My Trip To Liberia
My one week trip to Liberia between August the 22nd through the 30rd was very joyful, fun, and educational. I was able to learn about the culture, the history, the government, and the current infrastructure in Liberia. I was also able to teach a hundred Liberian kids about entrepreneurship and how they could make their own money while staying in school. I am truly thankful for everyone who supported me and allowed me to have this experience.
On Tuesday, my dad and I left at noon and traveled for a total of 32 hours from when we left Atlanta to when I arrived in Liberia. Once we arrived Wednesday night, we were greeted by Reverend Dr. Lincoln Brownell, our host. I felt that it was hotter in Liberia because the nights were warmer than Atlanta Nights. The air also smelled better and more clear than in the U.S. It was not windy or breezy in the air for any of the days I was in Liberia. On the drive to Dr. Brownell’s compound, which was where we were staying at for the week, we had to drive over dirt roads most of the way there. This is when I first noticed one of the aspects of Liberia’s infrastructure, the roads. After we left the airport, the roads seemed less managed and less cared for unless we were near more populated places. This told me that the government stopped taking care of the people’s needs the farther away we got from where most tourists would see and where the population was denser.
Once we arrived at the compound, we ate dinner, which was Liberian soup. Here I learned that mixing foods like meat and vegetables together is a big part of their culture and the people ate lots of bread, rice, fish, and chicken. When it was time to brush my teeth I learned that I could only use bottled water to clean my toothbrush because my body was not used to the bacteria that was in the Liberian water.
The next day, on Thursday we drove around the capital city of Liberia, which was Monrovia. I learned about how the city got its name from James Monroe, the 5th President of the U.S. and how freed slaves from West Virginia came on a boat, landed on a small island right next to Monrovia, and then they were greeted by the indigenous people already living in what was now called Monrovia. We also saw one of the beaches but there was still trash that had been building up for a very long time.
I learned that Joseph J Roberts was the first president of Liberia and he was black. For the rest of the day, I wrote the presentation that I would be giving the next day to help inspire and teach the kids in the Slakpawein village school about entrepreneurship.
On Friday, I woke up and practiced the presentation I was going to give that day. I could hear the civilians in the homes beside us talking, which was pretty new for me, whereas in the United States I’ve always had more space between my neighbors and more sound proof walls to get rid of the noise. After eating breakfast, we left the house and drove to the Liberian Baptist Seminary. We took a tour of the Seminary and went inside most of the buildings. I learned that this is a place to learn, worship, and they had a summer camp that was in class while we were there. Dr. Brownell worked at the Seminary for 29 years and he was the Seminary President for 12 of those years.
Afterwards we went to the school inside of the Slakpawein village where the kids were waiting for me. Once we arrived, we were greeted by the students by their traditional singing. The staff welcomed me and I introduced myself. Once I was introduced to the students, I gave my presentation to all them and to some of their parents about entrepreneurship. I also asked them questions if they knew about entrepreneurship or about money and if they knew an entrepreneur or wanted to be one. One of the students said that he wanted to sell cement to people to make money. A parent said that she wanted to sell beauty products. I talked about how they could sell products or do services and what they were. I also talked about how they could get something to sell if they couldn’t make a product, such as picking fruit. Afterwards, I gave out American T-shirts and clothes that I brought with me. They were greatly appreciated. Each student was delighted in receiving one or two articles of clothing. Then we said our goodbyes and left to drive back to the compound. In the car, we reflected on my presentation and how well things went. Once we arrived back at the compound, I took a nap, ate dinner, and then went to bed.
On Saturday, I woke up a bit late because we had an open morning. After a Liberian breakfast, we left the house to drive around the coastal part of the city. It was very peaceful and I enjoyed it alot. When we returned to the compound, Dr. Brownell taught me more about Liberia’s history and the culture.
On Sunday, we went to two different churches. We drove to the first church, which was the Christ Metropolitan AME Church. After I gave greetings to the church and we took a picture and said goodbye, we drove to the Eliza Turner AMEC church and attended service. I learned about the church and the AME University beside it. Both churches were pastored by my current pastor 20+ years ago, Rev Dr. Tar-U-Way Richard Allen Bright, Senior Pastor.
Afterwards, we headed back to the compound and I worked on some of my school assignments until my Dad said we were going to leave again. We drove to an outside restaurant at a hotel for an Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity celebration. One of his Alpha Phi Alpha brothers was given a very great opportunity to go to Ireland for prestigious advanced studies. We socialized and celebrated until it was time to go back to the compound. Once we got back to the compound, I ate dinner and worked on my school assignments more until I went to bed.
