Monrovia October 2004

Things are going well here. At the very least I will come home with a>tremendous amount of gratitude that I was born middle class in >the>United States. Things are pretty depressing here but the Liberians remain>pleasant and hopeful. The transitional government has already been exposed>as corrupt and there are allegations that the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)>staff is also on the take.>>At Concern we are gearing up for a distribution of 3,500 "Family Kits">(Blankets, cooking pots, soap, buckets, sleeping mats, latterns, utensils,>etc.) to refugees returning to Lofa County way up north near Guinea.>Procurement and transport are very challenging here. The cost of the>distribution -- several hundred thousand US dollars -- is being paid by the>US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). I am looking forward to>being at the distribution and seeing some much needed items getting into >the>hands of the beneficiaries. As logistician, I worked with the national >purchasing agent, Roland, to get bids on the Family kits, samples, etc. We >then put together a bid analysis>and met with an ad hoc purchasing committee of Concern staff to compare>samples of Kit items and prices, etc. We want our kits to be as good or>better than those of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),>which bulldozes around the country throwing stuff off the back of their>trucks willy nilly with no coordination with other NGO's. Our sleeping >mats>are durable and the design is quite fabulous. As I pointed out to the>committee, just because you're a refugee doesn't mean you have to sacrifice>on style. The ex-pats laughed but the Liberians knew just what I was>talking about.........Tuesday I went down to Buchanan with Fiona,>the Assistant Country Director, to see our office there. Buchanan is>Liberia's second city and is about a 3 hour drive down the coast. Prince >Jomah, the storekeeper went with us as well as a new hire -- Emmanuel >Boayue -- so we could do some counts and famiarize Emmanuel with the >storekeeping system. We do wells and latrines there and a large Food >Security program there funded by the European Union -- seeds, tools,>pigs, blacksmithing, guinea fowl, etc. and some lessons on agricultural >practices, animal>husbandry, etc. John Reid, an Irish farmer with a masters degree in >Agriculture,>heads up this program. The road to Buchanan passes through the Firestone >rubber plantation which is a longterm rip-off concession dating back to the >1920's. The plantation is very beautiful and well-maintained and there is >a great grocery store where I bought some Dijon mustard. Just past the >plantation the road deteriorates big time with potholes, rickety bridges, >etc. Prince was laughing and said "these are our good roads leading to our >major cities". The country is beautiful though and there are some large >rivers coming from the interior. We did quite a lot of recordkeeping >clean-up at the Buchanan stores/warehouse. We got some lobster from >Fantitown -- a Ghanain fishing village on the beach just outside of >Buchanan -- and John the cook made an awesome dinner. I noticed a lot of >blind people walking along the road outside our compound in Buchanan and >was told that "River Blindness" remains a big problem here -- I just >pretended to know what River Blindness is...if anyone knows give me a >shout.>>On a lighter note, I have been playing some "lawn tennis" at the>Catholic Hospital near my house with some of the locals -- fun!>Physically I am feeling very well (better than in NY) except for a slight>stomach problem -- all the ex-pats got sick off of this lunch we had >catered>for the entire local and international staff last weekend. I am planning >to>go to Jo'burg and Capetown for Christmas. It is extremely expensive to fly>anywhere from here. I have a total of 8 weeks vacation and R & R plus we>close for 10 days at Christmas and travel days do not count against >vacation. Now why don't we do that in the US? I will be in South Africa >for 3 weeks. Looking>forward to hanging out in the mall, seeing Soweto and the beaches of>Capetown!!>>My dog Andy is adjusting slowly. Last Thursday evening, I found him>watching Liberian TV in Arthur the Transport Manager's house. I have a big>yard at my house for Andy to run and play in but he seems very nervous and>just wants to get inside. I have had some landscaping done in my yard and>had a bunch of cement pots put on the verandah as well as some hanging>baskets, got some rattan furniture for the verandah and Whanga the>seamstress is making cushions out of some traditional lapa fabric I bought >at>Waterside, the market area in central Monrovia. In my haste to pack a lot>of strange things ended up in my suitcases, including some temple bells I>got up in Woodstock. I hung the bells on the verandah. On>Saturday morning Andy and I sat out on the verandah flowers and listened to >the BBC World Service. I ate some warm coconut rolls from the lady down >the road. All very pleasant.>>I miss so much about my life in New York, family and friends! I took so >much>for granted....