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Family Care Foundation Newsletter: Volume 3 -- No. 1-- February 1999 Bringing Peace to Liberia, a Land of War The West African Family Care (WAFC) project is based in Lagos, Nigeria, and is active in Nigeria, Liberia, and Rwanda. Since 1996, WAFC staff members have worked with Pro Health International, a Nigerian medical doctor’s association, as well as the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas to bring much needed medical relief to regions of these three countries. WAFC also administers programs that provide supplies and basic needs to orphanages and schools for the handicapped, and holds seminars that teach moral development, basic health, hygiene and AIDS awareness. By Scott Ward & Phebe Whyte Talk with anyone in Liberia and the conversation will soon lead to traumatic first-hand accounts of horror, cruelty and heartbreaking loss. Because of the fighting, the nation had reverted to a primitive state of chaos, murder and even cannibalism. Many buildings throughout Monrovia (the capital and largest city of Liberia) have been destroyed by fire and shelling. The warring factions have killed scores of civilians and many more have died of starvation in the last eight years of war. We first visited Liberia in the latter part of 1996 when our small team stopped in Monrovia for a week during a fact-finding tour of West African countries. In late 1997 a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Liberia appealed to us for help, asking if we could send a team to assist in opening four schools for orphans. Our assignment was to create four schools from virtually nothing. One school had no building to operate from! The other three were in very poor condition.
One school was located far outside the city in the "bush." Just getting there was an ordeal. We often had to drive along roads where the mud was 60 cm. (two feet) deep! Building this particular school was a community effort. It was the only one for miles around. Many of the students were sixteen or older, yet they lacked even a first grade education. All the community leaders, as well as many parents, willingly volunteered to help with the work. They had suffered so much loss and clearly recognized the importance that the school would have in the lives of their children. We interviewed over 750 children who were registering for school. Their sad, gut-wrenching tales often brought us to tears. The young and innocent are the most tragic casualties of war. We include some of their testimonies, not to drag you through the terrors of the war, but to illustrate just how much these children have to overcome.
Rome Collins, age 11: "My father was a policeman who was accused of taking government money. My uncle, my father, and I were taken together. Some of the soldiers who arrested us took my father behind a building while they told us to wait. A couple minutes later we heard gunshots. It was then that the soldiers came back without my father and ordered us to approach them. Instead of listening to them, we ran as fast as we could back to my village. Little did we know that the village was under attack as well. We found my brother dead, and later my uncle was shot, too. My mother and I escaped. We walked through the bush for two days until we made it to Monrovia. "I’m happy to be here. In the future I want to become an engineer. That way I can do what my uncle was doing before he died."
Yeaphan Mensah, age 15: "When the war began, my whole family escaped together to a nearby village because ours was under attack. On the way, my cousin was shot and killed. We met up with a group of ladies who said they’d help us escape by river, and they provided us with canoes. My mother and baby brother drowned when the canoe they were in tipped over. "I’m very sad. Every day I think about them and I feel alone. I don’t know what I’ll be when I grow up, but I definitely won’t be a soldier."
Markpah Copper, age 14: "During the time of the war, Johnson’s [rebel] soldiers took control of our village and no one was allowed to leave. A couple days later Charlie’s [President Taylor’s] people came in and got rid of Johnson’s people and arrested all of us civilians. My sister’s husband and myself were arrested. I was accused and punished because one soldier said he recognized me as one of Johnson’s soldiers. I begged them to let me go and denied ever being a soldier. They didn’t listen to me, but instead they had me sit in swamp water for many hours. "When they pulled me out, I continued denying being a soldier. They stabbed my legs over and over again, until they saw I wouldn’t stop denying it. Then they took me to the nearest checkpoint where they stuffed me in a building packed with other hostages. After being there for a couple of hours, they came and started slaughtering everyone. I escaped and returned to my village where I found my sister had been shot to death. "I’m very happy for this school. I’m going to learn to be a doctor just like my father is. I want to be a doctor because a doctor can save people’s lives." Please keep Liberia and the relief work there in your prayers. The region remains very volatile.
