharge its battery. I’m not exactly sure how the business owner can pull a profit from this operation but I’ll wager a guess. I would imagine that there would be a few power bars lined up all connected to a small generator. I would also imagine that they would only run the generator for maybe an hour or two or as long as they can keep the power bars at maximum capacity. Since a small generator may burn through a quarter of a gallon of gasoline (approximately $3USD/gallon) and a small amount of oil an hour, the total cost of running the generator for those two hours would be just under $2USD. If the business person is charging $10 Liberian Dollars (LD) per hour charge, at an exchange rate of 55LD:1USD, they would only need to be charging five phones per hour to break even. As one breaks down the analysis it is clear to see that this could very well be a profitable venture for a small small business center. Poor people, rather than buying their own generator can use a “public” generator on a pay-per-use basis. As the authors point out, “Shared access creates the opportunity to gain far greater returns from all sorts of infrastructure investments.” From my experience I would say, at least on a local level, that the shared access model can, and does, work. How far the shared access model can be taken by MNCs in the Liberian context still remains to be known.

In what capacity or industries can the shared access model provide the most benefit to the people of Liberia? How long will it take for those crucial elements (corruption, illiteracy, etc) to be rectified and will another, better, model be discovered that can profitably operate within the current context? These are all questions that need to be asked and I’m not sure if anyone currently has the answers.

Rogues at the EQUIP Liberia Head Office

2006-05-12T21:08:00.000Z

This is an email I recieved from one of the Liberian EQUIP Liberia management personnel regarding some rogues (robbers) at the EQUIP Liberia head office in Sinkor, Monrovia.

Rouges entered the EQUIP yard on 14th street this morning around 9am. The three boys came in the yard under the pretense of coming to see Dave or Alice. One of them engaged Mulbah in a conversation when he was washing the vehicle while the other two entered the Accounts office downstairs charging drawers. They were spotted and an alarm was raised. Community members came around and we began a preliminary investigation. We found out that they were thieves. The angry crowd was waiting at the gate to beat them to death. As we are engaged in Protection, we instead called on the UNMIL police and LNP to come to the scene.

The thieves were arrested and I went to the police station with them representing EQUIP. They were given a few slaps and kicks at the police station before going to the charge of quarter. While taking the statements one of them ran away. The other two were jailed awaiting for the court trial tomorrow. I am not going to waste my time going to the court. I now regreted why we did not allow the crowd to beat them fine before the police could arrive. The whole things delayed my work today.

Where Elephants Fight - An Autobiographical Account of the Liberian Civil War

2006-05-10T19:27:00.000Z

2006-05-06T04:03:00.000Z

Liberia's Natural Beauty: Silver Beach (25km Southeast from downtown Monrovia) - an already popular weekend destination of many expat and local beach lovers
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-05-06T03:55:00.000Z

Liberia's Natural Beauty: Robertsport - Africa's third best surf spot and resort destination for thousands of tourists in the near future
Posted by Kev-o-rama

The Wonder Year

2006-05-04T01:56:00.000Z

Here I am having spent close to twelve months in this recovering and budding Republic of Liberia. One often wonders why God calls them to face certain situations, career paths, or experiences (both good and bad) and what eternal purpose really lies behind it all. The intention of this post is to briefly reflect – I say briefly because I honestly think it will take a few months to fully reconcile what I worked through: the growth and direction that I’ve experienced with respect to my career, both the forced and natural growth/reduction spiritually, as well as numerous social encounters that I will never forget for the rest of my life. I’m labelling this entry as well as my time in Liberia as the “Wonder Year” because I often find myself wondering “why” or “how”:

1. Why was I put in the position I was put in, and how did I use it to benefit others?

2. How could human beings be so “inhumane” during the civil war? (A very foolish question since human nature is sinful, but still a question nonetheless.)

3. How do I deal with the constant begging from a society genuinely in need when my natural reaction would be to turn them away with the excuse that “I’m in Liberia to help the people of Liberia and not begging individuals”?

4. Why is the idea of corruption engrained within individuals as “right”, or “best practice” for all those development workers out there? I’ve come to experience that corruption isn’t an idea or some sort of attainable target at all, it just IS.

5. Why did I act the way I did in differing situations, and how, or would I change the way I faced certain situations if I could do it all again?

6. How am I going to face life back in North America?

7. How can people back home live the way they live? (If they only knew or cared about how people live in Liberia or other traumatised countries around the world. What I’m trying to say is quit worrying about how your waist is going to fit into those pair of pants. Do something useful with your life, before its over!)

Coming over to Liberia in May 2005 as an inexperienced development worker I really didn’t know, and wasn’t given much insight into what to expect. Flying over various countries of North and West Africa on the way here was, in and of itself, an interesting experience. Match those emotions with vague misconceptions and habitual images of Charles Taylor, child soldiers, and informal economies and you have a very nervous first timer to Liberia. This proved to be both harming/challenging as well as tremendously beneficial to myself mentally, spiritually, socially, and all those other words ending in “ally”.

First of all, the shock of coming to any post-conflict country as an inexperienced development worker will have an effect on someone from merely seeing the aftermath and hearing hair-raising stories of 14 years of chaotic civil war and a people who have been in “survival mode” for practically a generation. This feeling is especially compounded when travelling directly from a developed nation such as Canada into a foreign atmosphere such as Liberia. What is probably the most shocking is watching documentaries about the civil war and seeing common landmarks or faces that you know, only in a completely different background of war. At times throughout my stay in Liberia, especially near the beginning, there were times where I felt like I was in mental “survival mode” due to increased stress from work. But as you learn your job it tends to get a lot easier and stress levels tend to diminish. A lot of NGOs believe in and practice employee development in the areas of stress/security management and its role in the increased productivity of employees due to reduced stress, risk, and insecurity levels. I would tend to agree with this practice but unfortunately the disadvantages of a smaller NGO played their roles and either due to lack of financial capacity or the present organizational culture, which often lacks structure and discipline, this level of employee development was not practiced.

I’m not sure what the global definition of culture shock is but I think I can honestly say that I did experience a fair bit of that definition, whatever it may be. Having previously been to Central America I have experienced a bit of “culture shock” so to say but nothing rocks the boat like flying into Liberia for the first time seeing scores of houses either burnt or totally demolished, missing-limbed ex-fighters turned informal parking attendants, and stories of wartime massacres. One can’t help but be shocked by real scenes that Hollywood producers would only dream of reproducing on the big screen. Having been exposed to Liberia and its culture in a very integrated way for one year I can say that going back to Canada could possibly be a lot harder than coming out to Liberia. There is something about poverty that I find very attractive. Don’t read this the wrong way because there is nothing attractive about swollen stomachs due to severe malnutrition or houses made of flattened cars but I do find it attractive how people somehow seem to find happiness amongst all the suffering, disappointment, and ruined expectations.

To wrap up the last year spiritually all I can say is that it was a “rollercoaster ride”. A real shocker, and what proved to be a really tough spiritual issue for me, was the inbred corruption not only rampant in large, “respected”, donor organizations and the public, but also throughout my own organization. This proved to be extremely spiritually taxing and dilapidating. I often wondered why, if God called me into relief/development work, He would bring me to a situation that would, in the end, pull me so far away from Him. Also, at the beginning to the middle of my stay in Liberia, work was so mentally and physically draining that there were times where I would just eat, sleep, and work. The last thing that I would want to do when I got home from work was to read the Bible when that is probably what I needed most at that time. Spiritual discipline was fairly non-existent. I cannot only blame the fact of inbred corruption I also have to blame myself for the decline in my spiritual life. It is just a lot easier to hang out with amazing individuals and watch the latest cricket, football, or rugby match or ride a wave or two down at Silver Beach. And let me say this, the better you get at surfing the more addicting it gets and the greater the chance for “spiritual slacking”.

