New Day

Saturday I awoke early to the sound of my alarm. I was very tired as I only think I slept a couple of hours. I had to get up, I promised Tompeamie that I was going walking and he was welcome to join me. As I walked to meet him Vicki came from her house and joined us on the walk. The sun was starting to brighten the sky and it was one of the brightest and clearest days I had ever experienced in Yekepa. It was like a clear Arizona day with not even a hint of a cloud in the sky. The light was shining through the darkness of the prior day and this would be a great day for our graduates. They deserved a great day.  The path they had traveled to graduate in Liberia was a long one, met with many obstacles. They had done it and it would be their day.

As I headed up to the gym there was a stream of people, cars, motorbikes and even a helicopter landing. As the faculty and graduates met to put on our regalia there were ear to ear smiles. We all went outside to get a photo of the faculty, students, and dignitaries. The Minister of Education was there and she was moving through the crowd happy to meet all those she met. The Commissioner For Higher Education was also there I walked up to him and introduced myself.  When I said my name he had a puzzled look on his face, I reminded him he knew my name through the proposal he had received on the Entrepreneurial Studies program.

As we entered the gym for the processional the place was packed. We were graduating 20 students and the estimate on attendance was about 1000 people were there in support. I had one of the best seats in the house as I was up on stage with the faculty looking toward the graduates and the crowd.  I kept scanning the crowd for Peter. I had asked him to be my guest but let him know he would need to find his own seat. He had told me he had no clothes to wear, so the day before I had given him $15 usd to buy some clothes. He has told me he picked out 3 shirts and 3 trousers so I gave him the money to buy them, but it was a lot to a boy who has nothing.
 
The graduation went off without any issues. In his remarks the commissioner would comment on his commitment to ensure the entrepreneurial studies program at ABCU and later I would talk to him directly about the next steps in being approved to move forward. We have an appointment to get it done.
 
The minister of education shared her thoughts on the I,portage of rebuilding education in Liberia and commented on her support of ABCU, it programs and students. At the end of her remarks, she said she planned to take every graduating students name and she would personally ensure they have teaching jobs in Liberia.  What an honor to these students and to the university in the programs it has put together.

Peter came and found me after the graduation.  He had on the clothes he has bought with a hat and some sunglasses.  He thought he looked cool, I could tell he was happy he had some clothes to wear.  He followed me to my house and I gave him a bag of rice and some flour for his mother.  I know he was sad to see me go, but I will be back to spend more time with him and pray he keeps getting good grades and stays off the streets.  It will be a hard thing to do coming from where he does.

It will not be easy from here. Del and Becky added a lot of value in what they brought to the university. As I had a few minutes with del prior to my leaving, he expressed remorse for the huge mistakes he had made. I believe with the help of God this university will continue on to greatness and be a role model for education in Liberia.

Please pray along with me as I know the next weeks and months will be very challenging for the faculty, staff, and students as new leadership is transitioned and the university continues to grow.

Expect the Unexpected

Sitting on the flight from Monrovia to Atlanta. Very much in comfort as I received a very unexpected upgrade to business class. Maybe it was God knowing how much I needed a break after the roller coaster of the last few days. I had not slept much up to now, but have spent the last number of hours sleeping well.
 

I was trying to think back to Thursday before this roller coaster began and cannot even begin to think what happened that day. The four college deans and Del met to talk about next steps for the programs and it was nice to be talking as the team that will plan and develop the curriculum that will build upon the foundation.

Thursday evening I had my class over for dinner and to chat a but about the semester and how we can continue to build upon the program.  We had a great discussion and I introduced them to pasta with some meat sauce over curly noodles. I. Found it interesting that most of the, had never tried such a thing, for them it was unexpected that there was much more than "something over rice". Peter was over as well and he helped me serve the students,  I think it was fun for him to be a part of it. He fell asleep at the kitchen table and I had a couple of the students take him home.

 

Friday started out early with a 6:30 am walk and then returned to move houses as the Minister of Education was arriving and would use the duplex I was staying in.  This is when the unexpected happened.....

I was walking out of the duplex to throw some fruit out and Vicki called my name From across the way.  I could hear a sense of urgency in her voice as she approached. There had been an emergency faculty meeting meeting that I was not aware of and had missed. The words coming from her mouth were surreal and hard for me to grasp.

