A 12 hour Day in Bong County!

A Day in Bong County

Yesterday we drove to Bong County to the town or village of Waynilah. It is past Totota and Zienzu! You turn off to the right and drive for at least 1 12 hours on village roads.  (After driving 3 hours on Libeiran roads....same thing).

We came into this place with our Branch President and possible sight monitor John Moore and a funny but wonderful lady Esther Keleekai from New Jersey, Willingboro, but really she is from Liberia. She and her husband born to this county and raised their family in New Jersey. But her husband died and he left 50 acres of his family property to make this school and so she has. IT has been 4 years now in the making.

She and community and family have made it.

She has put a lot of her ownmoney into it but much of the makings come from what they have around them. Clay , Sand , wood and then they buy cement. It finally opened this spring but they are in need of water. There is no clean water in the area.

One of two brick making areas.

There are two brick making areas.

They are using so many and the people are really building fast before the rainy season begins in April .

 Second brick making area.

The Keleekai Family has the goal to better the education of the children in this fast growing area.

There is no other school around for many miles.

she is bringing in trained teachers and building now a teacher house for them to live in. She knows that the teachers wont travel out to this area unless they have a place to stay.

The areas around this place are very rural. I will show you pictures of the villages (communities) close by.

What the school needs is someway for her school to become self sustaining.

She is always looking for any donations for this wonderful little school. 

I will let people know when I find ones that really need help and will use your help in the  best sustaining way possible.

 In this community the people bring big rocks in
close to their house.
The rocks are placed over a buried body to mark the grave.
Remember this country just has been maybe 10 years without war and only 1 year since Ebola.

Lots of deaths.
Lots of orphans .
Lots of teenage and middle age people with NO education.
14 years of no education has really taken its toll here.

 Middle area is sometimes used as a cooking area.With the thatch roof.

 House decorated with contrasting paint.

After we saw the school we sat at a table in the womans porch and her daughter in law cooked us Palm Butter and meat (Liberians never put only ONE meat in a stew. Palm Butter is a special treat for them and They make a stew or soup with it. They add Fish and Chicken and pork or crawdads or whatever they have . SOmetimes the crawdads, little lobsters are almost moving.

After the meal we journeyed back to Monrovia. However we always shop along the way .The best and cheapest  fruit and vegetables are on the sides of the road. Our guests ust dont like it when we get out of the truck because the price goes up.

Checking on the charcoal project !

Checking out the Charcoal factory.
Bomi county Liberia
This is a project to help a small school/orphanage become sustainable.

The family and workers at the orphanage come to the farm and work on the charcoal factory.
They work hard and cut wood, stack it, cover it and burn it to make charcoal.

They work hard and also farm beans and rice at the same time. They are selling their charcol for a good price. They haul the bags to the road and sell it to people who bring it into the city.

The burning process.

"Happiness in this life and happiness in the life to come are interconnected by righteousness."

- Elder Quentin L. Cook

The temple trip to Accra . What a story !

    

The temple t

The Stories of the temple trips by some of see people are utterly amazing. 

You would think you were listening to the hand cart company.

Just think ! We find it hard to go 10 miles in a warm car through the snow. 

They traveled in a bus 2 weeks. Over very terrible roads. Rain coming down In buckets. Mud so deep they are constantly stuck. Pushing the bus . Sleeping under the bus or in the bus. Running out of food and water. Ankles and feet swelling so much they could hardly walk. One of these men sat at border crossing from country to country facing conditions of war or discriminations by other immigration offices. 

Both had their families on board tying to reach the temple for the first time to be sealed as a family.

When they got to them temple they were so excited to see it. The Missonaries and members at the temple card for them and fed them. 

Their comments were ' we never wanted to leave the temple. It was so wonderful and peaceful .'