Having pointed the finger to almost everyone, including myself, for my spiritual downfalls, I definitely have to point my finger a group of individuals that gave me a spiritual boost during my time here. I have to say thanks to the amazing group of individuals at the ELWA compound, and specifically the Samaritan’s Purse house, for their love for God and others and their dedication to the spiritual part of life in Liberia through their Tuesday night Bible studies. Even though they were only twice a month and I often could not attend due to work obligations, I enjoyed and got valuable information out of every one I attended. If it wasn’t for the individuals at Samaritan’s Purse (especially Bev, Kendall, Marcel, Mark, Dave, and Lauren) I don’t want to even think about what sort of mental state I would be in at this moment of my life. They really know how to pull the ‘sane’ out of the ‘insane’. Thanks guys for everything!

To give an in-depth recap of the personal and career growth that I experienced during my year in Liberia would be a very exhaustive exercise but I’ll try and give a fairly comprehensive description, taking into account the attention span of an average reader. First of all, the position as Finance & Reporting Manager pushed me to all limits and forced me to put into practice the five years of schooling in the area of Accounting that I had acquired what seems like many lives ago. The one thing about relief/development work, at least according to a lot of the expat relief/development workers that I know and have talked to, is that it is as much “flying by the seat of your pants” as it is applying what you already know. Mistakes are not shunned on but thought of as part of the overall learning experience because, frankly, the things you encounter on the field no training can prepare you for. If there was an academic or development professional which had all the answers I don’t think we’d see a situation like un-/under-developed Africa that currently exists. In an environment when “productivity” often takes precedence over “product”, quantity often exceeds quality. In no means do I want to put across the message that I did a bad job because I personally know what I did for EQUIP Liberia in my short time will benefit them in the long run as they grow and establish themselves as a larger, more recognized and respected NGO in Liberia. The position really gave me an understanding of how the international community and donor nations interact with the country in question in a relief/development situation, how funds are filtered down through large “coordination type” organizations such as the UN and World Bank to implementing partners, and frankly, who actually gets the job done. I have to look at my time in Liberia as a one year Masters Degree in International Development, a degree where at the end of the day I have gained not only in the knowledge bank but also in the bank account. I have gained an increased respect for people who dedicate and put their own lives on the line to help the poor and have opened up a place in my heart for people caught in situations forced upon them by governments with mal-intent based on money, power, and greed.

I dare not take anything for granted lest I fall into the trap that the majority of Western culture is currently not trying to get out of. A couple days ago, as I walked back from the local postal outlet, I had the opportunity to enjoy the sights and sounds of living in probably the most stunning part of the world that I’ve ever seen, British Columbia. A postal delivery driver patiently waved me across as I hurriedly shuffled across the entrance of a neighbouring townhouse complex. As he made his way into the entrance behind me, window down, he blurts out to me, “I get paid by the hour!” I could have brewed him a fresh cup of coffee and he would have waited for me. As I continued down the street, wearing the biggest smile and chuckling to myself as I walked, the question popped into my head, “Why did I find this unmotivated display of lack of pride by the postal worker remotely hilarious when it was this same unmotivated lack of pride which drove me crazy during the past year in Liberia?” Oh, the puzzling world we live in today!

As my reflection of Liberia draws to an end for now the ever-looming question remains for me to answer and I still don’t know if I have the answer to “What to do with the blog now that I’m back in Canada?” Thanks to the combined interest of friends & family, the press, and the international community I have to say that what was started as a tool to keep people back home informed on the goings on turned into a representative story of my life in Liberia which benefited a number of individuals including journalists, missionaries, future relief/development workers, and Liberians seeking refuge in other countries among others. The number of people I have met due in part to the blog exceeded any expectations. It helped me form a reputation, whether I liked it or not, for myself in Liberia. I was known as “the guy who climbed the tower”. The hours upon hours of time I spent working on the blog seemed to pay off when I had a dedicated reader express interest in donating £20/month to a Liberian of my choice. It’s a good feeling to know that somebody buys into what you are doing and has the guts to get themselves involved in the work that is happening on the ground.

As far as the future of the blog, I am open to suggestions as to what the blog should look like while I’m outside of Liberia. I wouldn’t rule out the idea that I might be back in Liberia in the near future but there are a lot of important decisions I need to make in the next 4-5 months regarding education, work, and relationships before I can concretely say what my future will hold. I have thought of turning the blog into a fundraising site for different projects in Liberia and that might be a part of the solution but I envision the blog as being a sort of resource material for my readers, the scope of which I’m not quite sure. I have had other expats in Liberia offer to write for the blog and that is still another option. I need your guys’ help on this on!

2006-04-26T09:49:00.000Z

See you back in Canada Michelle!
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-04-26T09:41:00.000Z

My Farewells to the Boys
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-04-26T09:23:00.000Z

Then & Now: The Dukor Hotel's Ballroom
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-04-26T09:21:00.000Z

The Dukor Hotel in its Glory Days
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-04-20T20:22:00.000Z

Crocodile Dundee
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-04-17T20:02:00.000Z

An Endless Summer in Liberia
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-04-12T12:55:00.000Z

Waiting for the Surf at Robertsport
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-04-11T09:35:00.000Z

Liberian Rice Swamp Harvest
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-04-10T11:58:00.000Z

Liberian Rice Swamp in Full Bloom
Posted by Kev-o-rama

Another Concerned Reader

2006-04-10T10:08:00.000Z

Dear Kevin,

You asked for comments on the tone of your blog and its accuracy. I'll start by telling you a little about me which doesn't matter except to provide some context.

I'm a 49 year old Black American who visited Liberia 35 years ago. My great grandfather's brother moved to Liberia and the two branches of the family kept in contact. Some of the Liberians attended college in the U.S. My dad met some of them and in 1971 we went to Liberia for two weeks along with an additional month in Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria. Liberia was a very different place in 1971 than it is now, but my image of the country includes educated people and a reasonably stable society. I'll add that I want to do nothing more than go back to Liberia and assist people there in rebuilding society. I have tremendous respect for what you are doing in Liberia, and the fact that you are doing as part of a mission.

My concern about your blog and many others about Liberia from the development community is what appears to me to be a world weary tone that we have to help these people even if they don't deserve it. This comes across in several ways: the lack of understanding of the short and long term history of Liberia, the lack of understanding that current conditions have a lot to do with 14 years of civil war and civic disruption, and the constant focus on "white kids in Africa." Most obvious and I think what Ben is getting at was the failure to mention any Liberians in Liberia who are educated, competent, compassionate, and honest. This sounds very negative, and I apologize and mean no hard feelings. Like Ben, I am a faithful reader of your blog, enjoy reading about your interpretation of what you see, and respect your commitment to the people of Liberia. I hope you have a safe trip back to Canada. I look forward to hearing from you and would very much like your opinion on the role that Black Americans can play in the reconstruction of Liberia.

Sincerely,

Another Concerened Reader

My response...

Good to hear from you! I love when readers take the time to get in
contact with me.

I'm not sure I agree with you on all issues but I respect your opinion.

