Redefining Rural

Beach on the ELWA Compound in Monrovia

Cascade waterfall an hour outside of Gbarnga

Feast

Downtown Gbarnga

Fayetteville friends!

A cotton tree near the waterfall

Saturday, May 21

The day of my flight to Monrovia, my dad and I discussed a recent Wall Street Journal article that identified Liberia as being one of the poorest countries in the world. We agreed that regardless of a nation's poverty, there will most likely be at least a small percentage of people who live awfully comfortably. Lo and behold, I got to witness firsthand that sliver of Liberia's economic pie during my first week. When Bill asked me if I would go with him to a birthday party located forty-five minutes outside of Monrovia in a town called Kakata, I had no idea that I'd be partying on what is essentially a rubber plantation. On the ten thousand acre property sits a home that would be impressive on almost any street in the States.

To my understanding, many of the African Americans who founded Liberia essentially instituted the same kind of racial hierarchy that plagued the South but with Americo-Liberians at the top and indigenous Africans at the bottom. This plantation seemed to be a carry-over of that tradition: the owner- an identifiably Americo-Liberian man- managed a farm of entirely indigenous African workers.

Also, the Red Dragon visited me that night. I had not seen him since my time in India. Thankfully, Cipro slew him.


Sunday, May 22
I walked a few blocks from the boarding house to a local church which supposedly attracts a number of expats each Sunday. The worship portion of the service was altogether powerful. For forty-five minutes, the entire congregation swayed back and forth, clapping and singing along to the worship leader and his fifty person-strong gospel choir. Still recovering from my battle with the dragon the night before, I had to sit and take a breather midway through the worship.

Hearing dozens of Liberian men and women in their endearing and rich accents beautifully harmonize to traditional African-American gospel music brought a tear. I could stand (or sit) and proudly listen to a chief cultural export of my people. Unfortunately, my buzz was killed by an unfortunate export of the so-called black church community: homophobia. A significant portion of the sermon focused on the damning influence of the gay rights movement. How uplifting! Somehow, love and grace did not figure into the pastor's message.

I spent the rest of the day hanging out with a high school friend of my sister, who was entertaining her sister and brother-in-law. We had lunch then hit the beach.


Monday, May 23
One of the Rebuild Africa volunteers and I traveled three-and-a-half hours northeast to Cuttington University, located in Gbarnga, a town in Bong County. Rural West Africa includes roads not paved as well as Mass Ave (or simply not paved at all); villages with straw huts and children with swollen bellies; and no buildings or stores that would even conjure an image of the developed world. Upon our arrival, several of my associate's friends met us. One of them volunteered to cook us dinner. Having not cooked a meal for a vegetarian before, she rattled off a number of ingredients, getting my approval on each. When we entered her house at supper time, she brought out an epic meal, starring caramelized plantains, an egg salad, and sliced mango.

Searching for a guest house for the night proved difficult, partly because I insisted that I sleep under a mosquito net. The first three places had no nets. When we arrived at the fourth, thankfully it had one room with a net. Sauntering up to my room, knowing that I would be able to sleep at ease, I stuck my key in the door. It stayed there. Not even the manager could get it out. We found another room, but it had no net. My associate assured me that the combination of the window's screen and the room's fan would deter mosquitos from entering. Fast forward to 2:30am: the power goes out. The fan stops. With zero air circulation, the room's temperature skyrocketed a good twenty degrees. Unsure what to do, I knew that I didn't want my time to end in a hot box in Bong County. I finagled the window, allowing for some air to enter. I sat up for the rest of the night, swatting anything that felt like an insect.


Tuesday, May 24
Our time at Cuttington couldn't have gone better. We met with two deans and were interviewed by the college newspaper and radio station. Before heading back to Monrovia, we drove an hour down a muddy road to a local waterfall.


Wednesday, May 25
My computer took its own life. RA has allowed me to use one of its computers for the remainder of my stay.

The highlight for the rest of the week: watching Barcelona defeat Manchester United with Bill's family and neighbors.

First Few Days

RA's office and its security guard in downtown Monrovia

RA's office space

The view from the office

My desk

May 17-18

Fourteen hours in the air brought me across the Atlantic to Monrovia, Liberia. Two Rebuild Africa staff members patiently waited for my arrival, then whisked me away in their Pathfinder. Having listened to contemporary gospel music in my mom's car as we drove from our home to the Atlanta airport, I found it somewhat comforting that the volunteers and I listened to a local contemporary gospel radio station during our drive into town.

As we rode down freshly paved roads, most of which were smoother than parts of Mass. Ave. in Boston, we occasionally passed by candle-illuminated shanty homes blaring Nicki Minaj and other American hip-hop artists' music. I first thought this bizarre but quickly reminded myself that hearing Nicki Minaj is always bizarre. I arrived safely and hung my hat at a boarding house a couple of miles from downtown Monrovia.

May 19

Seemingly immediately after getting over any claustrophobic feelings that I may have had while lying in my mosquito net-enveloped bed, I heard a knock. Time for work. I again hopped into the Pathfinder and rode to Rebuild Africa's handsome office. Soon, I discovered that my first tasks included developing a workplan in Excel, creating a brief PowerPoint presentation, and writing a one-page Word document to promote a college-to-workplace institute that RA will be putting on next summer. Despite traveling thousands of miles, I could not escape Microsoft's grasp.

After work, Bill, RA's president and former Humphrey scholar at MIT, brought me with him to the US Embassy for a meeting of Liberians who had studied in the US. Afterwards, we had dinner with a former Kennedy School classmate of his who now works for a New York-based non-profit that contracts with the UN.

A medley of various barbed wires gracing the perimeter walls of the American Embassy

May 20

Each workday begins with an organization-wide devotional: according to a schedule, a staff member reads a passage from the Bible and then we discuss it. Today, we read from 1 Samuel 4, a passage that signifies that one battle, however daunting or demoralizing, does not necessarily determine the fate of a people.

For dinner, I walked about ten paces from the boarding house and ate at a Pakistani-owned restaurant, which served up a mean chana masala.

Next Monday and Tuesday, I'll be traveling with another staff member to Cuttington University to meet with a dean and students to promote next year's institute, get feedback about its curriculum, and advertise for this year's summit, which will take place during the last week of June.

Before Departure

Hi all,

This summer, I'll be serving in Liberia for the non-profit Rebuild Africa. Among other tasks, I'll be helping to facilitate a leadership summit for Liberian youth in Monrovia. I hope to post to this blog photos and text, likely never more than a paragraph or two at a time, from my stint.

I'm scheduled to fly out this week and to return during the second week of July. Feel free to email me (elliotjwatts+lbmh@gmail.com) or Skype me (elwa09) while I'm abroad.

Best,

Elliot