Monrovia

Ann Elizabeth and I feel a bit more established after some accomplishments today... we got internet for our house and cell phones! In order to get these, we had to go into Monrovia for the afternoon. Olu Menjay, principle of Ricks, took us into town (Monrovia is about 30 miles or so away from Ricks) and not only took us to the places we needed to go to accomplish our to-do list, but gave us a tour of some parts of the city.

Let me start by saying that Liberia is truly a beautiful country, physically but also in its history and the spirit of the people. If we had come to Liberia 30 years ago, the place would have looked very different. Monrovia sits right on the Atlantic Ocean, the city cresting to a hill with a view all around, Providence Island resting near the port entry to the city. Throughout Monrovia and surrounding areas we can see evidence of beautiful buildings, technological advances, and modern improvements that made Monrovia a fairly modern West African nation. The heartbreaking part of all of this, however, is that these traces of progress are now shells of buildings, hollowed out first class hotels, power lines that remain idle, light posts that cast nothing but shadows, and water systems rendered useless. War lasting for decades has the capacity to devastate a nation, but even moreso the city that was often at the center of conflict.

Monrovia today is a fascinating city. It's very much at the beginning of a long road to recovery... but there is evidence of progress being made. Goverment buildings are being slowly rebuilt, and the focus of all rebuilding projects is rehabilitation - build from the foundation that's already been laid instead of demolishing and starting from scratch. Monrovia is a lively city, to say the least. The streets are crowded with people, much like in the Duala market, selling anything and everything they can to try to provide for themselves and their families.

The reality of what poverty looked like here has begun... although really just begun... to hit me today. The people do seem to have hope, they do seem to have a drive and a will to make it, and a belief that they can... that's my perception at least. Perhaps that's because the people I'm seeing are the ones who are out on the street, trying to sell what they can, make what they can, cook what they can... use whatever skills they have to earn a living. But at the same time, life is clearly difficult. There are no luxuries and no easy ways to earn an honest living.

I look forward to continuing to learn more about Liberia and her people.

Despite my ramblings, it's abundantly clear to me that I will never say here all that is swirling in my head... I'll do my best to write the things that seem most important, and most interesting for you to read. That said, if there's anything I'm not talking about that you want to know, please post a comment letting me know and I'll be happy to address anything!