Being part of the relief/development community here in Liberia I have never heard the idea that Liberians don't deserve help. I often have discussions with other NGO workers on the problems that Liberians face trying to rebuild their lives but I have never once heard the notion that they don't deserve it. My view on the situation is that educated/non-educated, honest/corrupt, competent/incompetent – anyone who has had their lives torn apart by 14 years of civil war deserves to be helped in an attempt to get their lives back on track. I believe the development/international community here in Liberia has a fairly good idea of the history, both short- and long-term, here in Liberia. There are different NGO workers here in Liberia that have been here for 20+ years and who have PhDs in the study of Liberia and I believe they have done an excellent job of portraying their viewpoints on differing issues that have brought Liberia where it is today: the two-tiered society caused by the Americo Liberians in the mid 1800s, conflicts between indigenous clans, the imposing of Western rule of law on top of tribal rule of law, the existence and dominant role of secret societies (eg. Poro/Sande Socities as well as Freemasony) in Liberian politics, as well as the fact that a vast majority of Liberians have adopted and have engrained the idea that corruption is ok – standard operating procedure. I had the opportunity to attend a two-day USAID Strategic Planning Workshop here in Liberia a few months ago. USAID happens to be one of the biggest relief/development donors here in Liberia and to see the direction they are going to take in the next few years was very interesting. One whole day of the two-day workshop was dedicated to the problem of "Corruption". One point that came up was that presently in Liberia corruption is seen as ethically right, and this is obviously caused from years of just trying to survive during the civil war – no doubt about it. I also believe that the government has a very important role to play in setting the bar as far as what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in civil society. It's a shame that over the past 26 years the government, starting with the Doe regime in the 1980s then followed by Taylor in the 1990s and just recently with the National Transitional Government of Liberia(NTGL), have set the bar extremely low by running stupendously corrupt governments. Its great to see that newly elected Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is taking the issue of corruption straight on by firing all Ministry employees and making newly elected government officials declare their assets before being sworn in. In no way can you place the blame directly on the people of Liberia for the corruption problems faced at this present time but for me there are still no excuses. My take on the whole corruption issue is that it is not going to be an overnight fix by any means. I believe that through honest successive governments dedicated to the betterment of the people of Liberia and through extensive education the problem of corruption can be conquered. Its like teaching someone who has been paralyzed from the waist down to walk again. As Liberians would say, "small small".

I am curious to know what you mean by the constant focus on "white kids in Africa". That's a term I've never heard before and I'm curious to know what that is intended to mean.

As far as the role that Black Americans can play in the reconstruction of Liberia, that is a very tough question. The biggest things that Liberia needs at this moment is their infrastructure back in working order, whether it be physical/capital infrastructure (roads, bridges, running water, power, garbage collection/disposal, and a fully operational port) or governmental infrastructure (revenue collection, salaried civil servants etc.). To me it often seems extremely hard to "help" when you're in North America. I know some people send financial help over to support differing projects going on in Liberia – and all of that helps don't get me wrong. I believe that as the international community continues to pour in money for the reconstruction of infrastructure, more and more onus will be put on the Liberian people to take ownership of their natural resources, problems, and their lives in an attempt to reach that position of sustainable development that "us", the development community, hope and pray for. There are, I suppose, three methods that one can help in the rebuilding of Liberia: 1. Financial support, 2. Actually coming to Liberia and physically helping out, and 3. Prayer.

Thanks again for going out of your way to email me.

God bless.

Concerned Reader's Reply:

I think we disagree on some points but agree on many. I think our main area of disagreement is due to very different perspectives. I saw Liberia for two weeks 35 years ago. You have lived there for a year. I also think that our perspective differs on the history and culture of Liberia and how that has influenced recent events.

My comment "white kids in Africa" was probably unfair. Here's what I meant. It bothered me that all your pictures and much of the text focused on surfing and hanging out with the other folks with the development and missionary communities. All (most) were white. All(most) were young. It struck me how invisible Liberians are in your blog. I'd like to know more about what young Liberians are doing. What about those going to University of Liberia, the Baptist Seminary, or Cuttington College? Those who weren't child soldiers, or corrupt, but just people trying to get some education?

Having said all that, what I want to do is go to Liberia, possibly on some time of short term mission trip through American Baptist Churches USA. I'm praying that I can work something out in the next couple years.

Again, have a safe trip back to Canada and to the people that have kept you in their prayers.

Another Concerened Reader

2006-03-20T15:01:00.000Z

Pink Threads & Short Shorts
Posted by Kev-o-rama

A Concerned Reader

2006-03-20T13:49:00.000Z

Over the last few months while I've been blogging I have received a number of emails from an American radio talk show, French journalist, Liberians currently outside of Liberia (the majority of them in the United States), and many other dedicated and concerned readers. While the majority of my readers generally enjoy the stories I have to share there has been concern about the tone of content of my blog and the potentially negative images of Liberia that it might convey.

What follows is an email from a dedicated reader and concerned Liberian living in the United States as well as my reply. I'm looking for feedback from my readers concerning this email and any other similar, or not-so-similar feelings regarding the content of my site.

Kevin:

I am a Liberian living in the United Staes of America and a regular reader of your blog. Although, I may not agreed with everything that you write, I find your site interesting. However, in recent time I have read several issues critical of the system. From Air port Officials being un- aware about the arrival of a plane or to better put when a flight is delayed to the insincere wood carver. This is good though but when this blog is not balance with some positive developments going on in the country, it rasies some concerns for some of us. I know the country is recovering from a prolonged civil war and majority of the people live in abject poverty and squalors but some positive developments are going on. I have looked forward to read about some positive issues. However,The more I wait, I continue to read about dishonesty, insincerity, and see ghasty pictures about poverty. I know that there are lot of insincere and corrupt Liberians. Yet I strongly believe there are few honest ones but their stories are not told. I also do not see pictures of the beautiful land scapes and natural habitats.

I am raising these issues because I read your blog along with my kids and they may not have the intelligence to analyze your writing. And for this reason, they asked me a lot of stereotypical questions. I am taking them home soon and I do not want them looking at the entire populace as dishonest, corrupt and bunch of "primitive people". Please write something about the small percentage of people that are hard working, sincere and "civilized". I just need a balance piece of writing.

In your most recent blogs, you stated that you trusted only a single doctor in the entire country with the exception of the doctors on the Mercy Ship. This is your opinion and you are entitle to it. However, if you are writing for a global audience,this kind of writing send a wrong message. I do not know the nationality of Dr. Scarla, but from his name, he may be an expatriate. I know of many good and professional Liberian doctors in the country but my kids do not undersatnd this.

When I read your last posting dated March 13, 2006 regarding your Boat(canoe) ride with the 'Crew' from the Mercy Ship, I was delighted that you guys had a beautiful ride on the Mesurado River. However, I became disgusted when I read you and Beth's articles(girl from Mercy ship) that the people of Clara and Vai Towns were drinking that filthy water. I immediately called Liberia and asked my friend who is a health worker to go and investigate and the situation. He said he talked to the inhabitants and the people asked him to rexamine his head because even an insane man will never drink from the river. I am not disputing your allegation but I hope it is just not true.

Kevin, after your tour of the Mesurado River, I was waiting to see pictures of the beautiful wetland, mangrove swamps, Islands and lakes which I believe you might have seen but I was disappointed because I did not see any picture to elate my spirit. Please bear in mind that I know you are not wrting to please me or satisfy my curiosity but I am a part of a huge audience that visit your site. I hope you see my writing as a constructive criticism from one of your ardent, staunch, and regular "fan". I don't want my kids to see you as a western reporter who only report the negatives in Africa.

Thanks

Ben.

My reply...

Hi Ben,

Its great to hear from people like you. Thank you for the constructive criticism.

I write things on a first hand basis as I see them and I try not to “candy-coat” anything. I don’t write to please or make friends. I do agree with you that there are a few honest Liberians because I work with some. As a Westerner coming over to Liberia for a year as a relief/development worker I will admit that I still can’t fathom what the Liberian people have gone through or how they can be as optimistic as they are.

I would recommend you reading my post about the Bong Mines. It is a very positive outlook on the natural beauty of Liberia. I also have a post on there from last year on Robertsport. I think I have given an accurate description of the natural beauty of the country and I believe that this country has some serious potential for tourism in the years to come. Regarding a trustworthy doctor in Liberia. The reason I trust Dr. Sacra (the one who stitched me up) and the Mercy Ships doctors is because of their results. On more than one occasion I have had friends of mine go to Liberian doctors and either have drugs prescribed for them which they are allergic to and giving the patient the wrong treatment in the case of an pregnancy case actually killing the baby and the mother (one of our staff member’s daughters) just to name a couple. I’m not sure if you can blame the doctors because Liberians need to take ownership of their healthcare system and that means having trained medical personnel with the capabilities of dealing with situations like these. I plain fact of the matter is that a lot of these doctors were most likely trained before the war and have maybe lost a lot of what they learned while they were just trying to survive over the last 15 or so years. You can’t blame victims of war but I don’t believe you can run away from the fact that they have problems. That’s why the international community has such a large presence…because it has problems!

