I arrived Wednesday night after a very very very bumpy and rough 11 hour drive. It may not be raining anymore, but all the holes from rainy season are now hard as rocks. It is anything but smooth. I was in the back of the landcruiser with a good majority of my supplies for the workshop and also the beginning of our classes this year. Finally by hour 5 I had managed to arrange everything well enough that no boxes were falling on me as we drove along. For a few hours I had a very comfy position all figured out with the two personal bags that myself and a co-worker had along. But, by hour 7, it was no longer a comfort. Because of lack of vehicles I had rented a landcruiser for two days to get us to Foya. Unlike the States, when you rent a car here, that does not mean you get to drive it. This means that the car comes with its own driver.
Yippee.
Liberian drivers are more frustrating for me than pleasurable. Nothing like speeding up as fast as you can to only slam on your brakes for holes every 50 feet for 11 hours. This trip was no exception. The only thing that was different was that this driver was constantly stopping for bananas because he was hungry. Hawa and myself made the whole trip without having to stop for a bathroom or anything, but our driver stopped 5-6 times. The sixth time Hawa and myself just shook our heads as the driver SPRINTED to the bush b/c he had eaten too many bananas.
Oh Liberia.
With a splitting headache and neck ache, we arrived at base. My coordinator came soon after so we could begin sorting through the applications and make calls for the following day. I had no idea how big that task would be.
Thinking there would be roughly 30 resumes to read through, my mouth dropped to the floor as she poured out 140 resumes. We were going to be there awhile.
Reading through the resumes was a good reminder of where Liberia is at regarding employment. The unemployment rate in Monrovia is 85%, and 80% in the rural areas. It showed through the number of applications. I felt bad and almost guilty at how easily I could toss someone's resume- their hope of an income to support their family and themselves- into the "no" pile.
I knew that these people needed a job so badly... I probably can't imagine some of their situations, yet I was looking for the right people to fill these positions. I didn't want 11 people who simply wanted a job. That would be easy to fill. I wanted 11 people who were also passionate about teaching the women of Liberia how to read and write and instill some confidence in them, creating a new future for them, all the while being able to share the Gospel with them.
I think that is what I found. I pray that is who I found.
Another thing that struck me is sadly how few women are qualified for many of these positions. Unfortunately girls are overlooked in Liberia, and many countries in Africa, forced to stay home and work on the farm instead, resulting in many illiterate adults today. Ultimately I would love to hire all women to teach their fellow women of Liberia, but that just isn't possible, especially in the rural areas. (The program is designed to have people from the community teach their women.) I look around the palava hut in our morning devotions and notice that of the 50 of us there, 43-45 are men.
But, I am happy with my new staff. We were able to get a good mixture of men and women, and I look forward to working with them this year! The TOT is over half way finished and is moving very well. Next week the facilitators and Aides will be wiring up their classrooms for the generators and preparing their lesson plans. We plan to be offering classes to 400 women in Lofa County this year.
Thank you for your prayers as we went through the hiring process. I'm learning more and more each day about managing... and managing in Liberia. Please pray for me too! :)
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