Chain, chain, chain The dark side in West Africa, Mental Illness

chained in a room at a prayer camp near Lomé, Togo,
in April. Chaining is a last resort for families in
.chained in a room at a prayer camp near Lomé, Togo
175 are chained there.

When I lived in Liberia, West Africa I came across a man who was wearing no clothes and had a car bumper chained to his body.  He was carrying it Down the street of Buchanan, then the second largest city in Liberia. Traveling in the backcountry I would often see women topless, But I never seen a man naked. Louis Orta a veteran missionary explain to me that the man was mentally ill and this was the way people knew to stay clear. His family would have to feed him and providing any shelter. I inquired about the man and it sounded like he was suffering from schizophrenia.

When I read the New York Times, the series of articles by Benedict Carey reporting on the Chains of Mental Illness from West Africa, my 40 year old memories came back to me. It was in the rainy season and this man would've been naked day and night.

The West Africans have a strong belief and fear of demons. It is embedded in their culture long before Christianity came to Africa. Mr. Carey I think is absolutely right in reporting what are families to do with the severely mentally ill. In Liberia there is one psychiatrist and very few are in the other countries of West Africa? If the mentally ill have a family who will care for them, it is my guess until I'm proven wrong, that they would be fed once a day. I would have to have that theory checked out but, I think it's very possible. Most people in Liberia eat one meal a day when I was there. 

When I was in Liberia, if you were convicted of a crime or waiting for trial if your family did not feed you, you did not live to be tried. I interviewed a man name Matthew Sasaw who had ate 9 people near Harper, Liberia. Cannibalism was still practicing the month of December back in the 1970s. I interviewed several tribal people who told me before Pres. Tugman the practice was more widespread in the 50s. Matthew did not live up to the trial because his family did not feed him.

Once again here is an opportunity for the Internet to play an important role in helping to advanced care for Liberia and West Africa. There is little chance for medical people to give up all lucrative practice to go help the unfortunate who cannot pay. But what if psychiatrists could donate an afternoon for an online clinic where they can help diagnose precribe medicines that could be adapted with follow-up online appointments. Online classes and workshops could be presented to the people who care for these unfortunate. With better information and support families and caregivers could provide more humane care.

The lessons that we learn in our own world of the mentally ill who are homeless and inadequately medicated and uneducated can be applied to the third world. Or the other way around, if we put into place strategies to improve care for the mentally ill in West Africa, what we've learned could be applied at home. 

Carrying for the mentally ill is filled with challenges, both at home and abroad that isn't nice to care for something beyond ourselves. Keep walking

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Follow up and read

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/13/health/mental-health-care-in-west-africa-is-often-a-product-of-luck.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/12/health/the-chains-of-mental-illness-in-west-africa.html

Help me with the vision of online care for Liberia

No matter where we live our lives can change rather quickly. We can be healthy and get the flu bug which can lead to complications. All of a sudden it is serious.
If you live in the tropics and specifically in the rain forest you will be facing a lifetime battle with malaria. Not all water sources are safe and typhoid is a real issue. If you get both of these things at the same time you are in serious trouble.
Moses became very sick and fortunately he was able to get help at a local hospital. He is pictured here with an IV running with fluids and medicine helping him to recover.
Liberia needs good water sources and water treatment. Library is also in need of better mosquito control and treatment for malaria.
I got malaria when I was about 23. My temperature spiked to  to 105 degrees. I actually hallucinated colors on the wall like a modern artwork of sparkly color. My head really hurt and I and severe flu like symptoms. I was treated and immediately I started feel better. It would be easier for me to get it again if I was in a tropical location.
I saw an ad on the TV where a sick person had a video conference with the doctor. The doctor could interview the patient and view him and was able to start treatment. Such a tool could help a lot of older people get an initial treatment without travel. Lab work and physical examination are lacking, but video conferencing can be a lifesaver for many.
The same could be true for people who need psychological help. People could see a therapist or psychiatrist via the Internet as part of their care. Group counseling could be conducted via video conference.
I am convinced that computer technology can revolutionize medical care to the third world. We could help many poor people who have no access to medical expertise. This could be done from local clinics or even directly into the home or village. My friend who became deathly sick could see a doctor via the Internet and the right modern medicine or treatment could then be conducted.
Clinics in the US could be plugged into medical expertise where is the professional at the clinic could be the eyes and hands of the doctor overseeing it. What we learn both here and abroad could be used to bring medical care to millions of people.
Help me get this idea out to interested people. Needed are the infrastructure of cell towers. The business to supported is already in place. People in Liberia really love their cell phones. Needed are the clinics and pharmacies which can develop the network for security and source to distribute the medicine without corruption. Computer people who would be willing to invest in Computer connections for video conferencing from clinics, villages, smart phones. There are are particularly a lot of young people in America who are tech savvy. This whole project could be very helpful in helping people have a purpose worth getting involved with.
"The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered." Pro. 11:25 