I could try and contact some of the other people who were on the boat ride to get you some pictures of the mangrove swamps but I’m not sure if you’d want to see them. There is garbage caught and all among the mangrove swamp. What surprised me the most is that the garbage is not strictly confined to the shores where people live. The garbage floating around in the water has found a home on the shores of islands on the river and amongst the mangrove.

The issue of drinking water in the river…it is not only this river in which people drink. We do a bi-annual survey of our communities that we are working in up in Nimba County and within the communities we are working in 23% of residents use rivers or creeks for their source of water (drinking/cleaning/cooking etc). This is a major worry when it comes to outbreaks such as cholera etc. I would tend to think that people in an urban setting would hopefully be a little more educated than those in the bush but I would argue that in Monrovia that percentage is in no way zero. I would also say that in no way is it a majority of Clara/Vai Town residents that drink the water…but there is at least one.

I’m wondering if you read my article that got published on the Open Source radio show (there is a link to it on my blog). Its about the feeling in Liberia around the inauguration of Ellen Sirleaf Johnson. I would like to think that it was a very optimistic outlook on Liberia. I also put a post on the blog about the different projects that we are running in Liberia currently serving close to a quarter million people. These are the positives that I see in Liberia. When I see freshly paved roads that don’t spoil in four months, public running water, or electricity I’ll be the first one to write about it. Speaking of which…I really need to put a photo of the two “working” traffic lights near Freeport. I would love to write about people’s lives that are being saved through the work done in our clinics or by our community health ambassadors but I’m not on the ground enough to give an accurate description of individual cases. I don’t think that would be fair unless I was their first hand.

Well, take care and thanks once again for the concerns. Feel free to contact me whenever you would like. That is why I’m here.

K.

Diamonds and "Bamboos"

2006-03-16T15:27:00.000Z

For many years during the civil war in Liberia the exporting of diamonds funded the purchase of arms which in turn fuelled an already devastating civil war which claimed the lives of hundred of thousand helpless victims. In 2001, UN Sanctions banned all exports of diamonds in an attempt to stop the different atrocities from continuing. Currently, it is not illegal to mine for diamonds so long you have a permit from the government to do so, but it still is illegal to export them. Don’t kid yourself though, the exporting has been stopped on a macro level but the micro- black market is alive and well in Liberia.

On a trip up in Nimba County in search of baboons, or “bamboos” as the Liberians would call them, we ran upon one of these petty diamond mining sites, an always interesting high school field trip. There were maybe two dozen miners at this operation and what an operation.

Firstly, before I get into the story of the diamond miners I should mention about these baboons. The local Liberians in the area believe that their spirits actually enter the baboons and, in a sense, they become baboons. We picked up a local villager who was describing all of this to us as we motored along the rarely travelled on dirt road. He himself was “under the water”, as he described it. What he meant by that is that his spirit can transform and enter that of a fish. Some Liberians have interesting beliefs that’s for sure…troubling as well. A young girl, maybe 10 years old, ran back among the sugar cane as she saw the oncoming vehicle. I was told that some of these people have never seen a vehicle in their lives before. After driving village to village trying to track down the head “bossman’ of this baboon society we came up empty. All the local villagers were too scared to show us the baboons without consent of the head elder because of beliefs that punishment will follow if they don’t follow the proper protocol. So in the end we never saw any “bamboos” or any wildlife for that matter, just a good cultural experience.

Back to the diamond mining…

These two dozen or so men, a lot of them ex-fighters (I saw a few women and children but I’m sure they were mostly onlookers and moral supporters), were working like little ants in their intricately set up operation. What they basically did was dam up a certain part of this river so that the raised water level in the rainy season wouldn’t ruin their operation. They had a bunch of little stations, if you will, set up each doing their own task, and doing it well. From shovels and diggers to hand picking larger stones from the mix, all these Liberians were working together for one goal: Diamonds. I had them give me a demonstration on how they sift through the smaller stones to discover what their sharp eyes know as a good and potentially high-priced diamond on the black, yet open market. What I didn’t know is that all these stones, to the untrained eye, look the same, but to the miners, very different. There is a layer of dark black stones that are heavier than all the other stones and during the sifting of the diamonds and these black stones sink to the bottom, or to the top, when they flip their square screen filter over. Small scale diamond mining operations such as this one exist in many areas of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. I can say that maybe I’m a little bit better of a person for experiencing this…well, maybe not better, but a lot more educated.

2006-03-13T18:00:00.000Z

My First Stab at Liberian Public Transportation
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-03-13T17:40:00.000Z

Deep Sea Sport Fishing ~ who says Liberia isn't a tourist destination?
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-03-13T17:13:00.000Z

Unfinished Business
Posted by Kev-o-rama

Wanted: Monrovia Garbage Picker-Uppers

2006-03-13T17:00:00.000Z

Just when I thought I was getting acclimatized the level of poverty in Monrovia, a small ‘three hour tour’ with some amazing people from the Mercy Ships realigned my thinking once again. After waiting at a shanty little house, basically underneath the bridge to Vai Town, for 3+ hours, we were finally led into one of the most disgusting neighbourhoods of Monrovia that I’ve experienced. Down to the water we walked in between two closely constructed buildings until we arrived upon what looked like a garbage dump. Did I mention anything about a cross-dressing Liberian who shoves long nails up his nose? Well, if I failed to mention of the sort, I saw exactly that while waiting for our boat to arrive. Lets just say that he was a character. Our boat finally arrived, and what a boat it was. It would say it was probably 35-40 ft long, not a dugout canoe but a boat actually made of wooden planks. They unloaded their day’s catch and threw a plank down that we could walk up on our way to boarding this medieval vessel. A few African drums were brought aboard and the party started. Up and down the river we cruised, the odd person getting up to “shake what their momma gave them”.Kids ran up and down the bank doing a little jig to the best of their ability. It all seemed like a fairly festive event if it wasn’t for the fact that it seemed like everywhere was covered with garbage. There were areas where it looked like the physical landmass had actually increased because of so much garbage. Lets not forget about the masses of garbage that were just plainly floating around looking for a home on the bank of someone’s yard. Let me paint you a picture here. Just imagine a paradise land, silver lined beaches, palm trees and scorching sun. Now lets apply the Monrovia filter to the situation. Sand is nowhere to be seen – garbage replaces sand as the staple item to build castles. Any item that resembles a building supply is used to build a latrine that hangs over the water where people have for the past number of years defecated into what once was pristine water. Kids now play and swim in this water. Parents collect this water for drinking, cleaning, washing, and cooking. Its just disturbing. Recently I brainwashed myself to saying that Liberia “isn’t THAT bad” but after seeing the inhumane living conditions of these people the last thing it makes me feel like doing is “shaking what my momma gave me”. Garbage piled up around bridge structures and burnt and fully-destroyed automobiles provided a firm foundation of these fully rotten piles pieces of “earth”. It was quite a sobering tour to say the least.

