A day of LAUGHTER!

Thursday was one of the best days I have had in the last 8 months! I took six of my students to beach for the afternoon. Every period I try to take some of my students in town as a reward for their hard work, grades, attendance, and behavior. This time I decided we would go to Golden Beach and get pizza. Holly took 6 students in her advisory group also. The students were all so excited!

After the elementary tests on Thursday morning, we loaded the van and headed into Monrovia. When we got to the restaurant, we got tables on the sand so that we could see the ocean. After my students ordered their drinks, we headed down to the water. What started as just putting our feet in, turned into getting soaked. We laughed as we jumped over the waves that came crashing into the shore. A few of my students were eager to go in to about knee level and others were scared that the undertow was going to carry them out to sea. It is very common for the children (and adults) here to be scared of the ocean, and some of that fear is because most of them cannot swim. I was determined to help ease their fears, but also keep them safe. Two of my girls held my hands the entire time. The undertow was strong and sometimes we fell when the waves went back out. The girls squeezed my hands so tight and we laughed as we tried to stand back up. Needless to say, by the time our food came out we were soaking wet.

We sat down and enjoyed soft drinks, pizza, and french fries. This was the first time that my students have ever tried pizza. Some of them really liked it, and others not so much. The french fries were a hit! They were gone in about 5 minutes. It was so fun to just watch them eat. Although I used my hands, they all attempted to use their forks and knives, which I thought was so cute. Most of them gave up after the first try, but one of my little girls was determined. She leaned over to me and said, "Look Ms. McInvale! I am an American woman." Our whole table started laughing. She told me and the others that we were Liberians because we were using our hands. It was so much fun to just hang out with them outside of school. These are my favorite times with my students.

After we stuffed ourselves full, they were so eager to go back out and play in the ocean. This time Holly and the older students came too. We walked down by the rocks and took pictures. My students slowly started taking off layers of clothes. Some were down to their underwear. There are still times that I forget how common that is here. I was surprised to watch the older students sit down in the water in their uniforms. They were smart enough to bring a change of clothes, unlike the little ones. Oh well!

I felt like a little girl on Thursday. I didn't care about getting my clothes wet and dirty. We held hands and ran on the sand without a care in the world. It was so peaceful. No one wanted to leave. It was such a great day!

Check out my pictures!

Easter 2010: An Affirmation of Faith

On Easter Sunday we attended Monrovia Christian Fellowship with some of our friends. This church was different then any other church we have been to in Liberia. It was a much larger- close to about 400 people. The service only lasted for a little over 2 hours and included most of the basic elements that I am used to. There was no African music., but instead we sang and heard many contemporary praise and worship songs that are popular in the US. There was even powerpoint! For the first time, Holly and I were not the only white people in church. There were about 20 Americans and Europeans who attended the Easter service. My first impression of this church was similar to what I call a “mega church” in the US. I walked through the doors expecting a new and different experience. In some ways it was and in some ways it was not.

There was a part of me that really missed the little African church that I have become used to in the last eight months. There was also a part of me that liked the little things that reminded me of home. I loved being able to sing songs that I knew and follow along with unfamiliar songs on the screen. I really enjoyed having my own chair and not being super crowded on a wooden bench. I was grateful to have space so that I was not sweating the entire service. I was thankful that they only took up one offering and it only lasted about 5 minutes. It was both weird and amazing to sit in a Liberian church, led by Liberians, and forget that I was in Liberia.

My absolute favorite part of this church and this particular service was the choir and praise team. There are no words to describe African voices singing in unison. Although the songs were American, the voices were definitely Liberian. They sing so loud and so beautifully. Music has always been my favorite element of worship, and experiencing church in Liberia has given that a whole new meaning. I had almost forgotten that it was Easter Sunday, and then the choir sang “My Redeemer Lives.”

I have definitely had my share of “God moments” in the last eight months, but this one was unique. As I sat in my chair, with goose bumps down my spine, I had no doubt that Christ was present in that sanctuary, at Ricks Institute, and in the country of Liberia.

I don’t expect anyone to understand this, but I have felt closer to God in the last eight months than I have in my entire life, and this Easter confirmed that. There is something so special about this place that I am not sure I will ever be able to explain. To be surrounded by people who have experienced poverty to the extreme, absolute destruction caused by war, and real hunger, can sometimes be overwhelming. But to be in a room, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ with them, was life changing. I will always remember Easter Sunday in 2010 as a day that affirmed my faith.

The Ricks Olympics!

For the first time since the war, Ricks Institute hosted 16 schools from across the country to participate in the Ricks Olympics on March 26th and 27th! This two day event consisted of male football (soccer), female kickball, and male and female basketball. The theme for the event was to bring youth together through sports. The students were all encouraged to accept the results of the games and just have fun. They were told that the Olympics is not about winning and losing, but about coming together to support youth development. By doing this, they were all winners! The Ricks campus was packed with over 1,000 students ready to compete. The dorms and guest houses were full, and the excitement was unescapable.