Moses working a cassava farm

 Two staples in the Liberian diet are rice and cassava. The Liberian farmer grows a crop then allows the jungle back to replenish the soil. Here my friend Moses and grandson tend to a crop of cassava.
When I lived in Liberia my meals were rice based. I liked palm butter a sauce made from red palm nuts. I never developed a taste for cassava. I did eat it unfermented and it tasted like dumplings. I doubt many people eat chicken and dumplings anymore. It is poor people food.
If you have had tapioca pudding you have eaten cassava. It is a root that looks a little like a potato.
It is the rainy season so working in 90 degree raining heat is hard work. Moses is a mechanic who also farms. He works hard for his family. The Lord has blessed him and has brought him through trials that would have done me in.

I can't wait to see his progress on his home. Moses is helping many of his family as well. Take a look at Ps. 1. What are the benefits of a godly life?
There is work everyday and maybe we don't always see how God is working, but keep watching.
When Moses, Daniel, and Alfred Joe were 10-12 years old I knew their hearts. We worked and played together. I just happened to be their teacher, but that was in the morning. For the next 5-7 hours they collected my water in the dry season, helped interpret, were my guides in the jungle, helped watch Becki then 4 and at 4 pm. other boys would return to play soccer. I played right in the middle of them. Like my son I played goalie. I hated to lose so sometimes I played in the field. I hate to admit it now but that it the truth of it. Win or lose it was always great fun.
Can you know what a man will be when you know him as a youth? I think so
Keep walking

Listen to the beautiful singing of Liberia

Theodore Roosevelt as young man read a bookThat disclosedIn picture and in print the awful struggle of the poor in New York. He sent the following, "I have read the book, I will help". The power of the quote lies in that was personal and open. He probably didn't know how he would help, That would come later with more information and planning.
My students now close to 50 have made contact with me. I have spent some time  getting inform and I too will help. I have neither the energy nor the charisma I'll be young Roosevelt but what I have I'll give.
Enjoying a choir, Moses Tarr organized the conference with four pastors from Monrovia and Buchanan. There was over 300 in attendance. Moses and the other elders of the church had to prepare the the church for the meeting. Which group would be more people then they use they have in their services.

Here you see that careful preparation for the meetings. This work is done and rainy season. This meeting is at a crossroads where three roads meet.

These believers have been through wars, hardships, And here they are giving praise in song and preaching and hearing God's Word. There are several tribes here and a common pigeon English. I would like to be in a corner just listening. I had a small part in this. I am hoping to send a computer for these people to encourage online support. It would be a way for me to minister to those who may have need of help with the suffering they went through.
Enjoy the singing

High cost and bottom line are real hindrances

Using computers to assist healthcare is already being used in Liberia. ilabliberia are a group of techies who volunteer their skills I here linking patients with care groups for ebola.
You can check them out on Twitter.
Cell phones are in high demand in Liberia and there is a market to develop new cell towers and other support. Most people use cell phones for their personal business, but there are health and education applications as well.
Tablet computers are used in our schools but they could be used to expand education and healthcare in Liberia.
Giving Liberians skills that they need in the 21st-century will drastically change their economy to where they can afford the computer age. I am sure that their young people value texting, pictures, music, entertainment, and commerce. But there is much more available on the Internet. Education training, medical care, information concerning all points of study.