2006-03-07T19:39:00.000Z

An Unknown Future: Liberians Try to Get Their Feet Back on the Ground
Posted by Kev-o-rama

Lend Me Your Ear.....(and I'll sing you a song)

2006-03-05T20:46:00.000Z

It all started by agreeing to wake up at 6am Sunday morning. I thought it would be harder to wake up but I went to bed at 9pm and was pretty much ready to go when my cell phone alarm went off. Once I hit the water I woke up immediately. What started out as just another day on the surf turned out to be a pretty hair-raising incident that could have been a lot worse. The waves were maybe 5ft’ers on average but didn’t have very good form and most didn’t offer much of a ride at all. That said, there were some that you could have a little fun on and that we tried to do. Initial surf participants were a group of five from the Mercy Ships and myself. The main perpetrator would come about 45 minutes after we initially hit the water. Midway through our time on the water I saw Mrs. Bev from SP sitting on the beach, most likely waiting for someone to pack it in so she could borrow their board. Being the thoughtful character that I am, I went to shore and offered her my board for a while (she should have taken it…it would have saved everyone a bunch of trouble). Spellbound by her conversation with Michelle and Seren from the Mercy Ships, Bev immediately denied my offer. One must understand that an idle surfboard is completely useless. I grabbed the board and paddled back out.
After another 30 minutes or so I caught a wave and rode it to the beach. Bev was just on her way out on a board that somebody lent to her. We both proceeded to paddle out, Bev in front and a bit to the side of me, for argument’s sake, let us say 2 o’clock. It all happened so fast I really don’t actually know what happened but all I know is that I got whacked on the head. I knew Bev’s board hit me pretty hard but I wasn’t quite sure what the extent of the damage was. I got up and shook it off ready to continue paddling out when Bev says, “Kev’s you’re bleeding!” Initially she thought it was “a mere flesh wound” but as she looked at it closer I asked her if it would need stitches. She proceeded to say, “You’ve got to go to the hospital.” It ends up that her surfboard hit my ear and sliced right through it! It was weird because I couldn’t feel anything except for some blood dripping off my ear. After seeing it I feel lucky I didn’t lose my entire earlobe. It sliced completely through the back of my earlobe leaving it partially attached to my ear. We made it back to the Silver Beach house rummaging around the house to find a camera in order to document the evidence for blog purposes. After snapping a few Bev drove me to the ELWA hospital where the only doctor I trust in Liberia, besides those on the Mercy Ship of course, Rick Sacra, stitched me up. Total damage equalled five stitches to the ear and one to my neck. It didn’t hurt at all and made for some good pictures so I guess I can say that it was worth it!

Another Mercy Ships Act of Charity

2006-02-25T21:24:00.000Z

So I get to work on Monday and to my surprise there is a group of volunteers from the Mercy Ships' Anastasis and apparently at the office to give it a face lift. Nothing beats a little renovation on a Monday morning. Not only did they come Monday but every day for one week a group of 4-6 individuals came to the office and proceeded to give the EQUIP office a much needed makeover. If the work seemed too hard for some the meat pies we supplied them for lunch negated any feelings of laziness. Seriously, what a group of hard working individuals. I thought it only right to give them some cyber-credit for what they accomplished. My office is completely rearranged and let me just tell you, change is good!

For all of you Mercy Ships folks who I talked to over the week (too many to remember each individuals' names) my invitation for surfing at Silver Beach still stands. Feel free to get in contact with me (kevin.aja.fryatt@gmail.com).

Thanks for all the hard work!

2006-02-20T21:02:00.000Z

Sometimes you just have to "Fake the Funk"
Posted by Kev-o-rama

How to Get Your Money Eaten by a Liberian Wood Carver

2006-02-18T15:19:00.000Z

A few months ago, after a number of games of Settlers of Catan, I came up with the brilliant idea of having a Liberian carve me a Settlers game out of “mahogany” as they would call it. What kind of tree it comes from is still under debate but, for sake of argument, let’s just call it mahogany. These are in-depth step-by-step procedures on How to Get Your Money Eaten by a Liberian Wood Carver.

1. Exhaust all available resources in picking your carver trying to get the most skilled carver while promoting honesty and timely delivery of product. Skill and honesty are not necessarily mutually exclusive. When all else fails just hang out in front of UN Drive Supermarket and wait 4-5 minutes. A carver is bound to hassle you for business.

2. Next you’ll want to make sure you draw up a contract so both parties know exactly what their responsibilities include within the agreement. By both parties knowing their responsibilities there is no possible way that either parties can have ANY confusion whatsoever regarding any part of the agreement or work to be completed. Ah yes, the benefits of living in a perfect world! Below are diagrams of my proposed game pieces and the contract that was drawn up and signed by both parties in the transaction. I drew up the contract so that I would give this carver character $20USD up front in order for him to buy his wood and feed his family and whatnot, a standard operating procedure in Liberia. If things went wrong I would only be down by $20USD, definitely worth the risk.

3. Stick to the agreement! After signing our agreement and sending Mr. Carver on his way it was understood by both parties that no more money would be forwarded until he brought me samples of each of the resource pieces and other small game pieces one week after the contract was signed. Once approval was given by me, $10 USD additional dollars were to be paid and the balance $40 USD were to be paid upon completion of the 80+ game pieces. Mr. Carver comes maybe four weeks later, after I had given up most of the hope I had in him, to beg me for $10 USD to buy a saw and some sand paper. Now answer me this, “What kind of wood carver doesn’t have a saw?” Apparently MY wood carver! After arguing with him for 10 minutes I refused to give him money for a saw. I forwarded him an additional $5 USD for some sand paper.

4. If you buckle and forward money once, DO NOT DO IT AGAIN! So after forwarding this character $5 USD to buy himself some sandpaper, without seeing any sign of samples or anything resembling a finished product, I once again gave up hope on ever seeing this guy. Low and behold, another month or so passes by and he finally arrives at our office with what he called “samples”. There were extremely poor carvings and you could tell that he didn’t put much time into them whatsoever. Either I must have been having a good day or he played the right card because for some reason, only God knows why, I forwarded him another $5 USD. He said he needed transport money to get back home and to buy some food for his family. That can always be a legitimate excuse in Liberia and this time I was the one that fell for it.

He technically brought me samples but I definitely DID NOT approve of them. I’m not sure which part of “these hexagonal pieces must be able to fit together when they’re finished” he didn’t understand but I’m guessing it had to do with the words “hexagonal pieces” because these looked rather like oblong circles to me. Oh well, now I have a $30 USD investment with no realizable results. Academia always teaches that positive reinforcement is the way forward but I often wonder how much time these think tanks spend in countries like Liberia.

5. If you are to follow these instructions just as I have laid them out I guarantee you that you’ll end up with no finished product and you’ll be down a few bucks! Its not the money that rubs me the wrong way in this transaction because in the big scheme of things it really isn’t very much and I know that carver character needs it a lot more than I do. The thing that rubs me the wrong way is the principle of the matter and the fact that this is a country wide pandemic. It is a much more global problem that Liberia faces and something that seems engrained in the character and morals of a lot of Liberians. If newly elected President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is wanting to stabilize the economy and promote long-term economic growth and peace within this country there must be an element of trust and morality established within the hearts and minds of Liberians.

Final Spiritual Note:

This carver also liked to use the excuse that he was a Christian and that God wouldn’t bless him if he ate my money. For that moment he spoke the pure truth. I do question which “god” he is worshipping though because it sure doesn’t seem to be THE God. But then again, who am I to judge. “…for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgement of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.” Romans 2:1, 2 NKJV There are a lot of people in this world who claim to be Christian but their actions speak a lot louder than their words. “And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit…Romans 1:28, 29 NKJV. Having said that we all need God equally and have all been given the ability to make decisions that will impact others either positively or negatively and which will dishonour or glorify God. “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 NKJV. Whether or not this carver’s intentions were to deceive me or not I don’t know, but please pray for myself and Liberians that the truth will be known and we will all have the strength to follow it.