Eastern United States Family Outreach—Reaching Out to Kids with Cancer Eastern United States Family Outreach has operated in the greater Atlanta area since 1993. Their activities include assistance to the Samaritan Inn Homeless Shelter; working hand-in-hand with World Relief, a refugee placement organization; volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House for Families of Hospitalized Children; and ministering at a number of children’s hospitals in the Atlanta area. The Atlanta City Council commended their singing group, The Family Singers, for their dedication and commitment by proclaiming February 20, 1995 in the City of Atlanta "The Family Singer’s Day." By Jackie Roberts Every year a shocking number of children are diagnosed with cancer. This inevitably means that they will experience a great deal of physical pain and suffering. As well, they will also have to deal with a very real fear of the future, and a strange new world of doctors, hospitals and treatments. We have seen that love, understanding, joy and faith are the medicine of the heart and soul, touching what no physical medicine can reach. When Jonathan Forsberg, youngest child of David & Lani Forsberg, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 4, we realized that he needed an "extra dose" of joy and comfort while in the hospital. One of those "joys" was a set of beautiful Treasure Attic videos, which were created to bring these qualities to children through interactive dialogue, music and puppets. Jonathan responded with delight at the entertaining stories and happy songs. We were then struck with the idea of giving this same gift of joy to other children suffering a similar dilemma. Through the generous donations of companies and individuals in Atlanta who sponsored sets of these videos, we were able to take gift sets of Treasure Attic and Fantastic Friends videos to the children who go to the AFLAC Cancer Center of the Egleston Children’s Hospital, and to Ronald McDonald House at Scottish Rite Hospital. Last December, Jonathan, accompanied by his parents, went bed-to-bed in the Oncology Ward at Egleston Children’s Hospital, the hospital where Jonathan was first treated, and personally gave the videos to the children who were spending their Christmas in the hospital. Meanwhile, David and Lani were able to be a support and encouragement to their parents. Precious Christmas memories, indeed.
A Word from Our Executive Director The focus of this edition of our FCF Newsletter is children. As you know, one of FCF’s primary goals, and that of our projects, is to provide young people with opportunities allowing them to develop to their full potential. The three Family Care Foundation projects highlighted herein touch the lives of children in very special ways. Though worlds apart, these testimonies from war-torn Liberia and Bosnia, and the cancer ward of a children’s hospital in the United States, demonstrate the power of faith and love to change even the darkest of circumstances into wonderful opportunities for the world’s most precious resource, our children. Please allow me to thank you, our many generous donors, for your continued support of Family Care Foundation’s projects. We know that your gifts are truly from the heart and we are honored to be your partners in helping to bring blessings to others. Because of your generosity, more and more is being accomplished every month. We appreciate your giving and value your friendship. Finally, I’d like to draw your attention to Family Care Foundation’s new improved web site located at www.familycare.org. Among other renovations, it now contains detailed information on each of our 120 projects. I encourage you to browse through some of them. We are proud to be associated with such wonderful folks as our project managers and volunteers in the field. Thank you again for all you are doing to make their fine work possible. Sincerely, Lawrence Corley Restoring Hope to a War-Torn Generation in Bosnia By Geoffrey and Anna Wormus Orphanages in Bosnia are home, for the most part, to children who have lost either one or both parents in the war. Unlike orphans in most countries, all these children lost their parents around the same time and under horrible circumstances. Many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and extreme fear. When the fighting ended two years ago, we at Healing Hearts realized that putting a smile on the children’s faces was an important step in their recovery. Thus we began presenting a light-hearted inspiring variety show of clowns, songs, games and skits in schools, orphanages, hospitals, and other institutions throughout the country. Since the beginning of 1997 we have performed in 182 different locations to over 48,000 children, also distributing several tons of humanitarian aid. Knowing what these children have been through—sights and scenes which most of us cannot even imagine—what better reward could be had than to see these same children’s joyful expressions of thanks as they scurry to the front at the end of the show to meet the "foreigners who showed us God’s Love?" By God’s grace, we have brought inspiration, fellowship and a ray of hope, to thousands of children. Although the war in Bosnia is over, the pain and suffering that it has left in its wake continues to haunt the population—adults and children alike. With very few people having employment, it is difficult for them to view the future optimistically. Our goal is to instill hope for a better tomorrow, and a belief that in spite of their difficulties, God still loves them. Footnote: As the Balkan tragedy continues in Kosovo, we are expanding our relief efforts to include 1,200 Kosovo refugees who are living in an abandoned and unheated soft-drink factory outside Sarajevo. These people, most of whom made their way into Bosnia through the rugged mountains, have no place to go as no other countries have accepted them. Our hearts were touched by one mother who, with her six children, fled into the mountains after their home was burned and had been living there for six months. We visit this camp regularly, delivering humanitarian aid that has come from all over Europe. These people are very thankful for anything we can bring. Shoes, socks and even toothbrushes, are much appreciated. We have made many friends in this camp who count on us and anxiously look forward to our every visit.
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