Grandma Lucy Jar was blessed to move from her hard concrete floor into a comfortable bed this week!  This marked 56 widows that Provision of Hope has provided new beds for, since we started this program several years ago.  Along with the new bed we supply a quality mattress, new pillows, sheets, a warm comforter, flooring, a mosquito net, a bedside table and a big bag of rice.  At times we repair roof leaks, or a new door and lock, if needed.  Seeing our widows get off the floor into a cozy bed always warms my heart!

Ma Lucy Jar sitting on her old sponge on the floor.

This photo shows how worn Ma Lucy’s sponges are.

Daniel our Mercy Director sitting beside Ma Lucy and her supplies.

Our Volunteer Team puts down new vinyl flooring, then assembles the bed.

Ma Lucy with her new mosquito net.

Jeremiah Gaye stands with Ma Lucy in the doorway of her home.

Ma Lucy is one of our regular widows, part of our gatherings when we distribute rice twice a month.

Ma Lucy is overjoyed to sleep in a REAL BED!

Next they are ready for the mattress and bedding.

Ma Lucy sitting so content on her new bed, with her pillows and new bedding.

It is possible to do all this for  $ 326 US.  The bed is $ 85.  The quality mattress is $ 120.  8 yds of vinyl flooring is $ 20.  A big bag of rice is $ 16.  The comforter is $ 25.  Pillows and cases $ 10. Small Bedside Table $ 15. Volunteer Tips $ 10.  Transport of goods $15. Mattress protector cover $ 5.  Mosquito Net $ 5.  

It’s your donations that make this possible.  God bless you for your generous giving!

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I want to honor our staff and volunteers for their heart of compassion to serve those who are most desperate.  Covid 19 has affected everyone in Liberia and especially those in the slums, the blind, the deaf and the disabled.  Pastor Malcolm, Daniel Coleman, and Daniel Keamue you have really gone the extra mile, along with our volunteers who made these distributions possible. We were able to bring rice to hundreds who were crying out for help. Thank you to Love Justice International, for your partnership with us through these trying times.  Rice is scarce on the markets now, and it’s gone sky high in price!  God have mercy on Liberia.  There are so many in extreme poverty. My heart aches for them.

Our staff were able to bring rice and oil to the Worldwide Slum and to a Slum near Matadi. This act of kindness brings so much hope and touches so many hearts. They did a second distribution for the blind and disabled and their families.  This time 85 families were able to get food. Later they brought rice to the Deaf Community.

Daniel Keamue with our volunteers distributing rice to a needy family in the slums near Matadi.

Jeremiah Gaye, one of our volunteers, is distributing rice to a disabled woman.

Kula Harris is busy with her team of women, distributing rice and oil to 28 families in the World Wide Slum where they minister every Friday. This time they were so happy to be taking food!

Bags of Rice and Oil ready to be Distributed in the Slum.

So many single mothers needing help.

The deaf community was so happy for the rice they received.

So many desperate families looking for food.

This mother is so grateful for her bag of rice.

It is your donations that make all this possible!!  Thank you so much!!

Thank you to Love Justice International for your help during our pandemic!  Your work worldwide is amazing. 

Click here to donate  

In Buduburam Refugee Camp we have widows who are crying for help!  I cannot just walk on by.  I need to stop.  I need to help.

Each one of these widows has a deplorable story.  With their permission I will share them with you.  As I read these, I thought of my own dear mother. What if this was my mother in this refugee camp.  What would I do for her?

Mama Mabel fled the civil war in Liberia and came to Ghana on September 2, 1994.  This is part of her story.  “My husband and my daughter were killed during the war while on our way to exile. The rebels grabbed my husband and accused him of being a government soldier and killed him. My daughter was later raped and murdered by one of the rebels’ general. I  escaped and followed others till I reached Ivory Coast, and then Ghana. That experience has ever since been a disturbance to me. My life on the refugee camp is by God’s grace. My health is not very good. There’s no fitting place to sleep and food to eat”  Mama Mabel sleeps in a 4 x 4 room with only a blanket, no mattress.  She has a lot of pain in her legs.  I am asking God to help us meet her needs.

Mama Elizabeth says “My husband used to work at Robert field Airport, before the war broke out. He took good care of his children during that time.  He advised that we should move to Ghana so as to save our lives. On our way, trying to cross the many checkpoints, my husband was taken by the rebels where they murdered him before my eyes and his children. However, we followed other groups till we reached Ghana.  In Ghana, life have been difficult for me. I sell kerosene and do other menial works to care for my eight children. Not one of them finished high school. I had five girls, all give birth to  babies, because nothing to do. My children and grandchildren we all live together in one hut. I lost two of my children already.”

Mama Mabel Constance sitting in front of her little place.

