I want to introduce you to Fatu. She is 5 years old and she is full of spunk. The first time I met her I spent the afternoon trying unsuccessfully to make her smile. I have managed to break through her tough exterior, and now she is the first one to run to greet me when I pull up the driveway!Fatu was born in 2003 during Liberia’s civil-war. Apparently her mother was seeking refuge in the SKD Sports Stadium and went into labor. A policewoman found the newborn wrapped up and abandoned in the stadium. The policewoman turned little Fatu over to a social worker at the Ministry and Health & Social Welfare, and she was then placed in the orphanage where she has lived for all but a few days of her life.
Fatu is reccently completed our feeding program. Her health has improved over the last few months and she continues to grow. All of this is possible because of generous donations. This is just one story of how ORR has impacted the life of an orphan in Liberia.
If Mary wasn’t in my life, I would be very hungry and very lost. Mary tirelessly cooks dinner for us Monday thru Friday. She is indeed the best cook in all of Liberia! Whether it’s cassava, palm butter, collard greens, pumpkin soup or okra soup for dinner—it always tastes delicious! Mary also coordinates all of the food purchasing and deliveries for our feeding program, which makes my job easier! She’s a very smart lady with a great business sense…she works for us, and runs 2 small businesses on the side (making block and selling charcoal). She is a single mom to 2 boys who are being put through school with the money Mary earns. She has just recently purchased a piece of land, and would like to start building a new house for her family after rainy season. Mary is a godly woman and a true servant, and she can usually be found in the kitchen singing church songs or praying out loud. We are VERY lucky to have Mary as our Liberian Ma!
Momo keeps me safe and protected in Liberia. He also serves as a source of endless entertainment and I have spent many hours sitting on the porch ‘discussing’ with Momo. Momo is 25 years old, and has 3 children. Two of his children (7 year old twins) live just down the street, so they stop by every now and then. Momo is in charge of all things security at the house, but he also is a handyman, water pump operator, generator starter, dog sitter, neighborhood watchman, children wrangler, football game chaperone, bodyguard, curfew enforcer (I have to be inside the fence when it gets dark), etc. He also manages the schedule for our security team, and deals with any problems. He has been known to patrol the house by walking on top of our wall…sometimes with our dog following right behind him. He also has the capability of eating almost every plum off of our plum tree in the backyard. I’ve also caught Momo standing on our wall at 2am with a flashlight and cutlass in hand, yelling “Get off my wall or I will chop you”! He’s incredibly funny, but more importantly; he’s very devoted to his job, to us and to helping the children.
Emmanuel is my security guard from 6pm-6am seven days a week! He is 24 years old, and is in the 12th grade. I don’t know how he functions with his grueling schedule. I have spent many evenings on the front porch with Emmanuel, listening to his amazing stories of surviving Liberia’s civil wars…he should have been dead, more than once. He was taken to Guinea when he was 7 years old by the Red Cross, and lived in a refugee camp for 4+ years. When he came back to Monrovia once things calmed down, he walked 4 hours a day to go to school! Emmanuel became a street hustler/money changer/scratch card seller, but his friend accused him of stealing, which landed him in Monrovia Central Prison. He became our security guard after he was released from an 8 month stint in prison. Emmanuel’s life was changed through Prison Fellowship and Emmanuel faithfully goes to the prison every Saturday to minister to the guys who are experiencing what he once experienced. Emmanuel has a tendency to show up for work late, is usually wearing a big puffy pastel orange down jacket (since it’s so cold here!), and after making his presence known, he usually wanders back outside of the fence for awhile. He likes to sit on top of the wall with One Love to watch the neighborhood kids play. He also likes to lift his homemade weights, and he’s a loyal generator starter and water bucket filler-upper. Emmanuel hopes to go to college to study business or economics…but he’s also interested in social work.
Foday is the newest addition to the ORR staff in Liberia. Apparently he used to always come by our gate and ask if we had any jobs available. When our other security guard quit, we knew exactly who would like a job. Foday’s been with us for only 3 weeks now, so I haven’t gotten to know him as well as the others, and haven’t discovered too many quirks yet. He either works 10pm-10am or 6am-6pm shift (alternates with Momo). Foday has a lovely wife and two sons (9 & 12 years old). He never fails to ask how my morning/night is, and usually sticks around after his shift has ended. He’s good at making bread and egg runs in the morning. He hopes to one day be able to go to college so that he can provide for his family in a more substantial way. 