The biggest hindrance that I see is the cost of the provider. Are we willing  to absorb costs for the common person works for just a couple of dollars a day?
The people who are most experiencing the better life in Liberia are people from the far east, other African people who have moved into Liberia to do the business. For a long time Lebanese traders have run the business world. Today they also come from China and Malaysia. There are many who are coming from India. The native Liberians is being left behind.
To change this there has to be a commitment to provide training at the cost the people can afford. Are giving has to stand with the people of Liberia. Keep walking

Needed a line of trust for care

Over 4,000 have died from Ebola

The focus in Liberia right now is on newest outbreak of Ebola. Here is a house where one of the latest cases were found. It looks like a two room design mud stick house. Polls would be placed close together. Mud would be made from local termite hills. Mixed with water it would make a good cement. The mud then would be applied to fill the gaps between the sticks and then smoothed over to make a mud wall. Here they would put fiberglass or tin roof with an overlay for Shade and water runoff. The house could last for 15 years.

Termite Hill

Notice if you will there is no grass around the house. The reason for the lack of grass or garden is to help prevent driver ants (flesh eating) and venomous snakes from easy access into the home. The outside of this house has been plastered and given a white wash. The kitchen is outside as well as the bathroom. You can see how they dry their clothes using the roof. In the rainy season after the first rain, water would be collected for use. It would be probable they have an extended family living here. I am still collecting information about the pay of the Liberian who finds work. Could you live on a dollar and a half a day? If a minimum wage was three dollars a day how would you get by?, Keep in mind that you will have to pay income tax, social security tax and property tax and sales tax.

mud stick construction

For most Liberians $1.50-$3.00 would be good pay. Better paying jobs go to foreigners or those willing and able to bribe for work. How difficult would it be to get healthcare? Liberians have moved from rural areas to larger towns for security reasons. Their ability to live as farmers and off the land has decreased.
It is imperative that education and healthcare improve. Liberians need the skills to run their own lives. They need access to professional healthcare and services. There needs to be a line of trust from the charity, to the delivery to the provider, to the one in need. Right now the chain of trust has many broken links. We have to think through these things if things are going to get better. Keep walking.

God provides our needs

Moses working on home

As I move forward in my ambition to work for the spiritual and physical needs of the Liberian people, I wanted to let you know that I'm already finding practical ways to be a blessing.

There are many outreaches both secular and religious in which there is a genuine desire to help people. In some organizations both in the government sector and private there is bound to be corruption. When I was in Liberia back in 1977 there were a lot charity that ended up in the black market. 

I was able to get food from Care, a practical amount that I could distribute. That food was used to feed students a second meal. 

“Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.” Ps. 41:1 Gene Getz in his life essentials study Bible shares of principle here, “in view of Christ sacrifice for us, we are to demonstrate the sensitivity of the caring spirit towards those who are poor and needy.” Jesus himself summed up this Psalm in Matthew 5:7, “The merciful are blessed, for they will should be shown mercy.”

I think helping the poor should be a very personal and practical. In James 2:15, 16 he writes, “15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” 

Being clothed protects us and help shelter us from a hostile environment. Having a place to live is part of this need. Having food helps our body and is most important in living on this planet. These are basic needs which if not met many other needs are also in trouble.

Moses Tarr's dad James a mason

Doing works or helping the poor won't save us. No our salvation it's based on God loving us and we put our trust in him to save us. It is always a matter of faith first. Being loved by God we now love. Becoming a child of his, we now do his bidding to help others. In both word and deed we show the love of God.

