The return to Liberia

Arrived back home last night, time-warped and a little foggy from a head cold, but glad to feel that familiar sticky heat hit me as I walked off the plane. Not to steal the thunder from those who've stayed on the ground working so hard, but I have an exciting update.

Those of you from Minnesota who gave generously and urgently to the latrine project at Mother Wleh's, you'll be happy to hear that it's just getting the finishing touches now. The very loose beach sand apparently posed some new challenges to Matt and his crew, but they overcame (as they always do) and have turned out one of the handsomest latrine and shower blocks in the whole country! As soon as it's painted this weekend, I'll be sure to post photos of the whole process for you to see. Thank you all so much for your quick response to that appeal!

Having the benefit of contrast, I must tell you that the field team desperately needs another vehicle--a pickup truck! With only one (14 year-old) SUV for the 3-6 people on the ground to share, we're having to depend more and more on taxis and commercial trucks for transporting materials. (To give you an idea, the other day we were forced to pay $30 to transport 15 bags of cement and a few longer pieces of wood just down the road to one construction site!) With our own pickup, we could save hundreds of dollars every week on transportation, and make sure that we can move ourselves around from orphanage to orphanage, too.

Please pray with us that God will provide the resources that we need in order to be effective in the field. Please also continue to pray for health and encouragement for the children at Mother Harley's, whose roof is leaking all over them, daily and nightly. God bless you all, and thanks for your continued support.

Malaria Season

According to the CDC and WHO, malaria affects over 350 million people each year, and causes about 1 million deaths, mostly in African Children. As rainy season approaches, malaria becomes much more of a threat. Last year Orphan Relief and Rescue treated dozens of children for malaria. This year, we're already starting to see cases. I've treated 4 kids this week. We are prepared to test and treat the children, but we want to do more.

Let's prevent malaria before we have to treat it.

This week we've been going to all the orphanage homes we have contact with and assessing their mosquito nets. Where they are torn, we are encouraging repairs. And where they are missing, we would like to provide them. It's going to take over 150 more nets to protect all the children we work with. Nets cost 6USD, and cover 2-6 children. For ORR to test and treat a child with malaria it costs a little over 2 USD. Would you consider a donation to Project 23 to help cover the cost of prevention, and potentially save lives?

We need your help!!!

Orphan Relief and Rescue is starting a new project that can change the lives of 43 kids, but we can't do it alone. This is the story of Mother Ellen Harley and the work we are doing at her home. The rain is starting to fall and we really need to get these kids a new roof.

In the community of New Georgia, just outside of Monrovia, Mother Ellen Harley has been ministering to the needs of 43 orphaned and abandoned children since the early 90’s. The original orphanage has been added on to a number of times, and with each addition the roof has lost its slope. Now it is nearly flat in most areas, the metal rusty and leaking everywhere. Every time it rains the children get wet, cold, and sick--and with rainy season coming two months early this year, they can’t keep their beds dry even now. It has already started raining every night, and mold is growing on their mattresses and walls which will soon lead a variety of fungal infections on the children’s skin. It will rain about 200 inches between now and September--it can pour down night and day for a week without stopping. After discovering that the roof is too weak even to repair, OR&R is now seeking the funds to rebuild the entire roof properly, once and for all. The complexity of the project and the fact that it has already started raining will give the field team a few challenges. Please pray for them as they undertake this much-needed effort and, if you feel called to contribute, please donate soon, online or at the address below. Once the roof is finished, OR&R looks forward to providing bunk beds, mattresses, and mosquito nets to ensure the health and comfort of the children.

If God is asking you to help please don't hesitate. We have $5,000 in and we really need another $8,000 to do this right. I want to thank you for your support of OR&R so far and I know with you this project will get done.

Food shortages in Liberia

We've all heard about it--it's all over the news. And despite all the hype and counter-hype in the U.S. about the impending food crisis, the shortage is already dramatically affecting Liberia. Rice is the Liberian staple food, and the already-high price of rice is predicted to climb between 45 and 55 percent over the next four months. Liberians simply can't afford it.

So, what is OR&R doing? We're taking proactive steps to protect the immediate food needs in the orphanages we're serving, but we're focusing on building up the capacity of each orphanage to support itself through this and future crises. Our incoming Capacity Building Manager, Jennifer, is currently training at ECHO, a simulated African farm in Florida. When she returns to Liberia in the fall, she will implement training programs in several key areas like seed keeping, fertilization using local resources, and small animal husbandry. Please join us as we invest more and more in tools, seeds, and expertise for the more than twenty homes we support.

For today, a fish; tomorrow, fishing lessons.

Barvor's New Shades

Barvor is one of the kids from Childcare Foundation. His mother is blind, and his older brother can't see well. When Barvor started complaining about his eyes hurting, we referred him to our friends at Mercy Ships. Barvor was diagnosed with glaucoma, or high pressure in the eyes. His caretaker was told that he would be blind in a few years without intervention. He was given some sun glasses and referred to a local eye clinic for follow up and eye drops.