 

Del had just resigned as president of ABC University and admitted guilt to two inappropriate relationships with female students.  I was in shock and trying to process what I had just heard. The tub of fruit dropped from my hands and my eyes filed up with tears. This was a friend, mentor, community leader and one of the most faithful servants I had ever looked up to.

Friday became a whirlwind. We called an emergency meeting with the students. As all entered the chapel there were no chairs so everyone took a seat on the floor around the room. It was Friday, finals were over and everyone was in a good mood for graduation. I took a seat up front with the rest of the faculty sitting there in shock of what the students were about to hear. It was hard to sit there with a calm face and we all struggled to keep composure when the students who knew nothing were laughing and joking around.

Del and Becky walked in.  Becky looked about as I would imagine, crushed, eyes red and tearing.  Nathan open the discussion with a few scripture verses and the asked Del to address the crowd.  As he spoke there were tears from the students and validation from those that had heard the rumors.  The message was short and direct and after they left the room. It was the last I saw Becky while I was there.

 After the faculty met for a few hours to triage the next few days of activities. It would be important to not let the news affect the achievements from those graduating and there was much work to complete to prepare.

The afternoon was met with a tremendous storm. I was out for a short walk to gather some thoughts before heading to the graduation rehearsal. I ducked under the entry to the chapel to escape a downpour and was met there shortly by Emmanuel Jonah doing the same thing. He and I sat and talked for some time about the news of the day. Neither of us had any good answers but it was nice to talk with him as he provided some good counsel I so desperately needed.

It was a dark day in Yekepa at ABCU and as I lay there in bed that night I was haunted by all the what ifs, how comes, and why's that are part of any tragedy.

Think Back

When I think back about taking finals in school I never remember it as a big deal, I am sure there were hours of preparation and studying I have just blocked from my memory.  In my role as a professor here at ABCU, every time I give a final, I think I am as nervous as my students about it.  Is it because I am new at this and unsure of myself?  Just like anything, I suppose we learn from our history and become that much more comfortable with our future and the anxiety ultimately fades.  I have realized this trip that I am not alone in the questions I have of starting this new program. 


As I continue to talk to faculty and staff here, I am realizing that they are just a few steps ahead with some of the other programs and through discussion and sharing we are moving all of the programs forward.  I am comforted to know that there is still tweeking to do and not everything is as rock solid as I had thought.  Maritta tells me I need to just ask more questions about things, like usual she is right.

Yesterday morning after chapel I walked up the road to watch Bill refine some palm nuts into oil.  The nuts had already been “cracked” which is the process of removing the outer skin/shell from the nut and what was left were the raw beans.  In some ways the beans looked like roasted coffee beans but 5x larger.  They were dark and a bit oily with a unique smell and he had a large pile laying out in the sun to dry.  The machine was located in a small room of a mud block hut with a tin roof and low ceiling just off the piggery.  After Bill finished a few repairs, he turned on the fuel supply (i.e. put a hose in a small bucket hanging from the ceiling and started a siphon).  A number of turns with a hand crank and the small diesel engine roared to life.  The noise in the small room was deafening, fortunately the exhaust was pointed outside the building.  

Bill began slowly feeding beans into the press to get it primed and after about 10 minutes he was able to fill the hopper and let the beans process.  Oil began running down the chute into a barrel and the “cake” or processed beans came out dry, warm and in powdered form at its appropriate exit.  Around the room were three large (55gal) barrels of oil and one barrel of “cake” from the prior day.  Each barrel is worth $250 of which 75% is profit and he can process 2-3 barrels per day.  Not a bad days wage in many countries and especially here in Liberia where the average daily wage is about $5.

You may wonder why I am so fascinated by watching this and Bills other activities?  Sound like a story out of the early 1900’s?  Bill represents what I am trying to build into these students and he represents the distance needed to go for much of Liberia.  His equipment, processes, method of collecting goods, labor and selling are no different that many of those used by farmers and industrialist in the US in the early 1900’s.  Many of the innovations and learning from that time in US history can be used here successfully, Today!  We can use our history and success to teach the core principles of business in farming and industry to help feed children, comfort widows, and educate communities.  Education and innovation are sustainable lifetime gifts each of us can share freely with those in need.