Huge Project Day

Elder and Sister Miles (from Hooper, Utah) are the Humanitarian
Couple here in Liberia. They had a huge project Saturday. It was in
conjunction with the youth from our church in the Brewersville area.
The youth (and their adult leaders) came up with the idea to help the
local deaf and blind school. The Miles' went to the schools to see what
they wanted done and furnished all the supplies and the youth furnished
the manpower.
The Deaf School needed the dorm rooms and the kitchen painted, the
grounds cleaned, the grass cut (to help eliminate snakes!), screens made
and put on the windows (to help with mosquitoes and malaria), some
tables and benches for the children. The Blind School needed the grounds
cleaned, the grass cut, all the rooms and floors scrubbed and cleaned.
Between the 2 schools there were about 80 kids and there were about
80 youth from our church. Everyone dug in and they got everything done
but the screens and they will be finished at the first of next week.
The schools have gardens to supplement their food and the Miles'
also got them wheel barrows, shovels, rakes, and buckets to help them
with their gardens.
The Deaf School has kind of turned into an orphanage as well.
Normally, the children come for "the school year" and then go home for
the break. Some children have been dropped off and they have not seen
any family since.
Kids are kids, their needs are the same. They need love, safety,
and a feeling of inclusion. It seems they can do without food if they
have these. There are many many street vendors, lots of children
selling things like donuts (of some kind), bread, candy, towels,
charcoal, brooms and the list goes on forever. There was a small boy
selling a donut type sweet that came around the schools while we were
working. He made a few sales and then just stayed and watched. He
wanted to be a part of the fun and whatever it was that was going on.
They kids talked to him and he became "a part" of it.
When the work was done someone threw out a soccer ball. All the
kids started playing. Kids from the school, the church, the community.
What a great ending to a great project.