On Monday, I just ate danish for breakfast because of how much food I had eaten the afternoon and evening before. Afterwards, we went on a long drive to a rainforest so we could hike alongside the Kpatawee waterfalls. It was a 4 hour drive there but once we arrived and were able to experience the waterfalls it was worth it. Before we saw the waterfall, we got to look at the huts that people stayed in if they were camping there. Once we started hiking, the rocks were very slippery so I had to watch my step. On one of the hills one of my slides turned sideways and I injured my toe. Even though it hurt, I kept hiking. We stopped to take pictures multiple times of the waterfall. Once we made it to the top, we took a lot of pictures and looked at all of the nature around us.
As we started heading back down, I realized it was harder to go down the slippery hills than going up. I slipped once on my way down but it didn’t hurt. Once we made it down, most of us went inside of the rapid river that came after the waterfall. I was able to cross half of the river and stand on a big rock in the middle with the help of our guide. I also collected some water from the waterfall in a water bottle to take home.
The drive back to the compound felt shorter than the drive coming to the waterfall. I tried to fall asleep on the way back, but the roads were too bumpy. I also learned that the roads going to and coming from the waterfall could be better if the government could put gravel over the road or pave it and then pay the villages to manage their own sections. Once we arrived at the compound, we ate dinner and I was shown how people cut open coconuts to get the water and meat out. After I tasted the coconut water, I started to pack all my clothes up so I could be ready to leave on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, I had to wake up at 7:30 am in the morning when I thought I was going to be able to wake up later. Dr. Brownell’s barber was here and instead of getting a haircut back in the United States, I chose to get a Liberian haircut. I also bought Liberian attire for my other family as souvenirs and gifts. Once everyone was done packing up, we loaded the car with our luggage and bags and drove to the airport.
In the drive there, I learned about the 5 top jobs of Liberia. The first job of these was security. Security is a job that requires a high school diploma. People working in security have a salary around $100 per month but if they join a company or security firm they will only be given a fraction of the money that the business makes. I saw people in security well in their 70’s who were making the same amount of money.
The second job is a cab driver. These are day laborers who don’t get paid unless they choose to work. The government expects cab drivers to make over $15,000 Liberian Dollars a month and let the government have anything they make over that. The third job is called being a yonder boy. A yonder boy is someone who takes store products, with the owners permission, and markets & sells them on the street.
Two other jobs are school teacher and a maid/house helper. Both of these jobs involve helping people and/or children, but being a teacher focuses more on spreading information and teaching while being a maid/house helper focuses more on cleaning and managing the home. Once we arrived at the airport, my dad and I collected our luggage bags and said goodbye to everyone. My dad and I then went through airport security and got on our 3 flights home.
The similarities that I noticed between the United States and Liberia were that there were good people and bad people. There were people who wanted freedom but also wanted more. I learned that both governments try to establish a democracy but sometimes it does not go the way as intended. I noticed that a lot of the people in both countries have rice or bread as a part of their diet and I noticed that both countries have better roads, buildings, and better overall infrastructure in the coastal parts of populated cities.
I also noticed that some differences between the two countries is that in the United States, African Americans are minorities so we have a reason to band together and fight for equal rights. But in Liberia, the majority of people are Africans and there is not any common challenge. The infrastructure is also a big difference in a lot of places, meaning the environment and roads are not taken care of as much. A lot of people do not have electricity or running water, and less people have the technologies in the United States like AirPods or iPhones. Through observations and conversations with some of the citizens, I could tell that the government of Liberia tried to make it a democracy but was more susceptible to corruption.
I learned how the Liberian currency is different, but similar to United States currency. A $1 dollar bill in USD is worth $187 dollars in Liberian dollars (LRD). Or another way of understanding is $1 LRD is worth $.0051 US dollar. Both USD and LRD cash have the same format, for example $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, and greater bills. Anything less is in the form of coins 5, 10, 25, 50, and L$1. When I went to buy ice cream at a Liberian ice cream store. The ice cream cost $4 US or $748 LRD. My change was a $100 LRD bill and $50 LRD bill that represented $0.50 cent and $0.25.
I also noticed that soup, mixed rice, and meals mixed together were very common meals for the culture of Liberia, compared to the United States where it is more common to keep the food in meals separate when we eat them. I really liked all of the food I had during this trip.
The second day that we were there was a holiday called Flag day. The United States has a Flag day too, but the majority of people do not even know when it is and it is not celebrated much. In Liberia, children were given a day off school for the holiday and I could see the decorations in the city. It was clear that Flag day was much more important to the country of Liberia than it is in the U.S.
One of the biggest differences though in the United States, anyone can buy land. But, in Liberia, you have to be a citizen to purchase land and only people of African descent can be citizens. Thus, only people of African descent can purchase land in Liberia. Overall, I really enjoyed the trip and I thought it was a very educational experience that allowed me to have fun while learning about Liberia and the different factors of it. I learned about the different economy, environment, culture, history, government, and infrastructure. I was also able to impact 15 families with my speech. There are around 5 people in each family so in total I impacted at least 75 people. I hope I can go on more missionary trips like these to experience more. I am truly thankful for everyone who helped me be able to go on this trip.