One thing that I thought I could do once one of my students contacted me, I could in a very practical way reach out to help these good people, working hard in poverty to help bless their life. These men and women that I once taught when they were children I know can find out how things are going and how I might encourage them in her walks with the Lord. They may have basic needs, maybe there something I can do for them. In a real way they can be my hands and feet as a live for the Lord. Moses, Daniel and Alfred Joe were closest to me when I lived in Africa. If I can be used by God to help them and encourage them, I don't think I could do anything better. 

I am very encouraged to right now in helping Moses. The house he lives in now has matted walls. Liberia has a rainy season that last six months. When it rains in Liberia it will rain all day and night. Along the coast where Moses lives it rains over 200 inches a year. That is entirely all of the rainy season. Right now, water gets through his walls. Moses whose father was a mason has the skill to build a cement block home. He has been able to build the walls any is now working on the roof. This home Will better protect his family. 

Home taking form

The average worker in Africa makes about two dollars a day according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. Moses as a mechanic makes about $150 dollars a month. No matter how you cut that, it would be hard to live in today's world on $150. In the book of James I cannot walk away from this. For me to walk Liberia I have to consider the poor. So I've given some money from Moses to do as he sees fit to help his life. These gifts are for him to manage and not for me to tell him to do. I do know that Moses's ministry has been blessed of late. He is doing things I could never do. I am praying about a computer for Moses and a smart phone. These things can help him and his ministry and help me to be more connected to Africa. The whole project excites me, keep walking.

Letter I am sending as an advocate for Liberia.

Recently America responded to the health crisis in West Africa concerning Ebola. While the threat of Ebola remains the wave of the deadly virus was brought under control. 

I followed the story and along the way made contact with students now adults when I served in Liberia as a missionary back in the late 70’s. 

To be a missionary back then you had to be involved in education or medical care along with spiritual care. We were in the bush with a clinic and elementry school. 

War over the next 25 years kept my wife, Barb and I from returning.

From Facebook one of my students contacted me and from there I have decided to become an advacate. 

While my personal commitment develops, brainstorming I believe there are good ideas we could help countries like Liberia and develop improved goodwill of America throughout the world.

Most of Liberians have no access to education or healthcare. Education I believe can give the Liberian people the human resourses they need to grow independent and strong. Right now they are dependent on others to develop their natural resourses and commerse. This will lead to outside control and influence that may not be in the Liberian interest. 

My idea though simple is bigger than myself.

What if clinics could be developed where people could be seen through internet technology where medical personel trained in tropical health care could see and hear people, care for them from health centers in Liberia or in the US. Local clinics could distribute medicine or do lab work. 

There are many complications but care for malaria and other tropical conditions could be cared for. Medical care would improve when doctors and other professionals work with it.

Young professionals and grad students working towards their certifications could be hired to support and develop the service.

In Liberia there are many places where there are no schools. What if we took the internet tools and developed online schools.

Education centers could be developed in Liberia where teachers are trained to teach to areas without education. Where there is education, online work could be developed to upgrade what would be taught. For example a teacher could get support for the class in areas that there might be a weakness. 

Teachers in the US could teach a class from their location and have direct contact with students  in the interior of Liberia.

Liberian villages are pro education, they could provide supervision. Liberians working towards there own education goals could be trained as educational technicians and in conjuntion be working towards there own certification.

Young people graduate from college in this country looking for work in the teaching field could be hired to work with online classes, evaluating work, working out the many problems that may occur. Others may want a more hands on experience and be part of the work that has to be done in the host country.

What we learn and experience may also be used to improve our own education efforts here at home.

Problems yes, but look at the possible benefits:

• More people educated
• More Americans involved in helping others
• People suffer less because of tropical diseases
• Improvement in online medicine that could be applied for our senior citizens, those who need to see a doctor,
• An opportunity for our young people to serve their country with the training that they have achieved in colleges. Valuable experiences to build their own careers on. Service could be done right here in the US or for those wishing foreign service on sight work.
• What ever percentage this improves education in Liberia in other places speaks loudly that we've done something to help.
• One more way to improve America image as a people who care.

