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.