Ma Lucy shares “I came to Ghana since 1992. They killed my husband and my son in the war in Liberia. I pick up plastics to sell them for money before I eat. One thing I want to ask for is eye glasses. My eyes are not good. I need an eye glasses to keep me going.”

31 widows came to our food distribution in May. Two times in May we were able to meet to give out food. We were blessed with Covid Relief Funding from Love Justice International. It is our prayer that we can continue this work in the Refugee Camp. These are the very poor! I cannot close my eyes and do nothing. “God work out a plan for these precious people who have suffered so much! ” Show me what I can do!

Ma Elizabeth Tokpah another one who needs help.

Ma Lucy came to our food distribution on the camp. Each of them received a small bag of rice, vegetable oil, sacs of pure water and vita cubes. Someone will assist her to carry this home. This food will last her at least 2 weeks. She works hard at trying to pick up plastic bags and bottles to sell for food, even though she is old and cannot see well without glasses.

The widows were all so grateful for their food packages! This has brought them so much hope! We are believing that we can do this again and again!

It is your donations that make all this possible!!  Thank you so much!!

Into the hovels of the poor,
Into the dark streets where the homeless groan, God speaks:
“I’ve had enough; I’m on my way
To heal the ache in the heart of the wretched.”  Ps. 12:5  The Message

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This week Provision of Hope’s Mercy Outreach Team took food packages to the blind and the handicapped, on the streets of Monrovia.  These are the desperate ones.  Typically you see their children lead them up to cars on the street to beg for their daily food.  Now with all the restrictions there are fewer cars resulting in less help for these families.  Their children have no hope of ever going to school. My heart breaks for them. 

A young girl leads her blind mother to get her food portion.

Even a small amount of food brings HOPE to these ones.

We purchased 23 bags of rice, tins of chicken, vegetable oil, biscuits for the children and vita cubes. For the smaller families the rice could last up to 7 days.

Thank you to our Team of 8 Volunteers, who worked very hard on all the packaging. Not everyone is on this photo.

Another child leads his blind father for their package.

Jeremiah, one of our volunteers, giving a food package to a blind man.

Each bag contained 14-15 cups of rice, a bottle of vegetable oil, a can of chicken, 3 vita cubes and a package of biscuits.

We pre-registered 65 persons to receive packages. We had some food items left over so those were given out to others who did not have tickets.

Daniel Coleman ( Mercy Ministry Director) is with Pastor Malcolm Harris ( Country Director) Thank you both for your supervision today!

It is your donations that make all this possible!!  Thank you so much!!

Thank you to Love Justice International for your help during our pandemic!  Your work worldwide is amazing. 

Click here to donate  

Today I am thanking God for His Peace and meditating on the words of Jesus in  John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” For so many in Liberia right now, I am asking God for His Peace. 

Peace for those who are facing a lack of food.  Peace for those who need medical drugs.  Peace for those who fear covid-19 or those who need medical care but are too afraid to go near a hospital.  Jesus speaks to the storm in your life ” Peace be still”

Thank you to our donors who are helping us with extra food and medicines.  Thank you for your prayers as we all pray for one another going through this hard time.

Our Mercy Ministry Director Daniel Coleman and his volunteers have been busy purchasing food supplies and hand sanitizing materials for those in need.  We are trying to help as many people as we can.  So many are out of food because they are not able to work their small businesses.  The Liberian Government has extended the State of Emergency to 60 days in order to prevent the spread of the virus.  It’s a very trying time for everyone.  It’s surprising how much food we can purchase for $ 50.  That’s enough to keep a small family going for a month.

Daniel Coleman delivers food and sanitizing materials to Bendu Kollinson and her uncle.

Maybe Mulbah is desperate for food right now. We were able to help her with supplies. These will last for a few weeks.

Kadiatu and her mother called. They were desperate for food. They have several children to feed.

Paula Smith is someone we empowered with a small business. She is struggling to sell now because of the lock down.

As we have funds we continue to purchase supplies for those in our family who are most desperate. Tenneh is a young widow of 3 children. We empowered her too for business, but right now she is not selling.

Mamie Roberts is a single mother with 4 children to feed.

Otis Jallah and his family were desperate for food.

Patrick Williams was sponsored through Gr. 12 on our program. He has a job in a school as a maintenance worker but now the schools are closed. There is no means to make money for food.

Naomi and her 4 children were happy to get food supplies. They were out too.

Our volunteers are working hard at putting food supplies together. We all hope this pandemic will soon end!

It is your donations that make all this possible!!  Thank you so much!!

Click here to donate  

President George Weah has just declared Liberia a STATE OF EMERGENCY.

