#lifeinliberia myMHCsummer africa liberia love generosity fun

[moreen-tonny]

Generosity defined

If I had to use one word to relate my experience in Liberia over the past two weeks, I would say generosity. My interactions with the people here never cease to humble me and to renew my faith in humanity. I have learnt a lot about myself and identified the things that truly matter to me. As simple as this can be, I realized that I mostly enjoy working on everything that involves human interaction. My favorite so far have been interviewing and listening to the stories of ambitious young women, developing new concepts and ideas to bring people together, and planning events with staff (the most enjoyable part of what I do).

During my second week, my fellow interns and I attended a small hand-over ceremony to present an EKG machine on behalf of Madam Gbowee at the Saint Joseph Hospital in Monrovia. It was a private ceremony without all the usual official protocol, and what I saw at this hospital stayed with me the whole week. I am not foreign to extreme poverty or the lack of access to basic needs such as health care, potable water, and adequate food for malnourished children. These were not the first things that struck me. During our tour of the hospital we visited the maternity section. I saw a woman in labor laying on the floor in the hallway waiting for a new bed to be available so she could be cared for. Not too far from her was another woman who had just given birth but she was on a bed. I heard her say to the gentleman next to her: “take my towel and give it to her”. While, she did not look like she had much herself, she understood that the other sister was worst off and could use all the help she could get.  

The EKG machine came as a blessing to the hospital. The hospital’s only cardiologist told us that they had to work for almost 5 months without one. During a visit in Liberia of some women of the Nobel Women’s Initiative, one of the women saw how essential it was that she and her family donated the machine to the hospital. Their generosity went beyond the simple act of providing the equipment. The machine was customized to cater to the hospital’s needs. The laptop has a 16 hours battery life and the results can be printed from a long distance. I don’t know much about the medical world but I am sure that is something quite impressive. I also noted that they had more women doctors in leadership position than men. I thought that was definitely a positive thing.

Later in the week one of my friends met a Chinese restaurant owner who offered to treat us to some authentic Chinese cuisine. On Friday night, under a pouring rain, she picked us up for a charming diner. We were in a private room with a table full of food ranging from sliced fruits and nuts to duck meat and spicy noodles. Unfortunately by the time they brought the food to us our phones were already dead, so we have no picture of our delicious diner. Later the owner joined us and talked about her life and experience in Liberia. She is a single mother raising an eight year-old girl who seems to be the center of her world. She wants to take her to so many places to see the world like she did not have the chance to see it. When we asked her why she treated us to like she did, her answer could not be more genuine. She said: “If I was living in China you all could have been my own daughters. I would like my daughter to be safe and people to treat her well when she is abroad too… You are young and you may not have the chance to come back to this country so I want you to have good memories of your time here. This is what I would want that for my daughter”. She almost got me in tears as she reminded of my own mother – she would have done and said the same. I have also seen acts of kindness coming from my peers. My friend Wenna, our “official” photographer, took some beautiful pictures of a few children in a disadvantaged neighborhood. She later paid to get them printed to send them to these children so they can have them as a souvenir. What a wonderful way to remind children of their beautiful smiles? Love, has various meanings in Liberia but unlike some places that I have been to, people here are not afraid to show it anywhere and at any time. Like the little girl who ran from her playground towards us on the sidewalk then hold our hands to say “hi”.  

The past 2 weeks have been very busy in the office because we have so many events coming up. However I can’t complain because I enjoyed every task I have been given. When we have meetings with Madam. Gbowee it is always a pleasant moment - she is such a cool lady! She even invited us to her home during the weekend and offered to treat us to a weekend out of town. Oh yes my summer is awesome! The excitement does not only come from doing cool stuff like planning special events or making plans with my flat mates. It also comes from learning about daily life in Liberia, sexuality as it is perceived in the country, faith, and the political arena like most people don’t see or hear about in the media. I met a few more people last week among which a lady from Peru who works at the Palm Spring Hotel. When she asked me where I was from I told her but she couldn’t figure it out so I told her it’s next to the Dominican Republic. Happy, she asked if we speak Spanish too. I said we don’t but I do. We continued in Spanish and then she said “it so good to finally find someone who is able to speak your language when you are so far from home”. She offered to take my friends and I to other parts of the country on her day off. More trips to come – I am so happy!

Quote of the week: “you can’t separate your community from your success or failure” - Leymah Gbowee.