Friday Night at Robertsfield International

2006-02-14T17:27:00.000Z

I rushed off to Robertsfield International (RIA) to pick up Dave who was coming in from a three week absence while off “vacationing” in

Canada

. His flight was to come in at 6:50pm. I arrived just around 7pm. The weird thing was that as I was pulling up to the airport I didn’t see any sign of a commercial airliner. The only massive hunks of steel that were to be seen were two or three UN transport planes and about a dozen or so UN choppers. What I didn’t know is that the plane that was supposed to be arriving in Brussels from Abidjan to carry Dave and many others to Liberia was three to four hours late. Once the plane finally left Brussels it bypassed all the stops along the way and b-lined straight to Monrovia. All passengers going to either Dakar or Freetown would be dropped off on the way back to Brussels. Imagine how they felt! Anyways, so here I am at RIA with nothing to do for three hours not knowing whether the plane was coming in or not. It was only until after Dave arrived that I found out about the mix up and delays that were in Brussels. Trying to find out if a flight is on time in Liberia is like trying to ask a bunch of blind men which way is North. Nobody really knows what is going on. There was a highlight of the evening, if waiting at the airport wasn’t exciting enough. A bunch of Liberian Kru ladies, originally from Grand Kru County and all dressed in blue and white, who were apparently waiting for a man from the U.S. who built them a church a number of years ago, proceeded to pass the time by singing and dancing “African Style” for the whole three hours we were waiting there. There is something in the blood of Africans that allows them to sing and dance like its going out of style…but for three hours straight? They sung both songs in their native Kru language as well as the occasional one in English. Its times like this that I’ll miss about being in Liberia, not waiting at the airport not knowing what is going on, but the raw talent of these African ladies.

EQUIP Liberia Finance Manager Job Posting

2006-02-10T14:53:00.000Z

Job Title: Finance & Reporting Manager
Reports To: Director of Programmes
Salary: Based on experience
Supervises: Accounts Department Personnel
Location: Monrovia, Liberia
Length of Contract: Minimum one year committment

POSITION SUMMARY

The Finance Manager provides day to day support to EQUIP Liberia’s Director of Programmes on financial and asset management processes, financial compliance and reporting, project narrative reporting, and adherence to donor regulations and EQUIP Liberia policies and procedures. The Finance Manager will have prior experience and a working knowledge of bank reconciliations, financial systems, overall strategic planning, and preparing/operating under project budgets. A flexible approach to working hours and willingness to travel are essential in order to successfully carry out the job.

QUALIFICATIONS

A Bachelors degree in Financial Management or Accounting necessary. A professional accounting designation preferred. At least two years accounting and financial management experience essential. Experience in development work or charity sector desirable. Strong numerical, analytical, verbal and written communication skills essential. Experience of overseeing financial activities and personnel preferable.

CV and cover letter are to be submitted in either MS Word or .pdf format to kevin.aja.fryatt@gmail.com. Deadline for submission of application will be on March 15, 2006. Short-listing of candidates will be done on March 20, 2006. Only short-listed candidates will be notified.

2006-02-08T18:24:00.000Z

Westpoint - Monrovia
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-02-08T18:15:00.000Z

Broad Street - Downtown Monrovia
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-02-02T13:35:00.000Z

Post-Conflict Liberia
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-01-27T16:36:00.000Z

Ceres Fruit Juice: Are you tired of that dead end job? Does road rage have you ready to blow? This new multi-purpose, behaviour-changing beverage can quench the thirst of the quickest New York City Marathon runners. Here is wannabe base jumper and GQ model Marcel Koppejan demonstrating what Ceres Fruit Juice is all about.
Posted by Kev-o-rama

Its Not All Fun and Games

2006-01-23T15:39:00.000Z

I thought it was probably appropriate to tell you guys that here in Liberia it isn’t all fun and games. There are times, times which comprise about 95% of my time here, when work does actually get done. To give everyone an idea of the projects that we run I thought it would be insightful for me to share some details about the ongoing projects. I didn’t want everyone to think that my time here is spent primarily cliff jumping, surfing, and climbing large structures because that would be a very unfair picture of what is happening on the ground.

Our main project that has been ongoing for a few years now, at varying sizes and impact levels, is our integrated community health care project currently funded by USAID/OFDA and Tearfund, a project that primarily focus on community health education in an effort to lower levels of disease and death caused by problems such as HIV/AIDS, water-borne diseases, and other prevailing health issues. Currently, we are also responsible for the rehabilitation and repair of various clinics in Nimba County, an area devastated by war and the primary location for our current projects. The current structure of the program is that there are a number of Supervisors who train and supervise our Community Health Ambassadors (CHAs) on the practices of proper health and “wholeness”. The CHAs then spread the news of good health practices throughout their family and community members. Recent external evaluations of our ongoing healthcare projects have been positive.

Also, at this time, we have a UNICEF-funded WATSAN (water & sanitation) project in Nimba County near the border of Cote d’Ivoire. This projects main outputs are to build 15 WATSAN packages - including one well with hand pump, one latrine (also known as an outhouse, port-o-potty, or Port-o-John), and a waste pit as well as eight additional wells at various schools in the region. Construction of all facilities are scheduled to be completed in March.

Another project that ended in December 2005 (we are currently looking to secure funding for the project to continue) was our UNICEF-funded “CEIP” Program, or Community Education Investment Program. It was a very interesting program whereby we reintegrated child fighters or children affected by the fighting factions, or CAFF, into school and back in to society.

We do have a number of smaller projects that include clinic and well building but it seems like an explanation of those projects would only be redundancy of already iterated points above. All projects that we do have the same goal in mind and that is to better the lives of Liberians in every aspect, or “wholistically” as some would call it.

Now what is my function in amongst all these projects? Well, my title is Finance and Reporting Manager but I think there are a lot of people who would agree that my title does not accurately depict a lot of what my job entails. Although I do perform a lot of report writing, both financial and narrative, I do perform various functions from logistics to project management, from proposal writing to systems design; a very all-encompassing position.

The Alpha and the Omega

2006-01-23T15:09:00.000Z

This day was one that dreams are made of and something Marcel and I had wanted to do for quite some time now. The goal: To climb the Omega Tower – an approximately 1,450ft radio tower originally built by the Americans during World War II and located about 40 min east of Monrovia, just past the market area known as Redlight. For the last eight months that I have been here I have heard that this structure was 1,000ft tall. Today I found out that not only was it a thousand feet tall but it is almost five times the size of the Statue of Liberty and equal height to the Sears Tower, previously the world’s tallest structure until over taken by many other status seeking architects and nations alike. Its hard to really picture how huge this thing really is until you've been right there, first on the bottom and then, on the top of it. Word on the street in Monrovia is that they used to give a prize to people who had the guts enough to climb it all the way to the top. One of my employees told me that they gave someone $500USD and a car way back when for climbing this beast.

We woke up at 5am on a Sunday morning and started the ascent at 5:50am in order to possibly see the sun rise upon the lush landscape of Liberia. There was no sunrise to be seen due to all the cloud and low cast fog encompassing the tower and its surrounding area. Climbing in the dark and the fact that this mammoth structure hasn’t been used for who knows how many years made the first few hundred feet of the climb slow and tentative. With sunlight came confidence as we proceeded platform after platform; metal grate flooring set 100ft apart along the way up the tower. When clouds momentarily cleared, the view on the way up was spectacular; buildings and cars turning into tiny ant-like figures as the minutes passed. Our initial goal was to plant a geocache at the top as well as mount/duct tape a fairly large Canadian flag from one of the support beams at the top. Upon arrival at the top we rigged up/duct taped a geocache to the top and refreshed ourselves with a litre of South African Ceres juice.
What we forgot to do, and we’re kicking ourselves for not doing it, was to duct tape the Canadian flag to the top. It almost feels like a mission unaccomplished but by the signs of fatigue that we had by the time we made it down it doesn’t look like we’ll be going up it again anytime soon. Its one of those things that you’re happy that you’ve done but you’d never do EVER again! I think my hands are permanently shaped to grab ladder rungs, a rather painful experience for sure. If one of those rungs broke off while climbing up or down we would have made quite the pancake on the ground below. What I want to know is how on earth these engineers rigged this structure up. Its just plain massive! Luckily for us we didn’t get arrested and only had a few random spectators looking at us as we made our way down. If the Alpha means “the beginning”, I’m sure glad “the Omega’ didn’t mean the end of us!

Internet Explorer Formatting Problems

2006-01-22T19:56:00.000Z

I have noticed that while using Internet Explorer sometimes the "Links" and "Archives" on the right hand side of the page tend to shoot down to the bottom of the page. I have been using Firefox as a browser, a much preferable browser with its multi-tab browsing, and am having no problems whatsoever. I am currently trying to fix the problem but in the meantime I have included a link so that you can view my "e-life" in bliss and with no hiccups. I'm just a perfectionist, what can I say!

