by Kirby Lindsay, posted 24 September 2014
The fourth poorest country in the world, Liberia recently emerged from a 14-year civil war, elected President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who gave the country a new focus on education, and looked to a more stable future. Now the country, and all of its citizens are fighting for their lives against the deadly disease Ebola. “This is a crisis,” stated Erin Nash, “and it is not going to go away anytime soon.”
Nash works as Director of Development for The Hope Project, a certified 501(c)3 non-profit that operates Hope International School in Gardnersville, Liberia. According to reports Nash has received, so far none of the school’s 1,200 students or 42 staff, or their families, have been struck with the disease. And for this reason, Nash and the others with The Hope Project, want to hold a celebratory fundraiser. They want to be able to keep sending supplies – very basic, relatively inexpensive supplies – that can keep this vulnerable population healthy, and looking toward a future of hope.
With Your Help
On Tuesday, September 30th, from 6:30p – 8:30p, The Hope Project Liberia will host a free celebration at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center, with deserts, beverages, live music and a short documentary. The evening will educate attendees, of all ages, and make it possible for them to help spread the word, and the pass the hat.
“This Ebola crisis isn’t going to go away,” Nash emphasized. The Fremont Abbey fundraiser, “is a direct way people can help to alleviate this crisis,” she offered. It is a way we can restore a future to 1,200 children, as well as the adults of their country who depend upon them to be educated and get ready to rebuild Liberia.
Today in Liberia only 60% of those over 15 years of age are literate. Due to two successive civil wars, generations missed out on education. Also, due to war and disease, 61% of the population of the country is under 25 years of age.
The Most Vital Need
Since 2005, and the establishment of peace in Liberia, two families from Leavenworth, Washington, traveled there to adopt children orphaned by the civil war. While in Liberia, the families formed a strong friendship with Joseph Cummings. Upon their return, they sent aid to Cummings who shared the money for rice and other supplies with a broadening network of families.
Upon the advice of Cummings, who sees education as the greatest way to ensure a safer and more stable future for his country, the families, and generous donors, started The Hope Project. In 2007, they founded The Hope International School with 346 students in its first year. This year over 1,200 will attend the free, pre-K to 12 school, in a country where many must pay for the privilege of education.
The relationships with Cummings, and the other staff, make it possible for The Hope Project to send donations to Liberia and know the money will reach the children, and those in most need, in Gardnersville. Since the beginning of the outbreak of Ebola in Liberia, The Hope Project has sent health and hygiene supplies to keep this community as safe as possible in this crisis.
Ebola, a disease carried by bats, was first reported in the neighboring country of Guinea in March 2014. Yet, the disease, which spreads among humans by contact with any bodily fluids, quickly infected people of Liberia and Sierra Leone. In a small number of people, the body can fight off the disease and the patient can survive, however, for most, Ebola is deadly and no cure currently exists.
Still, with proper care – gloves, protective clothing, hydration for the patient, soap and water – the general population and even some caregivers can avoid contamination. In Liberia, proper medical care and protection are simply unavailable – there are few places patients can be isolated, not enough intravenous (IV) rigs are available to keep patients hydrated, and the World Health Organization has estimated that hospital beds exist for only about 20% of Ebola patients.
According to Nash, who has visited Liberia, due to the wide-spread fear and misinformation, families no longer take afflicted loved ones to State run care facilities. After all, few people who get sick ever walk back out of these facilities. Instead, families try to care for one another at home, where soap and water, gloves and few basic medical supplies exist.
To Help Those In Need
For the families of Gardnersville, The Hope Project has provided basic cleaning supplies that have, so far, kept them safe from this health crisis. However, to provide these supplies requires more than the small donor base of The Hope Project can keep giving.
In a country as poor as Liberia, it is amazing how much can be done for so little money. The Hope Project has been able to build a school, a clean water reservoir and provide basic medical care with a small clinic and certified nurse on the school campus since 2006. They’ve managed to even keep these programs and benefits available, including a thriving sports program for the students, for only $7,000 U.S. a month.
Now, Ebola has required a shut-down of the school, as the Liberian government has called a 90-day shut-down of all public buildings and services across the entire country. As the disease continues to spread, there is no assurance that the children may be allowed to continue their education, and return to a normal life, any time soon. The Hope Project has continued to pay the salaries of the school staff, and to do whatever else they can to alleviate the chronic food shortages the shut-down has created.
Gather Together To Celebrate
On September 30th, Nash hopes people will gather here to celebrate the work already done in Liberia, and learn what more we can do, together. “We want to get the information out there,” she explained.
The free event will offer ways of giving. There will be some silent and live auction items available for bidding, and a dessert dash will put the more decadent of the donated desserts up for bid, by individuals or groups that pool together. Live music, by Each & All and Jasper T., will entertain, thanks to the Seattle Women In Music project. “People are really generous,” Nash observed, as Fremont Brewery, Caffe Vita, Georgetown Brewery, and The Scotch & Vine have all given discounts that mean purchases of beer, wine and coffee will also help The Hope Project.
“For the past four years, we’ve done an annual fundraiser,” Nash explained, “In the past, it’s just been for donors.” This year, due to both the growth of The Hope Project and the immense magnitude of this health crisis, they’ve brought a fundraiser to Fremont to ask everyone to come, hear, learn and take the message out to our community.
With monthly donors giving what they can, The Hope Project can provide education, health, hope and dignity to 1,200 children, and their families, in a country ravaged by tragedy. Please, consider attending the fundraising celebration on September 30th at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center, (or on October 9th in Cashmere, WA) or simply visit the Hope Project website to find out what a difference $5 For Hope can make.
Related Articles
- Rotary Makes Change With Pocket Change
- by Kirby Lindsay, April 21, 2014
- Fremont Abbey Arts Center Caters To Community
- by Kirby Lindsay, February 10, 2010
- With Rotary, Fremont Expands To South Sudan
- by Kirby Lindsay, February 22, 2013
©2014 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.