Pierre is over one year old but can barely hold
up his head. His frail thin body lies limp in
her young mother’s lap. His mother is
also thin. “They are from Guinea,”
Andrew explains. “I saw them in the market
and asked about the child.” Andrew is
amazing. He runs a weekly children’s club
that attracts up to 120 kids. He teaches them
songs and dramas about basic hygiene and how
to eat well. Present at the club are 3 moms
with their malnourished children enjoying a
good meal. Andrew then calls over his graduate
children. There are over 10 children that
Andrew has rescued
who live close enough to attend the club. They
are bright and lively, trying to be the closest
to the camera… A second chance at life
was given to them because of the compassion
of Andrew. We want the mothers to be part of
the rescue process so we train them to take
their meager means and spend it wisely on food
that really counts. In the case of Pierre’s
mom, she moved in with one of our CHAs who has
generously shared her heart, her new knowledge,
and her home. “She has only been here
a few days,” Andrew explains, “but
already I see some improvement.”
We are looking
for a volunteer to supervise and expand our
“Come Eat at my Table” Program.
Anyone interested?
Since
1987 I had never ventured to the port city of
Buchanan, neither had I passed through the famed,
well-maintained Firestone Rubber Plantation.
I scheduled Thursday for that long trip.
A great sense of awe
and peace always overcomes me as I pass through
rubber plantations and this one was no different.
The tall willowy trees in regular straight lines
sway gently in unison. The grass beneath the
trees, neatly cropped to maximize the nutrients
to the trees as they daily pour out their life
sap to the service of Firestone. I was heading
to the Inland Women’s Church Conference
to speak on the threat of HIV AIDS and what
we can do to protect ourselves. As I traveled
beyond the Plantation, down the winding, gravely,
potholed road I reviewed in my mind how I would
approach this topic. Mud and thatch houses and
remnants of old colonial houses built by the
deep south Americo-Liberians who founded this
country graced the sides of the road. Lots of
fire coal was for sale in old rice bags, a local
stable income for this area. I tried to imagine
how different this place might look if AIDS
epidemic spread as predicted.
The Church conference
had already been in full swing for 3 days but
the women were all eagerly awaiting my arrival.
Within 10 minutes I was in front, overlooking
a group of 400 women ranging from their early
twenties to late 60’s or above. I was
to be interpreted in 3 different dialects and
I wondered how I would pass this vital information
in a creative way so they would not lose interest,
while each phrase or sentence was interpreted
three times! I started by reading a scripture:
Marriage should be
respected by everyone and the marriage bed kept
pure for God will judge those who are unfaithful,
immoral or commit adultery. Hebrews 13:4
I then called
up two volunteers and I placed a baseball cap
on the first. “This is John,” I
said, and the second volunteer “...is
Mary.” I proceeded to tell the story of
John and Mary, members of the Inland Church.
John had left the family for Bible School in
Nigeria 2 years ago and left Mary to care for
her 4 children, ranging in age from 3 to 12.
Her husband had not sent her any money to support
the children and she had not heard from him
in one year. There was a rumor that he had taken
another woman in Nigeria. Sam, a new member
of the Inland Church, befriended Mary and offered
to pay for her oldest daughter’s school
fees. (At this all the women stirred in the
crowd. In Liberia, there is a proverb that says.
“Nothing for nothing.” This means
that a good turn (or a bad one) does not come
without a price. In this case all the women
knew that this kindness could require sexual
favors…). I went on, “Sam, did not
approach her immediately. He was a kind man
and one evening stopped by the house to share
his heart feelings. He could not control himself
any longer, he loved her and wanted her now.
Both Mary and John had heard of AIDS over the
radio and knew it was passed through sex but
neither wanted to use a condom. Since both had
only had a few previous sexual partners they
thought they were “safe.” But were
they? I called up 3 more volunteers who represented
John’s previous sex partners. 2 more volunteers
played Mary’s previous sex partners. Then
I called up more volunteers to represent the
sex partners of the previous sex partners until
over 25 volunteers were up at the front. “When
you have sex you share sex germs with their
previous partners,” I said as I began
to give the statistics of HIV AIDS and sexually
transmitted diseases in Liberia. It is estimated
that 1 in 10 persons in Liberia are HIV positive.
So I counted out 1 out of every 10 volunteers
and identified 2 of them as HIV positive. I
then shared the fact that over 85% of sexually
active Liberians have experienced sexually transmitted
diseases. Men usually seek prompt treatment
because of discomfort but women often delay
treatment or don’t even know they have
an STD. If you have a sexually transmitted disease
such as Gonorrhea your risk of contracting HIV
increases by 3 to 5 times from an infected partner.
Then the questions came: “ Is it safe
for Mary and John to engaged in unprotected
sex?” “What other consequences are
there for unfaithfulness in marriage?”
The women squirmed and hands shot up. They all
agreed, unfaithfulness in marriage decreased
the income in the home. There would not be enough
money for food, school fees and other essentials.
“The children suffer the most.”
one woman said. The burning comment/question
was: “We have been counseled by the Inland
Church that we should not deny our husbands
sexually, but our husbands have girlfriends
and they still demand their right and refuse
to use condom. Even if we are faithful, we cannot
control our husbands and if we deny him he forces
us, many of us women suffer ‘oh. The girlfriends
come to our house and verbally abuse us and
we must bear it?” I was not shocked by
this revelation. I have lived long in Liberia
and have heard of the problems men and women
face in marriage. But how should I respond?
The answer is not as easy as “Get a divorce”
or “Pray hard, God will protect you.”
We decided we must empower and enlighten men
to take their Godly role in the family seriously.
From the pulpit, talk against fornication and
adultery is preached ferociously but to no effect.
The consequences of unfaithfulness are not simply
STDs or AIDS but malnutrition, violence, and
abandonment of children who desperately need
to be loved and cared for. I have talked with
our male staff to get involved with men’s
groups, encourage faithfulness in marriage and
set a Godly standard themselves. We ask for
your prayers.