In your service, 

William Reeves Jr. 

bbbbsa@sbcglobal.net

Copy and repost or send.

  

Online education and care can multiply our efforts. What do you think?

Great idea that many are benefiting

We think of my online classes we first imagined College and graduate courses that we can purchase online. There are free courses and usually to get credit and for support there is a cost involved.

Here is a class I am taking at Dallas theological seminary for free. I am reading the material that goes with the class and taking notes. There's nothing there that I am studying where if I was taking a class for credit I would be able to get a good grade. (The teacher may disagree?)

Being in education the last 15 years I have seen many online presentations managed by a teacher for the benefit of the students. Online courses should be made available for accelerated students after school to give them confidence that they are competing with the brightest of our young people. Many high school students need this stimulation. The same thing could help any student who wants to learn.

Here is a class the old man is taking from
Dallas Semanary

In Liberia, schools are out of reach for many of the students. There are two few of the students who make it to high school in fewer still who are able to go to college. I believe our online education could help build more students in elementary thru high school. Online education good help train tradespeople, lifestyle in health Learning in a tropical jungle setting. Online education could help communities get better water, fight malaria and other health issues. Online education could be used to help Liberians manage their family farms, start their own businesses, learn new job skills. They can also learn what they can do to help facilitate classrooms in their villages. Interested adults good help bridge to gap between the educator online and the students in the classroom. 

This is important, we did this years ago

In Africa particularly Liberia, village life is pro school. Classrooms could be developed in cooperation with Liberian educators to develop K through College programs.

If I go over and start a school I may see the school grow to 100 students. If I was able to stay healthy till 83 then maybe I would see my youngest students make it to College. The impact of the school would be bigger than 100 kids.

But the truth is I may not be fit enough to to live in the tropics anymore. It is also very true that there's no guarantees that I am going to live to 83. I like the direct involvement. Though it's small scale it would be a worthwhile experience. We need to get our young people excited about this.

The same way would be the benefit of establishing a clinic. There would be no time at all in new would have hundreds of people seeing you everyday. What if there could be a clinic connected with a healthcare professional, Dr. a nurses practitioner, who could look at the patient and examine the patient on-line. Even if you had no lab you would be able to start many interventions that could save lives. When we were in Africa back in 1977, lab work and radiology were not options. We were trained by Drs. there to see what they see and we were able to help hundreds of people. Some symptoms could be several things. They would come back and we would try that next possible idea. Most were help this way.

Keep in mind most children do not
have doctors. Online clinics may be
very practical.

What if doctors could join in this discussion of online medicine? If they were working with it how can they improve it? 

I know I have a good idea here. But there are problems. But good smart people can take this good idea and make it work. Will it need to human touch? Can we train people to be good monitors and lab technicians? 

Online education is bigger than me in what I could do personally. You may be saying no way, but no way continues the educational disaster in Liberia and maybe in our inner cities. Feel free to weigh in on this. I can post your thoughts or not as you wish. Keep walking.

Ps. Help me get the word out, repost and share

How to have a long term effect?

Building started but funds ran out. What ever I do here I want
to see it through. This is all bigger than me.

How to have a long term effect? I've been thinking of a big idea that could have an impact on hundreds or thousands of lives. We have seen in the last 10 years the development of online education. People now can get educated right in their home. Inner city schools could greatly improve the impact of education by developing skilled online education to the students who are motivated but right now buy into a system of educating to the lowest common denominator. Too many kids are not given the opportunity to compete at the highest levels. We have too many smart kids in our cities who are handicapped with bad educators and poor peer support. Instruction could improve with classroom connection with Master teachers.

Thinking out-of-the-box, revamping support for Liberia there could be developed online education to be streamed into villages to offer children a chance to get an education. 