There were two major sponsors that made this event possible. Lonestar Cell contributed close to $15,000 to the repairs of the basketball court and snack shop. They also provided scoreboards and prepared the fields for both football and kickball. Coca Cola set up stations around campus, selling cold soft drinks and water. All of the proceeds went to Ricks Institute. These two companies really played a huge role in the Olympics.

School was cancelled on Friday, and the games began around 10:30 am. The Dragons defeated their opponents in every sport on Friday. The Dragon pride was contagious. Friday night was the Kick-off for the Miss Ricks Beauty Pageant. The auditorium was packed with students excited to see the contestants show off their stuff. After a long day, we were exhausted, but ready for another full day on Saturday.

Unfortunately, Saturday was not as victorious for the Ricks Dragons. The football and kickball teams lost in the semi-finals, but both teams played hard and did well. Our girls lost their first basketball game in the finals of the tournament. We lost to N.E. Gibson, a team that was much taller, bigger, and stronger than ours. Three of our starters had just played in the kickball game minutes before, and needless to say, they were exhausted. The heat was draining and the energy level was low. Our girls played hard at the beginning of the game and were only down by 5 at the half. The second half just kind of went down hill, and our girls just gave up. There were a lot of factors that contributed to our loss, but we were disapointed in the way the girls played. I think the loss was good for our team. The girls needed a motivator to show them that they need to work hard at practice. They all left the game upset by the loss, but I am hoping that they have the determination and drive to improve. N.E. Gibson was a good team and they deserved to win the trophy, but I know that our girls can beat them. I hope that we will have a chance to play them again in the high school tournament.

The highlight of the Olympics was the finals of boys basketball. The Dragons male basketball team has been working very hard for the last month. They were determined to win the Olympics. All of their hard work paid off, and they won the final game by a large margin. The court was packed with spectators, and when the final whistle blew, the Ricks students celebrated with the team. It was a happy moment for the team and for the rest of the school. It was a great way to end such a great weekend. Go Dragons!

Our first field trip!

On Monday, March 23, my class went on a field trip to the Coka Cola Factory in Monrovia. It was our first field trip as a class and we had a wonderful time.

We were greeted by one of the managers, Gabriel Johnson, who is also a Ricks graduate. Mr. Johnson had our day organized and was very welcoming to our group. He began by giving us an overview of the factory and how it operates. The students were allowed to ask questions during his presentation. Then several of the employees gave us a tour of the factory. The students were mesmerized by all of the machinery and equipment that was used to bottle the soft drinks. They asked well thought out questions and retained most of the information they were given. I was shocked by how attentive the students were during the tour and surprised by how much they learned. At the end of the tour we got to meet Rocketfeller Findley, the Regional General Manager of Coca Cola and a Ricks graduate. He was very engaging and the students loved getting to talk to him. The highlight of the day was the free soft drinks!! Bottled Coca Cola products usually sell for about 35 Liberian dollars. This is more than most students can afford, so a free soda was a huge deal. The students were not expecting to get a drink at the end of the day, so it was a big surprise when Mr. Findley offered one to everyone. They were all very appreciative.

I rode in the van with the girls on the way back to Ricks. We sang and danced to popular songs on the radio the entire way back. I had intended to stop and get ice cream for everyone, but all of the shops were either closed or out of ice cream. So, instead of ice cream we stopped at the family bakery. Everyone got pancake bread, which is the same thing as a cupcake without the icing. The students seemed to enjoy it and it was a good end to a fun day!

The best part about taking this field trip was watching the students present what they learned to the rest of the student body. Seven of my students wrote down what they learned on an index card and shared it in chapel on Wednesday morning. This was their first time to stand up in front of the school and speak in a microphone. They did a fantastic job and got a huge round of applause at the end. They were all very proud of themselves and I was a very proud teacher!

A Thought to Ponder

“Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills- against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence… Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation…

It is from the numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

-Robert Kennedy

The End of Poverty

“The question should not be whether the rich can afford to help the poor, but whether we can afford not to.” – Jeffrey Sachs

I just finished a book called The End of Poverty, written by Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to the United Nations on the Millennium Development Goals. After reading this book, I understand why Time said he is one of the world’s hundred most influential people.

