Lee University Team Travels to Liberia
Church of God World Missions Board member and Lee University professor Dr. Carolyn Dirksen accompanied faculty and staff on a three-week trip to Liberia, Africa, to take supplies and assistance to the Church of God Phebe Grey Orphanage, all of which was donated or fundraised by the Lee faculty, staff, and students.
Others included on the trip were Carolyn’s husband and Lee professor, Dr. Murl Dirksen, Lori Mattace, Amy Mercer, and Lee Professor Dr. Arlie Tagayuna; students Abigail Christopher, Barbara Curran, Rachel Richards, Spencer Smith, and Georgia Wright.
Library Stocked
Over 700 books were collected for the orphanage library; the books were catalogued and placed in plastic bags for protection from the tropical humidity. Students loved the library and stopped by during their recess to look at the books and listen to team members read stories aloud. An information and technology class at Lee researched and programmed learning games on donated laptops which were also delivered to the school along with long-life batteries.
Solar Panels Brought Light
Since the orphanage has no electricity, 10 solar packages were donated. Packages to provide exterior lighting were also installed at the orphanage. Dr. Murl and Dr. Tagayuna, along with the Lee students, worked to install the solar panels and paint the buildings. In one local village, they performed community needs assessment, involving conducting focus groups with community leaders about Ebola efforts.
Of his trip to Phebe Grey, Dr. Tagayuna had this to say: “In the past three weeks, I have gained so much appreciation of the resiliency of Liberians from children at the orphanage. Listening to their stories, around 103 of them, and witnessing their plight to recover from civil war and Ebola, I am humbled to know they are hopeful of the future. Everyone has a special dream. I have never seen children so appreciative and celebratory as when we turned on the first solar light inside their dormitories. They are thankful for the people who donated the solar lights so that now they can study in the evening. The children have so little, yet have so much love to give.”
(Source: Church of God World Missions)
