Malawo

Malawo is a small village in number, but large throughought Liberia. It has been known as the mecca of witchcraft, with many people traveling there to receive their charms. Even a past Liberian president has made the trek by car to the base of the mountain, and hiked over an hour to the top. Their history is full of human sacrifice and laws, such as women are not allowed to wear anything on their tops, or no one was allowed to wear shoes or sandals in the village.

In 1993, things started to change. Malawo was burned by rebels coming through, and many villagers fled to refugee or Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps. With their village burnt to the ground, and the exposure to Christianity and the Church in the camps, their belief systems were a bit shaken.

They returned to their homes after the fighting was over, only to go back to their old ways. Samaritan’s Purse was able to seize an opportunity for ministry. Kendell, (our Country Director) and local evangelist, were able to go up to Malawo to visit. To their surprise, the elders met them at the top of the mountain with the news that they were allowed to wear their shoes. Things haven’t been the same since.

After seeing their situation, they heard about how another NGO previously had visited, promised latrines, and never fell through with the promises. Kendell then promised that by the end of August, every home in Malawo would have a water filter installed.

It is nearing the end of August, and as I write this, every home in Malawo has a water filter, a latrine is being completed, and every home is being measured for new tin on their roofs.

Women are wearing blouses. Everyone is wearing shoes. The women met for four days last week and decided to clear out their “devil bush” in which they believe most of their powers come from, in order to build a community center, school and a church! The villagers are even asking for the Jesus Film!

God is moving so quickly in the people of Malawo.. and we are just along for the ride! With Malawo being so well known in Liberia, it is making huge impacts across the country. Those hours away from Malawo are saying “If this is happening in Malawo, it can happen here.”

Please pray for the people of Malawo. The community has been wonderful and receptive, and we pray that as the Jesus Film is presented, hearts will be changed.

I will be returning to Malawo this weekend to photograph more of the progress. I look forward to fellowshipping with the people again… not so much for the hike, but the people and the view make it worth it! ☺ I am truly honored to even be able to take a small part in this project.

    The crew (aka Bev and Joni) packing up the land cruiser before we head out.

  

  On the hike up.  Most of these guys are carrying 50 pounds of cement or sand on their heads!

At times it was wide open. At other times we were walking through water. Other times our walking path was an 8 inch crevice.

At the entrance of Malawo.  This is the big tree and women's devil bush that they cleared out. This is the tree that they believed held so many powers... now it lays over the path into the village, powerless.  

One of the many 'gateways' to the devil bush. 

(no worries , bev is not going into the devil bush here!)

The sunsets and views are amazing from up here! 

 This will be the new posterchild for water and sanitation. :)

One of the supply trucks had arrived with more sand, cement and supplies. We carried down the water filter molds to meet the truck, and carry supplies back up the mountain.

Almost the whole village of Malawo made two trips down the mountain to help carry supplies up! These people are TOUGH!

The chief of Malawo.

Hammy

One day I was busy working at my desk when Kendell, our Country Director called me downstairs. I reached downstairs to find him and a young woman sitting in the lobby. The young woman’s name was Hammy. Kendell wanted me to spend some time with Hammy and photograph her. Hammy was a child soldier. She was forced to carry a gun and fight during the war, barely a teen-ager. After the war was finished, she attended Samaritan’s Purse THINK home for girls- a nine month long program where ex-combatants can come and be rehabilitated, ecucated, and taught a skill. Hammy learned how to bake. With the skills that she left the THINK home with, she started her own little shop, to raise money to continue her schooling. She has been self-sufficient and has been able to pay all of her school fees with the money she earns from baking!

Hammy had stopped by our office that day to show her report card to Kendell. In that report card were only A’s. Kendell wrapped his arms around her to give her a big bear hug, and to tell her how proud he was of her. She shared that the teachers have allowed her to skip two grades in the past two years because she has done so well. She will be starting the tenth grade this year. Kendell pointed to her forearm, where a tattoe of her fighting batallion is still embedded on her arm. She quickly turned her arm away, shook her head and said, “That is the past.”

There are so many young people in this country that have gone through more than I can imagine. Some have been able to rehabilitate themselves, others are still out causing trouble. To see someone like Hammy encourages me more than anything. She has overcome her past, is moving on and excelling. Thanks for being such a great role-model, Hammy.

Junior

I want to introduce you to one of the guys from Yekepa. This is Junior. The very first time I met Junior, he proposed to me within the first thirty seconds.... flattering? not really... I kindly told him that he does not know me well enough to know that he wanted to marry me! He just smiled.

A couple weeks later, Junior asked if I would come to meet his family. He said it was a 2 hours drive from Yekepa. Oh. That made things a bit difficult since I don’t have a vehicle. So I told him that before I left Yekepa, I would make sure that I was able to meet his family. My last chance was a few weeks ago before the final team left. Bev was up in Yekepa with an SP truck, so it was now or never. We loaded up in the truck and made our way to his village.

Now you have to know Junior's history- Junior was attending school when Charles Taylor's government forces came through and took 25 small boys right from their desks- Junior being one of them. He knew that if he didn't go, he would be shot and killed. He was only 14. He was then forced to be a part of a Small Boys Unit, fighting for Taylor. His major role was to cook for all of the fighters. He said he would cook for over 75 people... the ages were from 12-17. If the fighters would come back and the food was not ready, Junior would be beat with the butt of their guns.

He was with the Small Boys Unit for a year when they finally trusted him enough to go to the market by himself for supplies. It was then that he ran and never looked back. He immediately went to Ivory Coast, to look for his family. It took him three weeks to find them, and when he did, they were shocked to see that he was still alive.

So we went to his small village to meet his family. As we pulled up, his father, uncles and grandfather all came out, super excited to see him. They even greeted him with hugs, which is not something you see in this culture very often. They invited us into the house where we talked about Junior's work at ABC, their stories about the war, and met Junior's brand new baby brother. It was awesome.


As we left the family gifted us with a whole stem of bananas, a pile of plantain, and a live chicken. Humbling. As we dropped Junior off later that afternoon, he turned to me and said "God bless your efforts Joni... thank you for coming to meet my family."

Recently in devotions we have been discussing stewardship. Stewardship of opportunity was one of them. I was asked to share the story from Lucy Swindoll… she went to Antartica to photograph wales… she spent hours looking through her camera for the wales… and they never came. She lowered her camera to find that all along she was missing the penguins on the glaciers. She said that so often we live out lives like that- looking for the wales, the big opportunities, and miss the penguins. I am so glad that I didn’t let this opportunity slip by… it is an experience that I won't forget.