2006-01-18T17:11:00.000Z

Yours Truly, Mrs. Bush...Nice legs Condoleeza Rice!
Posted by Kev-o-rama

Liberia's Crowning of Their Lone Star

2006-01-17T23:29:00.000Z

The time had been long-awaited by Liberians and the international community alike. The swearing in of the first female president in African history, the widow, The Iron Lady, her Excellency Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Knowing the historic impact of such an event I did all I could to get an invitation to the event, a task that proved to be not very easy, and in the end not very necessary. With the attendance of the likes of Laura Bush, Condoleeza Rice, many Africa heads of state, and various other delegates one would like to think that security would be at its highest. Well, think again! On the day of the inauguration the main road into Monrovia, Tubman Boulevard, was shut down completely, except to vehicles with passes to the inauguration ceremony. With members of the Liberian National Police (LNP) at every junction and UNMIL personnel at the larger junctions one would think that adherence to the strict protocol would be imperative. Well, we made it from our house to the office, about a 25 minute drive, with no pass whatsoever! Upon arriving at the venue, the Capital Building, scenes of waiting in line for a rock concert filled my mind…although the fans seemed to be dress a lot nicer at this specific show. Making our way through security check after security check we finally made it into the Capital Building grounds. It wasn’t until we were fully into the event that I realized that I didn’t have to show anybody my invitation to the event. They did stop me to look into my camera case but never did they ask to see who I was or whether I was supposed to be there in the first place. Its amazing what you can get away with in Liberia when you act like you belong somewhere. I’m sure it could have been because I was wearing a borrowed white 1970s polyester suit that made me look like The Price is Right’s host Bob Barker about 40 years ago, in his prime. On more than one occasion I was complimented by saying I looked like a game show host. I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not but, hey, I was just happy to be there and have a chance to experience history.

One by one, as the proceedings developed, dignitary and delegate after dignitary and delegate walked down the red carpet toward the elaborately decorated podium, the only thing tainting the atmosphere, I thought, were the red, white, and blue flags strung overhead across the red stripe leading to the stage. Scenes of ’83 Cameros and ’86 Hyundai Ponies flashed through my mind. I was in my element, a used car lot! Wait! Snap out of it, this is a presidential inauguration ceremony. There were dignitaries, representatives, and heads of state from countries such as: Iceland, China, Japan, the United States (Laura Bush and Condoleeza Rice), Canada, Germany, Iceland, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Niger, Nigeria (and man was their main security guard massive), Cote d’Ivoire, and many others. Condoleeza Rice seemed to get the biggest applause from the audience, besides Madame Ellen of course, apparently because of her stint with the Peace Corps in Liberia. Don’t quote me on any of this…remember, I’m only a game show host/used car salesman! The ceremony proceeded with many of the African heads of state arriving either midway through the ceremony and some even after the Iron Lady was sworn is as President. Personally, I’m wondering what sort of message they wanted to send by arriving so late. I’m sorry, but things DO happen for a reason, I’m just trying to figure out what exactly that reason is or was.

Now it was time for Ellen to set the stage, and the next six years, with her inauguration speech; a piece of writing that, I believe, will go down in history for its genuinely caring and empathetic tone. There was not one Liberian whowas left out. She touched on her plans for every member of society, from civil servants to ex-combatants…from the ordinary village labourer to the Speaker of the House. Her way of getting the attention of certain individuals was impeccable. She singled out the Speaker of the House, Edwin Snow, my neighbour and third in the chain of command, about corruption as well as personally addressing those folks listening to her speech on radio in those remote locations in Liberia. Her words were something to the effect of “…to those common people listening on radio and watching on television across the country…listen up! I’m talking to you!” A speech that lasted approximately 43 minutes (I recorded the entire thing) sent shivers down my spine and I know I wasn’t alone. This is a lady that, I believe, genuinely cares about her country; a lady who was imprisoned and went into exile for opposing Charles Taylor’s regime. This is a lady who ran in an election against Charles Taylor and lost miserably, a loss which preceded the murder and inhumane treatment of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people. This is a lady who had the strength not to back down in the face of enormous odds. If President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf cannot pull Liberia out of dark and despair, God help us all!

Following the swearing in of the newly-elected President and Vice-President the focus shifted to a cocktail on the South Lawn of the Presidential Mansion. After bets of who could be the first one to get George Bush’s daughter’s phone number, something that never materialized, and pictures with Miss Liberia, I proceeded to sit down under one of many UN tents set up to provide shade to the estimated 4,000 attendees of the ceremony. The heads of state had a private cocktail on the upper floor of the mansion, one part of the ceremony that I bet would have Secret Service written all over it. The newly inaugurated President made an appearance on the South Lawn, heavily surrounded by security guards, but I made no attempt to document the happenings. At that point the ever-developing heat of wearing that hideous polyester suit of mine was taking over and devouring me. I was pretty much ready to go to the beach and surf the rest of the day away.

2006-01-15T21:10:00.000Z

Ranch Style Beans: Are you tired of those lonely Tuesday nights? Suffering from relapses of depression? This new multi-purpose, behaviour-changing snack food can set straight the best of us! Here is Marcel Koppejan demonstrating just what Ranch Style Beans are all about.
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-01-15T21:03:00.000Z

Liberian Hieroglyphics
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-01-15T21:01:00.000Z

A Hot Sunny Day at the Bong Mines - A Beautiful Landscape
Posted by Kev-o-rama

2006-01-15T21:00:00.000Z

Redlight: The Outskirts of Monrovia
Posted by Kev-o-rama

Bong Mines: Hidden Paradise in the Middle of Liberia

2006-01-15T20:29:00.000Z

It was another Saturday and our initial goal was to set out and find this illusive geocache that is apparently located somewhere in a mine shaft deep in the Bong Mines. As we made the two hour journey from Monrovia we gave praise to the hot season for drying up the mud along Bong Mines Road, a section of dirt road that comprises over an hour of our one-way trip to the bountiful land of iron ore. We also discussed our method of getting passed the security guards at the gates to the mining facility. One thing that you learn while in Liberia is that the best thing to do when you are going somewhere that you don’t belong is to pretend that you actually DO belong there. It seemed to work this time as the guard just opened the gate without us having to tell him anything. At last, we were free within the Bong Mine facilities.
Endless expanse of mountainous landscape serving as a playground for four young kids named Marcel, John Mark, Suzi, and yours truly. We drove past the place where I knew the geocache is supposed to be located and continued on down a long dirt road where we came upon open pit after open pit which have now turned into giant lakes that house who knows what kind of creatures. As we peered across this giant open pit mining lake we saw a lovely plateau across the lake that looked perfect for future camping outings. Driving along the side of the lake, we saw potential passage to this plateau and we continued along the dirt road until we drove right upon this desired destination. Standing on top of this plateau, looking down 30ft or so to the dark crystal blue water, getting scorched by the heat, there was only one option that we saw available to us at this time and that was to jump off this 30ft into the inviting water below. One by one, we launched ourselves off this cliff into the water below. Getting back up the cliff was the hardest part of all. There were times where I’d be up 8-10ft or so and then the rock I was using as a handhold would bust off and I would have to jump backwards back into the water. I spent so much energy on the climbing up the cliff that, combining that with the beating heat of the sun, once was enough for me. We decided that we are DEFINITELY going to be doing some camping there in the near future. Why didn’t we find out about this oasis earlier?! Enjoy the views!

