I arranged a 7:00am departure with John 2 so we could get to Monrovia and return before dark. We had a few passengers riding in the truck bed. Titus needed to drop off a bag of rice to his mother in Wreupu (just south of Salala in case you’re mapping this!) and Amelia had planned… Continue reading The bug zapping blues

Yesterday John 2 and I finished welding the second of two wedge-shaped solar panel racks, both of which will hold three panels on the pitched roof of the school building at a net angle of about 6 or 7 degrees (Liberia’s latitude) so we can maximize the effectiveness of our photovoltaics. As the welding came… Continue reading A rainy siesta

I love seeing men stepping up to be parents…washing their boys in a bucket. The one boy’s mother died this year so he is cared for with his cousin, Koiku.

I began mounting and wiring up the solar components including the combiner box, the DC disconnect box, the charge controller, and the 600 watt 24V DC to 230V AC inverter on a plywood panel in the office storage closet. Our electrician , Edwin, started drilling holes in the ceiling and through the block walls for… Continue reading The sweet taste of roadkill

One of the issues in education is teaching children how to think independently. Most Liberian educators are used to the write-and-copy method of instruction where children get very adept at giving the “right” answer by spewing back the only answer that correctly fills in the blank according to what they’ve previously copied from the board… Continue reading Independent thinking

Our week together has flown by but it was time for Becky, Dave, Kathy, and Gary to depart for Klay and visit their Peace Corps son, Andy. Saah wrapped the luggage in a tarp on the roof of the Land Cruiser like a baby swaddled in a Liberian lapa. After goodbyes and hugs, our four… Continue reading Farewell Peace Corps guests

Sumo told our guests of a new place he wanted us to visit which he described as a waterfall and a place where people go for picnics. This sounded appealing to my guests so we packed in the Land Cruiser and Saah maneuvered us north on Gbarnga Highway. Becky wanted to print some photos to… Continue reading Civil war and barrel beating

I forgot to mention that yesterday one of those lingering to-do items got off my list with the help of Becky, Dave, Kathy, Gary, and a band of boys. Back in 2015 at the start of the project I began having workers (and children who helped) sign some planks of wood with the intention of… Continue reading The poison of jealousy

Bright and early I saw the band of boys peering through the porch screens accompanied by bags of “carpet grass” which they had harvested for transplanting around our guesthouse septic tank. The soil keeps washing away and this is part of my efforts to mitigate further erosion and beautify the grounds. The boys eagerly went… Continue reading Erosion control and frisbees

No visit to Liberia would be complete without a trip to market day at a nearby village and for us, the closest and biggest is in Suakoko. We made plans for Annie and Amelia to prepare a meal last night and tonight so a market trip for gathering cooking supplies was a necessity anyway. I… Continue reading Fish fry Friday