At each level more kids could get the opportunity to go to school. 

What if teachers could be linked with the class group where the teacher could teach from the location from coastal cities, like Monrovia, Buchanan, or Harper? There could be links from the US.

College grads looking for one or two year service could be given this opportunity right where they live to link with real people in need from countries desperate for education. 

America is looking to win the hearts people overseas, could there be a place for civillian service for people educating people via the Internet. When I was young man I wanted to serve in the navy but I was not able because of cerebral palsy. But today this is a Real way to serve with the branch of service design to meet human need. Many kids today are disconnected with America. Making a way for more kids to get involved in the life of others and using the Internet as a tool.

Training Liberians for the ministry has reaal opportunities with online education. College training for every career is a real possibility. Are there affordable options is a big obsticle? If we really wanted to give people a shot we find a way.

I want to help some find solutions. Any ideas here would be greatly appreciated. Keep walking.

Lots of needs

Can you imagine working in 95 degree heat?

Since I reconnected to Liberia I've been thinking about how to help things. Much of the money an effort to help with the a ebola crisis, buildings and projects are now empty and returning back to the jungle. Ebola has gone into recession and the doctors and soldiers who went to Liberia did a good thing. 

Liberia will have more crisisis. I am convinced that the leadership there understands the need to rebuild the country after so many years of war and disease. It is an uphill battle.

Liberia needs an educational infrastructure to bring the people into in the modern world so that they have the doctors, politicians, military expertise and law-enforcement, businessman who can run the business of Liberia, teachers, medical professionals, engineers and tradesmen, Computer technology, agricultural development of natural resources so that they can take care of their own interests and improve their quality of life.
There are real problems that you may miss if you visit there. I fear many things me repeat themselves in a violent cycle. Yet I have to believe there is hope.

This is a tall order and somewhat of a utopia but if Liberia does not rebuild educationally, crisisis will continued to be handled from the outside and not necessarily for the interests of Liberian people. Secondhand hand-me-downs will never really meet the need. 

Personally, I want to learn to become an advocate for Liberia. Secondly, I desire to visit the country again. I don't know if I can personally devote time there or not. But I can help my ex-students live a little better and help them as they help others. Third there are both immediate needs that have to be addressed. And fourth, I've been thinking about an idea that may have a long-term effect.

As a missionary the training and relief effort, I need to be specific and help who I can. This kind work is at the gut level. It is the kindest thing that has a clinic and helps a child who is suffering from malaria. That child may really be encouraged by the help of care. At my age I may be able to train someone to be a caregiver. But I won't be the one who will train a child in first grade and see them in their adult life. At my age I also know how difficult it is to live in a tropical rainforest.
There is a certain amount of physical fitness that I need to obtain and a healthy weight. I also think I need to spend more time in a location like Buchanan rather than the bush. The mission where I served may be able to be reservice. Then again it may not. I may not be able to go overseas, But I might be able to do things here. Keep walking

Macedonian call, personal contacts to Liberia

Alfred Joe today

I was very surprised when one of the students contacted me and I was very glad to hear the majority of the students at the school survived. Some of the parents including my main interpreter we're killed in the conflicts. They were civilians not warriors. 

The students were my oldest kids in the school and they went with me everywhere. They were my guides in the jungle, they help protect my daughter who was for the time for the jungle was all around us. Every day I played soccer with the boys at to school and I learned play in my bare feet. In the rainy season this was fun. In the school they were my smartest students. I owe them a lot more then I can never repay. They were just kids but they taught me a lot about living in the jungle. The parents of the students at school did much to help me have a good opportunity to help others.

Alfred Joe was the oldest of the boys. He was tall for a Liberian and was very fast. His English was very good and he was the one fellow I could depend when I was in the jungle. When we walk together he would often stop and identify a sound of an animal, warn me of a dangerous snake nearby, let me know if there're people around. His skills in the jungle came in very handy then and later in the Liberian Civil War.