We are told that he can't recover the sight that has been lost, but with proper care, he will be able to maintain his vision. And with his new sunglasses, his eyes no longer hurt. Plus, Barvor loves his new shades, as evidenced by his huge smile!

New people!

It is a pleasure to introduce to you three truly excellent ladies joining our field team in the coming months:

Ashley Stoll is now in Liberia with Matt and Mariel, taking over the management of our relief programs. Ashley's great passion for the children of Liberia started a year ago when she spent five weeks living and working at a larger orphanage just outside Monrovia. After returning to the States, Liberia remained on her heart and wouldn't let her go. In only a few short weeks she's already visited over twenty orphanages and has an incredible connection with the kids.

Jennifer Gerson, a longtime friend and volunteer of ORR, has signed on to expand our Capacity Building programs. Adding to many years of experience in West Africa doing community health education and development programs, she's currently doing intensive hands-on training at ECHO in Florida. Her study areas include small animal husbandry, crop improvement,
and micro-capital investment. She will be heading to Liberia again in the Fall, after the rainy season.

Debbie Dezutter was a guest of ORR on a two-week trip in April, and felt called during the trip to join ORR full-time beginning in the Fall. Deb is a registered nurse from Seattle and will be taking over the position of Healthcare Coordinator, treating kids and working with our partners on the longer-term solutions as well. She immediately became part of the family during her visit, so we're delighted to have her in this next season.

What's going on

We've just gotten underway building a new latrine at Mother Wleh's, an orphanage of forty-two children and one of the worst in the city. The pit (dug by two older boys from the home) will be split into two tanks each big enough to last over a year without pumping. In all, there will be four toilet stalls and four shower stalls.



Mother Harley's home is also going to get a new roof, ending years of incessant dripping on the forty fantastic children there. Please pray with us that God will make this complex project possible before rainy season. We need to begin soon if we're going to finish it before the rains pick up and, once we start, we're going to need to work quickly, tearing down and rebuilding half of the roof at a time.

Signing off... With apologies

T.I.A. -- "This is Africa." It's a nice catch-all phrase that is used by foreigners and locals alike to account for all kinds of nonsense and mess-ups and delays. I'll use it now to explain away the last few weeks with no internet access. (Generator problems -- T.I.A.!)

This weekend I'm heading back to the States for a few months to help with fundraising events and office work. I hope to meet many of you as I travel to Washington and Oregon and Louisiana. Thanks for your continued prayers and support--the last six months have been exceptional, and I look forward to coming back to Liberia again soon.

Meet the family: Momo

Momo is our "Chief Security", a very diligent worker and a very loyal friend. He sort of came with the house, as he was already providing security while it sat empty, and we immediately hit it off. Now, about a year later, Momo is still leading our security team of three, and doing a fine job.

Last summer Momo received a specially-made-in-Germany prosthetic eye from Mercy Ships that is so well-placed, no one (including myself) can tell which one is real. He's saving up to buy a small piece of land so that he can build his own house and bring all his family under one roof. A father of three beautiful children, including six-year-old twins that visit us from time to time, Momo is definitely part of the family.

Video Update 2-20-08

Meet the family: Mary

Hello, all. I thought I'd introduce to you, over the next couple of weeks, the many lovely people we work with on the ground. We've been very blessed to have such great people get behind us, helping us through the cultural differences but, most importantly, welcoming us into their family.

First off, I'd like to introduce you to Mary. This incredible woman has been our 'Liberian Ma' since the start, taking the very best care of us. I really don't know where we'd be without her -- she works tirelessly and so cheerfully, day in and day out, cooking the best Liberian meals any of us have ever tasted.

Mary has two boys, one in high school and one in college and, besides working for ORR, has a charcoal business, a block-making business, and she's saving up to build a house for herself and her sons.

Korpu Update

It’s been just over 2 months since we first found Korpu. I went to her orphanage yesterday and was surprised to find her sitting by herself, playing and keeping herself entertained. She’s pulling herself up and walking around when she has something (or someone) to hold onto, and she’s talking to herself.

These aren’t exactly the developmental milestones that we would look for in a two year old, but it’s incredible progress for Korpu. When we found her, she was lethargic and couldn't sit up by herself. She’s still on the weekly weighing and feeding program, which involves feeding her milk, peanut butter and biscuits in addition to what ever else all the other children are eating: usually cornmeal porrige in the morning, and rice with sauce in the evening. Her caretaker tells me that her weight has increased to 8.5 kg (up from 5.8 when she was discharged from the hospital). She’s well on her way to becoming a healthy little girl!

Andrew

Child Survival

Video Update 2-4-08