“Therefore, by the authority granted to me under Articles 85, 86, 87 and 88 of the Liberian Constitution and after due consultation with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate as required by law, I, George Manneh Weah, President of the Republic of Liberia, hereby, declare a State of Emergency to exist in and throughout the Republic of Liberia for a period of three weeks renewable until the threat to Liberia from the COVID-19 Virus no longer exists.”

– George Weah, President of Liberia

Please join us in prayer for Liberia.  They are also praying for you and your families. We are all in this together to encourage each other through this time of crisis.  God is with us! Psalms 91 or “911” is a good prayer to pray. 

This blog post is a plea for help.  My emails are going crazy with requests for food and medicines.  MANY people who were doing small business to survive are not able to do this now.  One example is Eric Gbour who runs a taxi to help bring in funds to run their Children’s Home.  He has parked his car.  One, they are not allowed to take more than 3 passengers, and two there is a limited amount of gas at high prices.  This means there are less funds for food.

We are trying our best to help our 4 Children’s homes with extra food and home medicines so they can treat their children if they get any flu like symptoms like malaria or the common cold.

We also have single mothers and widows who will find this time very stressful.  For $ 50 we can buy several items which we did for Frances Chea’s family.  Frances has been empowered but because of the strict lockdown commencing Friday April 10th, she will not be allowed to sell her goods.

“Throughout this period, residents may leave home only for essential journeys like reasons of health and food which should be restricted to your local communities only and be limited to a single person per household for a maximum of one hour,”  President Weah  taken from FRONT PAGE AFRICA

Daniel Coleman and Jeremiah Gaye take a $ 50 package of food supplies to Francess and her girls.

Ruth and Favor are delighted to see food in the house.

$ 50 Buys a Bag of Rice, Cream of Wheat, Cans of Fish, Hand washing soaps, Laundry soap, Vegetable Oil, Vita Cubes and Seasonings.

Favor holds up the sign Provision of Hope has been posting all over different communities.

Provision of Hope’s Relief Team is posting Preventative Measures Signs in various locations.

We are also trying to help nurses at the Phebe Hospital who are needing gloves, hand sanitizers and masks. $ 150 was able to buy all these supplies. 100 masks, 4 boxes of gloves, 10 bottles of hand sanitizers. We will soon need more.

We want everyone to take precautions and especially to obey these simple rules.

Faith is a nurse at the Phebe Hospital. Provision of Hope sent her to purchase gloves, masks, and hand sanitizers. This is a desperate need right now.

It is your donations that make all this possible!!  Thank you so much!!

Click here to donate  

Liberia announced it’s first coronavirus case on March 16. Unfortunately it came via Nathaniel Blama, the head of Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency, coming back after a conference in Europe. This was the fearsome news EVERYONE dreaded!!  They all remember the devastation of the deadly Ebola Virus, just 4 years ago.  Liberia was hit the hardest of all the West African Nations that had a combined death toll of 11,315.  Liberia, we are praying for you, asking God to protect you!

On March 20th  they confirmed their third case of Covid-19.  The Ministry of Health has declared a National Health Emergency.  Both Montserrado and Margibi Counties are designated as infected areas.  Schools, churches, entertainment facilities, hair salons etc. are all ordered to shut down.  They are advised to practice social distancing. ” We are told to stay home”  Read more here Covid-19 in Liberia

Provision of Hope is doing what we can to make sure our children and our widows stay safe and have what they need in this crisis.  Pray for peace and not panic. More and more people are coming to us, asking for help! They need food.  Mostly they are afraid. Afraid of a food shortage.  Afraid of no money for medicine if they get sick.  It’s a time for all of us to encourage each other and pray for this global epidemic to end!

The verse I am claiming these days for our family at home and in Liberia is ” I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until this disaster has passed”  Ps. 57:1  Know this:  It will pass! Until then we will strengthen each other and do what we can to help each other through this time.

Our widows received their bags of rice and oil on Saturday.  Each was instructed to do the proper hand washing, just like in the days of Ebola.  They did not have the benches out, nor did they gather in a large group.  One by one they received their supplies and went home.  They usually gather to sing and praise the Lord together.  They pray and someone shares and encourages them.  We hope they will soon be back to their regular meetings.

Each widow carefully washes her hands under the sanitized water.

One of our dear widows ready to go back home. The photos below are ones we took in February.

Precautions are taken serious.

We are all praying God’s protection over our widows. These are the most vulnerable. We meet two times a month with over 100 each time. We have another large group in Maryland that Dapae facilitates.

Daniel Coleman is our Director of Mercy Ministry and has an incredible heart for our widows.

One of my highlights every year is meeting with our widows. They are precious!!

We are always so warmly welcomed!!

We have a team of six volunteers who help Daniel Coleman distribute rice to over 100 widows.

Having a great time with Mae Clowe!!

When the widows start to worship heaven comes down!!!

Liberia Widows Praising God