One day, soldiers came into his village and began shooting. They killed about 30 people in his village including Alfred Joe's dad. (Alfred Joe’s dad work for me as a groundskeeper back in 1977.) Alfred Joe and is mentally challenged brother ran into the jungle to escape the gunfire. His brother wasn't able to keep up and took another direction and he was killed. Alfred Joe's speed and knowledge of the jungle saved his life.

Daniel and Moses Tarr like Alfred Joe were excellent students and a big help around the mission. I will tell some of their stories later. It was Moses who contacted me on Facebook and in we have been in communication since. Moses has some very practical ideas of how I can help now. One of the things I am working on right now is improving communication with the men. Alfred Joe lives in the jungle and maybe out of reach of the Internet. Daniel lives in Monrovia poverty prevents them from having a phone. Both of these situations I hope to improve. A personal level I would like to help the three who struggle with poverty. I can't change the world, but I can help a few people. They in turn have language skills which can be a tremendous asset.

Having a personal connection has brought me back to a long time I'll go commitment that I have made. Keep walking

“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”

Background of problems in Liberia

Moses giving me a shave, bad idea

Historically Liberia was somewhat developed along the coast by the 15 or so families I'll back slaves Of America settling in Liberia in 1822. Inland Liberia remained isolated from modern life following traditional tribal customs of 16 tribal groups. These tribal groups had fought one another and were somewhat put under control by Pres. Tugman in the 1940s to 1971. 

Most missions concentrated their efforts along the coast. Education in the interior was primarily promoted by a few companies and a few missionaries working in the interior. Governmental schools we're slow to develop in and very poor and the quality of education.

With over 20 years of conflict the situation had only grown worse. Liberian business has always been controlled buy foreign investors. Today the Chinese and Indochina operate many busuiness. 

West Africa has been in the news because of Ebola and the ISIS threat to innocents.

Following the health story one thing that is apparent to me is that Liberia lacks the technical training to improve their health system. There aren't enough teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers, tradesman and businessman trained to compete in the modern world. Illiteracy and the lack of a common language greatly impairs the progress in Liberia. There are too many places where there are no schools, clinics, Liberian owned businesses. The ebola crisis as been averted but there is no infrastructure of health or education in the country. So in the next crisis comes there will be too few of the Liberians able to deal with it.

Liberians who get educated make a greater effort to leave the country. It's hard to blame them in light of violence and hardship in a very hot climate. Their very desire to improve their personal situation leaves Liberia with even less human resources.

The present Liberian leadership has given the country a place in which to begin to grow again. In order to see progress there has to be security and safety. As this is taken place we have to realize that the reality is too few can read and write. There are too few who are able to go to college. Liberia has less than 3 million people, 16 tribes, and a growing urban slum that lacks the resources of their country cousins to live off the land. The first thing to do is to become aware of what is being done and not being done. 

For me,

in a practical sense, what can I do? Keep walking

Getting back into the game

I became Mr. Laundry man 1977

Liberia has recently come back to me in a personal way with the reintroduction of my three students back in 1977 who are now 48 to 50 years old. 

After my one year service in Liberia I decided to go into College for further training to go back too Liberia to serve as a missionary. In 1980, Liberia entered a period of the Civil War which dramatically change the country forever. In the mid 1980s Liberia entered the Civil War that lasted over 20 years. The wars directly affected the time of service that I could give Liberia as I had to establish a new career.

Liberia has already experience Long term problems with malaria and aids. In the last few years ebola ravage through parts of the country and Liberia hit International attention. 

Now I'm retired, I have an opportunity to get back to finding a way to serve the Lord helping Liberia either here or back overseas. In part it is part of the walk with a fat man as I find purpose in my aging to help others and by doing so benefit from the process is still living and being involved. Many baby boomers are reinventing themselves with education and new opportunities. Putting off the rocking chair for a few years has been shown to be good for our health. So on this blog, I hope to share my progress and service. Keep walking