AFL Widows’ Protest

2006-01-11T16:58:00.000Z

On Friday, January 6, a day where we expected to pick Suzi up from the airport, unexpected protests/disturbances by widows of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) caused traffic all over Monrovia to come to an absolute standstill. All over the city, at every major intersection, these women who were promised compensation from the government for their lost husbands sat, for the most part, peacefully while hundreds of cars sat in a standstill for hours. Most of these ladies were generally peaceful but I did run up against one group of ladies at an intersection that weren’t too friendly to say the least. I was sitting at the office for most of the day doing my day-in/day-out thing knowing that I had to get to an internet café in town to print some colour pages for a report that had to be handed in to UNICEF. When I heard about that protests and disturbances I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to get downtown into some of the action and get some worthwhile media for the blog. To actually get into town I had to ride motorcycle (only because motorcycles can fit between parked cars and up onto curbs).

After weaving in and out of parked cars and through a small community in the middle of Monrovia that I didn’t even know existed (between Randall and Center Street for all you people who know the layout of downtown Monrovia) I finally arrived at my internet café after carving a line of dust through a few coal pots of potato greens on the way to my destination. I ended up having to cut through this community because of this one intersection where apparently ladies had bricks and rocks in their hands, taking aim at the brave men and women who tried to invade their territory. I promptly turned my bike around when the started coming towards me yelling and screaming. No harm, no foul I guess!

It was on the way back from the internet café that I decided it was time to get serious and get some pictures to actually document the happenings. For those who know Monrovia, I parked my bike on the corner of the Capital and Jallah Town Bypasses and decided to get into the action. There was one other reporter, a little more official than my freelancing skills could claim, but he turned out to add to the backdrop for some of my pictures. There was a ton of Syrian UN Military officers on the scene, probably 30 or so, but they didn’t seem to mind me gallivanting through the chaos and snapping random pictures here and there…even if they were the ones being photographed. Maybe it was because they couldn’t see beyond their flak jackets and full out riot gear.

I heard that later in the day Ellen Johnson Sirleaf went out onto the streets to personally talk to these ladies and their grievances. I’m sure her words mentioned something about how justified her gianormous presidential inauguration budget is and the ensuing benefits to these ladies. Actually I really don’t know what she had to say to these ladies, whether there was any promise of compensation or not, but traffic was back to normal the following day so either what she said actually meant something or these ladies are just scheming about their next plan of action. Only time will tell…

The “Suzi” Has Landed

2006-01-11T15:37:00.000Z

Suzi, the long-awaited and much anticipated teacher of the Waines’ kids, arrived safely at the Robertsfield International Airport on the 6th of January after a two-day overbooking debacle in Brussels. The airlines are just going crazy with people coming to Liberia for the presidential inauguration ceremony of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female president in African history…a ceremony that I am on the list of potential attendees. That should be quite the highlight, barring any assassination attempts or rogue infiltrations. Word on the street in Monrovia is that Opera, Laura Bush, and Hillary Clinton will be in attendance. That might be a bit interesting. I’ll keep you guys posted on what happens with it all.

I don’t want to detract from Suzi actually arriving in person too much but with her came a long-awaited care package that I was supposed to receive in October. Among the many personal items included in the package were two signed cards from the folks back at Creekside Community Church. I would now like to personally thank every single person who took the time to sign the cards even though some of you would still like to think I’m in Libya, but regardless I’d like to thank you anyways. All your prayers and support are appreciated immensely. I believe these cards should have made it here in October but now is always better than never:

1. Inez
2. Taelor
3. Natashya
4. Sarah Diamond
5. Jenn
6. Coreena & Jayson
7. Aileen
8. Ivonna
9. Rose Jane
10. the “bottomfeedah”
11. Robert Goedhart
12. Rick Kettner
13. Jonathan & Teresa Penner
14. Dave Gifford
15. Christina and Will Anderson
16. Randy
17. Jon
18. Tammy
19. Sherman
20. Josh
21. Shad
22. Kevin Castillo

Another item within the care package was the inclusion of Touching The Void (Wide Screen),a heroic mountaineering documentary film. The story is about two mountaineers who set out on the climb of their lives to scale Siula Grande, a 20,000ft+ never-been-climbed-before peak in the Andes. After a successful summit and bone-shattering leg injury on the descent, an often-questioned decision by one of the climbers to cut the rope on his fellow climber to save his own life led to a hair-raising story about survival and will-to-live by a severely injured human being. This story has become folklore in the climbing community and not surprisingly more popular in the mainstream avenues of life as well thanks in part to this great film. For anyone who has not seen it before, I would highly recommend checking it out. It definitely fits into my Top Five favourite films.

New Years at Robertsport

2006-01-11T15:24:00.000Z

After a delightful Christmas season and not a whole lot of work for the few days afterwards we decided to spend the New Years in Robertsport, a world-renowned surf hotspot known for the amazing size and form of its waves. Well, that description might be a bit premature but give this place five or ten years of development and I’ll throw down a personal guarantee of 5 or 10 Liberian Dollars (LD) that this place is going to be a surf and tourist getaway. The views are amazing, waves unmerciful, and water warm and full of colourful and playful wildlife. Robertsport may be one of the only places in Liberia where you might be able to find a “C”assava Snake, “C”assava Fish, and “C”assava Root all in a .5 km radius of each other. Well that might be a lie. I’m sure anywhere you look in the water on the coast you could find a “C”assava Fish, anywhere in the long grass you could find a “C”assava Snake, and anywhere in the ground you could find a “C”assava Root (just ask a certain someone who takes giant behemoth cassava roots to UN coordination meetings). For all those Samaritan’s Purse people reading this…yes, that’s “C” as in Cassava.

So, back to the New Years in Robertsport. Someone must have told the moon to stop its gravitational pull because the waves in Robertsport were atrocious. I think the largest wave I rode that weekend had to be about a three footer. What I can say is that I officially did ride the smallest wave so far here in Liberia. It had to be about one foot or so…maybe even 6 inches. It had the perfect curl and the break was amazing. This one did take me by surprise and it took quite the push to get into but once one drops into a six inch wave they know it! I’m sorry the surfing picture isn’t a very spectacular shot but it’s a very realistic depiction of the goings on. I'll have to get Mark, the one who actually took this shot, to snap the camera when I'm actually standing up next time! Nice work Marky Mark.

So besides the hair raising surf, the highlight of the weekend had to have been singing “Leaving on a Jet Plane” at the top of our lungs around the campfire at about 11pm New Years Eve with Marcel and Peter. Man, we were sure “blastin’ it!” I must have been so light-headed from the previous night of singing our heads off that I ended up losing my glasses and leaving my shorts and rash guard behind when we left. Being the lucky character that I am, Sam, a Lebanese surfer and ex-MSF employee who we camped with on the beach ended up bring my shorts and rash guard back but until today I still haven’t seen my glasses. I think they were inside my tent when I turned it upside down to shake all the sand out of it on the beach. Oh well, they’re only a piece of metal with some glass in between. I’m sure I can find a lot of metal and glass on the streets here in Monrovia. That's my next homework project.

Christmas Eve in Liberia

2005-12-25T22:09:00.000Z

Not sure of what the Christmas season might bring, I went to the most satisfying dinner on Christmas Eve that one could ever want. An American missionary family invited us over and man can they cook...and cook a lot of everything. They had TOO much of everything! I gorged myself after confirming that Marcel would carry me to the "hospital" if any complications from my gorging should arise. Marcel and I had an idea a few days before Christmas of having a bonfire on the beach on Christmas Eve so we decided to try and make that a reality. After rounding up some firewood from the yard of a newly renovated house on the ELWA campus we proceeded to round up our cronies to gather 'round the fire'. On the agenda was some Christmas carols, improvised rapping by our 'brothas' Marcel and Kofa, as well as the long await reading of the dark and depressing poem called "The Cremation of Sam McGee".
The highlights of the evening were definately the rendition of Lean on Me played with acoustic guitar by Marcel and African drum by our Liberian contingents Kofa and Bob David. I hope to have the sound clip hosted and a link provided in the next few days if everything works out. All the riff-raff ended around 1:30pm and I didn't really end up getting to bed until around 2am. I survived my first Christmas Eve in Liberia and I would have to say it was better than most Christmas Eves in Canada! Africa rocks!

K.