There were parts of this book that made me frustrated with the way the US has been responding to global poverty. “A survey done in 2001 by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland reported that Americans, on average, believed that foreign aid accounts for 20% of the federal budget, roughly twenty-four times the actual figure.” Can you see my frustration? Four hundred of the highest income Americans had a combined income in 2000 that exceeded the combined incomes of Botswana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda. This was the total income of 161 million people in those four countries, who average $350 per year, compared to 400 hundred superrich Americans. The United States spent about $2.5 billion for two weeks of support in the war in Iraq. That is the same amount spent for an entire year of economic development assistance in Africa. Does this make anyone else frustrated? I guess I just feel like we have our priorities all mixed up, especially when the United States alone can end world hunger. Through the Millennium Development Project, the rich world has committed .07 percent of gross national product, which is 7 cents of every $10 in income. We are talking about less than 1 % of total income. This is definitely a good start, assuming that we follow through on our commitment. I could write for pages and pages about this, but I will spare you my opinions for the time being.

There were also parts of this book that were very inspiring and gave me hope for the end of extreme poverty in our world. This book was so rich with facts, information, challenges, research, and achievable goals that I had to read it twice to process all of it. Jeffrey Sachs emphasizes the importance of the United Nations Millennium Development Project, with a series of goals set forth to half global poverty by 2015 and end extreme poverty by 2025. If you have not heard of the Millennium Development Goals, I would strongly encourage you to research them and find ways to be involved.

On Thursday I had the opportunity to meet and talk with the US Ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, at the US Embassy in Monrovia. We discussed the work being done at Ricks Institute and the partnerships that have been formed with churches, schools, and non-profits in the US. The ambassador was very honest with us and told us about the many things that the US is doing to help Liberia re-build. Her words basically summarized an important quote in Jeffrey Sachs book. She said that the US can’t afford to not help Liberia. The Ambassador stressed the importance of the relationship between the US and Liberia, and our responsibility to help Liberia get back on her feet after 14 years of civil war. She said that the US is currently giving money for agriculture development, infrastructure, health, education, and government support for the upcoming presidential elections. She also mentioned the Millennium Development project and Liberia’s efforts to hopefully meet the Millennium Challenge in 2-3 years.

Meeting with the Ambassador was an incredible experience, and I left with an overwhelming mix of emotions. I felt so empowered to continue to give my time, energy, and resources to the ongoing work that is being done in Liberia and at Ricks Institute. I left feeling very optimistic and hopeful about the future of Liberia and the involvement of the US in this war-torn country. Living in Liberia has given me a whole new perspective on poverty, but more importantly, it has made me more aware of what can be done to end it.

Basketball, Basketball, and more Basketball!

Coaching the girl’s basketball team is still one of the highlights of my ministry at Ricks. I have absolutely fallen in love with all 17 girls and truly value the time that we spend together.

We are still practicing every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (even on holidays!) at 2:00pm. The girls have made so much progress since the beginning of the year and because of that we are able to do and accomplish a lot more at practice. The warm up drills consist of lay-ups, jump shots, and free throws. Sometimes we also add in some dribbling and ball handling skills. Then we normally work on specific skills that need improvement and introduce or review game plays. Practice normally ends with a scrimmage where the team implements the new things they have learned. Practice generally ends around 3:30pm and then the team eats lunch together in the dinning hall. The girls have a break from 4:00 to 5:00, which normally turns into a team social hour in front of the school building. Conditioning begins at 5:00pm. The girls are marked late if they are not running at 5:00. Conditioning usually consists of running (about a mile and a half) and some basic strength exercises (push ups, sit ups, lunges, stairs, etc.). By the end of conditioning the girls are wiped out. Some of them come and collapse on the steps of the school building and just lay down for about 5 minutes before moving. Practice days definitely make for a long afternoon, but the hard work is paying off.

We had a game at the Monrovia Sports Commission on Thursday, against the Cathedral High School. The team went into the game confident and determined to win. All the girls played very well and the routine drills at practice prepared the team for victory. The starting five went in and lit up the scoreboard. After half time our second and third string went in for the rest of the game. They held the lead and brought home another victory for Ricks. The final score was 28-8, which makes the Lady Dragons 5-0 this year.

Last weekend Ricks hosted a school from Nimba County. They arrived very late Friday night, prepared to take on the Dragons in a series of sporting events on Saturday. The day began with co-ed sand volleyball. After an exciting match, the crowed moved over to the court for girls and boys basketball games. We played two 20 minute halves with a running clock against a newly formed team of 6. All of the girls got to play and it was exciting to watch some of them score for the first time. Although it was not much of a game, everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. The Lady Dragons pulled out a 58-10 win! Following our game, the boys also won. After lunch there was a kickball and soccer (football) game. The kickball team lost by 1 point, but later the soccer team brought home another Ricks victory!

It was an exciting week, filled with lots of fun competition. It feels good to win and to see the girls so excited and confident in themselves. We are just praying they don’t get over confident and lose sight of what has gotten them this far. It was a great week of basketball and I am looking forward to more in the next few weeks as we prepare for the high school tournament. Go Dragons!