Important - Announcing our new project

Blog continued…
The ordinary people cannot afford to own a car here, although some have motorbikes. They just walk everywhere. The roads are mostly unpaved and in poor repair. As for clothes, there are many poor children that are literally dressed in rags and are barefoot. Medical care is at a low level as there are extreme shortages of doctors, medicines, and medical facilities. Some people own or rent places that are usually small rectangular mud brick homes with few rooms. The children generally sleep on mats on the floor. Outside are “kitchens” where the women cook over charcoal fires. There is virtually no running water nor electricity except for the lucky ones. The latrines are in the back yard. Women and children carry water in buckets from nearby wells that they hand pump. As for education, many children are not in school at all or are in school and struggling because they cannot afford the school fees. Need I go on? So, you can see that we are living in two different worlds: one of extreme wealth and one of extreme poverty.
So many questions surface for me. How is it that God has blessed us Americans with so much, yet these Liberians are suffering and have so little? Does God love us more? Or does He want us to learn to share more from our wealth? Does He want the Liberians to have more faith that He will answer their prayers? What do these people need most right now?
After much discussion, thought, and prayers, Father Donatien Djohossou, SMA pastor from Sanniquellie and myself have decided to launch a new SMA (Society of African Missions) initiative to address a pressing problem here. We are very happy to be introducing:

THE BRESILLAC PROJECT FOR EDUCATION IN LIBERIA, NIMBA COUNTY

Since 2003, Liberia has been slowly recovering from a 14 year civil war that closed schools and disrupted social and economic structures. With a soaring unemployment rate (85%), most people (80%) are living below the poverty line. Due to the war, many fathers were killed. This has left widows struggling to feed their children while paying for school fees and tuition. In the fall of 2007, the Liberian government will begin providing “free” education for only elementary school students. This means no public assistance for any middle or high school students. So, the burden rests heavily on parents, in many cases, single mothers, to pay the entire bill of middle and high school fees for their children. This money is sorely needed by these families to pay for basic needs, e.g. shelter, food.
“Wisdom directs all things well. Where justice reigns under wisdom, there people will establish peace and order. In peace and order it is possible for people to find happiness. “

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
THE PROJECT GOALS: 1. Provide student scholarships for faith-based middle and high schools in Liberia. 2. Promote evangelization for Jesus Christ among the youth .3. Provide counseling for students as needed.

YEAR ONE OBJECTIVES: 1. Provide 200 scholarships for needy middle and high school students in faith-based schools in Nimba County, Liberia. 2. Provide school uniforms for scholarship students, as needed. 3. Promote evangelization for Jesus Christ among these students. 4. Teach scholarship students core Christian values, good citizenship, and proper behavior. 5. Provide counseling for scholarship students as needed.

More details- As of today we have interviewed about 40 students from Sanniquellie that are viable candidates for the Bresillac scholarships and next week will meet 35 more from Ganta. Many are from single parent families where the fathers were killed in the war. The students do not even eat every day due to lack of money. By paying their school fees and some of their uniform expenses, these students will be able to buy food to eat and stay in school. Any donations that you make to this project will go directly toward providing scholarships for as many students as we have funding for. Please open your hearts to help us with this new project.

Please make your checks out to SMA Lay Missionaries.
On the bottom of the check please be sure to write: Bresillac Project for Education

Then send your checks to:
SMA Lay Missionaries, 256 Manor Circle, Takoma Park, MD 20912 Attention: Theresa Hicks

May the Lord bless you and your family abundantly for your generosity. I pledge that I will guard your money well and make sure that it goes to this cause only. I will keep you updated and send pictures one way or another of the students.
In His love and peace,
Ann

None of the above

As I sit in a posh air-conditioned room at the US Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia's capital city, I ponder how my perceptions have changed these past three months. The UN reminds me of home where we live in airconditioned comforte free from the dust and out hot sweating bodies. It reminds me of the privileged life we lead in America where most everyone that wants a job, has one; where everyone has at least a high school diploma and so many have college degrees; where we eat at least three means a day; where we all drive nice new cars on smoothly paved highways; where our clothes are stylish, clean, and lovely; where women are generally treated as equals to men; where we have excellent medical care and state of the art hospitals; where most people own their own homes that contain many rooms and are beautifully furnished. Need I go on? Here in Liberia the people have NONE OF THE ABOVE! No airconditioning in this oppressive heat where our bodies sweat 24 hours. There are virtually no jobs with an 85% unemployment rate. The illiteracy rate is 65% and the rest of the people are lucky if they have a 6th grade education. Most people consider themselves fortunate if they can eat one meal a day. Virtually no one owns a car here, although some NGOs, churches, and governement officials have one. More later....