On to Liberia!

Well, I have decided to continue my blog, though posting will probably not be as frequent as when I was in Indonesia! If you haven’t heard already – I am currently in Liberia working as a health coordinator with Samaritan’s Purse. I feel blessed to have this opportunity as it is just the kind of position I wanted – working in health program management/coordination with a Christian organization. I had broadened my job search so much, thinking that maybe God had other things for me right now. But then came the interview for this job, shortly thereafter a job offer, and only a week later I was flying to North Carolina for orientation! It happened so fast – so I apologize that I wasn’t able to tell everyone personally or see everyone before I left.

So now, here I am in Liberia. I have been here for about two weeks and I am settling into my job and life here. I will be based in Monrovia – the capital city, but am looking forward to also spending time at the project site in River Gee (2 hrs by chopper or 12+ by jeep!) The Monrovia office and the staff house where I am living are on the same compound and it is right on the Atlantic ocean! It is beautiful and I have already enjoyed time sitting on the beach and swimming. Despite the beauty and the beach – I was sad this weekend that I missed the first snow in New England. I had some pictures of my house and the beach to upload but I can’t find my cord to transfer – hopefully it is not back in NH! I will have to investigate that further…







maps from www.pbs.com and www.worldofmaps.com/liberia/

This is a map of where Liberia is situated…no it is not Libya or Siberia…it is in Western Africa. Monrovia is in the middle on the coast and River Gee is on the far Southeast corner. SP also has an office in the north in Lofa, I won’t be up there too much at this point. The official language is English – though it is Liberian English so it can still be difficult to understand at times.

Liberia is a beautiful country. However, a civil war ending in 2003 has left the country devastated; they are still recuperating from this long, brutal war. In October the first elections since the initial post war election were held, and everyone – Liberians and the world – have been watching closely to see whether the process will be peaceful. The October vote was not decisive and there will be a run-off election in November between the top two candidates. Pray that this will be peaceful and the country can continue to rebuild.

Pray for me as I continue to adjust to a new home, a new job, and new friends. Next time I will post more on what I am actually doing here…I am still figuring that out daily right now. But I am lucky to have the health sector manager to learn from!