Episcopal News Service: Press Release # 2000-001

Church Playing a Role in Rebuilding War-Ravaged Liberia

Episcopal News Service. January 13, 2000 [2000-001]

(ENS) The only lights burning at night in the streets of Liberia's capital city of Monrovia belong to the presidential palace and the headquarters of the national police. The city's million people, many of them refugees from the countryside who fled a brutal civil war, huddle around candles on the sidewalks. A few private generators supply light to homes, many of them owned by government officials or business leaders.

"This nation needs healing," Bishop Edward Neufvlle told a visiting team from the Episcopal Church in the USA. "The country is at a virtual standstill," he said. Liberia faces the daunting challenge of making peace with those who have brought the West African nation to its knees, authors of a senseless violence who show no signs of regret or repentance, according to the bishop. He expresses gratitude for the "timely" visit of the Americans as he lays out plans to show them how the church has suffered with the rest of the nation and is seeking to rebuild. "You started this church and we are confident that you will stand beside us as we usher in a new century."

An apprehensive calm has settled over much of the nation as it emerges from a decade of violence that affected nearly all of its three million citizens. An estimated 150,000 died as armed factions battled each other for control and terrorized the population until a fragile truce was shaped in 1997 and refugees began to return from neighboring countries. "Liberia is a post-war country, but not a post-conflict country," observed an international aid worker.

The ties between Liberia and the United States run deep since it was founded in 1822 by the American Colonization Society to create a homeland for freed American slaves. Americo-Liberians, who modeled their 1847 constitution on the U.S. system, ran the country until a 1980 coup, setting off decades of violent struggle.

The involvement of the Episcopal Church began about the time the nation was established. The first American missionaries were sent in 1836 and the first bishop chosen in 1851. "We have a lot of missionaries buried in Liberia," said the Rev. Ricardo Potter, associate director of Anglican and Global Relations (AGR) for the Episcopal Church, a member of the visitation team. He has visited the country three times in the last two years and is encouraged by the changes he has seen.

Potter points to what he called a "change in attitude," a whiff of hope in the air. "People are no longer waiting for the government to rescue them. They are finding their own ways of rebuilding," he said.

He was part of a meeting of the Joint Covenant Committee last April, the first meeting of the full committee in Liberia in nine years and was able to visit the whole diocese. As a result, the committee concluded that it is time for the Episcopal Church to help the Liberian church in its efforts to rebuild, concentrating on reopening the church schools.

A tradition of education

The Episcopal Church of Liberia has made a major contribution in the last century in the field of education, operating a system of elementary and secondary schools, as well as Cuttington University College, the only private university in West Africa. While the war damage is heavy, the buildings are structurally sound and could be easily rescued -- with help.

After visiting a number of the schools, the visitation team concluded that education is an area where "our involvement could make an enormous difference -- to the church and to the nation," said the church's treasurer, Stephen Duggan, a member of the team. "Look at the impact the church's schools have already had in the life of this nation. It is important that we assist in revitalizing the school system."

Addressing the risks of involvement in a country that is still politically unstable, Duggan said it represents too important an opportunity to "demonstrate our faith by stepping into a situation where we can help people realize their full humanity. And it is the right thing to do." Duggan is convinced of the possibility -- and the necessity -- of offering to help. "Our church has been there a long time," he emphasized. "It is like going back to family and discovering that they are in trouble and need some help."

Even though the "physical and psychological damage runs deep," Potter said, "we have the capacity to respond to the needs of a church that we planted." Liberians are confused and angry that the Americans are not helping them and Potter also hopes that the traditionally close ties can be reestablished, both with the nation and the church.

A recent survey by the diocese has estimated that it would need at least $3 million to repair the school buildings. Cuttington has estimated it needs about $5 million.

Brave and determined people

Wherever they went, members of the team met people who had endured and now expressed a determination to put their lives back together.

At the end of rough trips into the bush, on roads that can't be used during the rainy season, they were introduced to teachers who had gathered hundreds of students in the shells of buildings, feeding their minds and their bodies under very difficult conditions. "People have refused to give up -- or to give in," said Margaret Larom, mission interpretation officer for the Episcopal Church. "We have an inspiring opportunity to make an impact -- again."

The team got a glimpse of what was possible when they visited the site of Boys Town, a church facility that is being rebuilt with help from the American Refugee Committee. It is attempting to rescue orphans and street teens who have been traumatized by the war, many of them used as pawns of the military factions. "These are kids who killed people," said Shaun Skelton of the ARC. "Their families can't or won't take them in and they are ostracized by the community." With a radical change in environment, and some vocational training, he thinks the future may brighten for them.

At Bromley Mission, displaced children from the neighborhood gathered in a chapel at Julia Emery Hall, one of the few spaces on the campus that is functional. Yet the principal expressed optimism that it may be possible to open the boarding school next fall.

Cuttington University College, forced to close in 1990 when it had almost 900 students, is slowly coming to life again. A grant from the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief helped Cuttington assess its needs after the civil war. "It is more difficult now, 50 years later, to rebuild because of these setbacks," President Melvin Mason told his visitors. "But after seven years of war, we are able to reassess and expand our programs. And we are able to pay more attention to the needs of the community." The team visited a small village near the campus where Cuttington has sponsored empowerment programs for women.

Mason admits that the obstacles are serious. It won't be possible to expand enrollments until there is some major improvement to facilities. Housing for faculty and staff is a major problem. Although there is no electricity or running water, a generator given to the school by Liberian President Charles Taylor provides a few hours of light to parts of the campus each day. Yet Mason said they are determined to admit another class next fall while maintaining standards in keeping with other Anglican colleges and universities.

With 1,500 acres, Cuttington was almost self-sufficient before the war, raising chickens and pigs and vegetables. The United Nations is helping to rebuild the school's capacity to feed itself And a grant from American Schools and Hospitals Abroad may make it possible to rebuild the generators by the time the new class arrives next fall.

During the war, many of Cuttington's staff remained on campus to care for 7,000 refugees jammed into dormitory facilities, writing a proud new chapter in its history.

Ministry in context

While church officials are proud of their contribution in the field of education, they caution that it must be seen in a broader context. "Rebuilding must also include medical clinics so we can minister to the whole person," stressed Neufville. "While education is important, it should be seen in the context of the church's total ministry of outreach," added Gyude Bryant, a Monrovia businessman who chairs the diocesan board of trustees. "We don't have the resources to rebuild, to get the clergy back into the parishes."

Church leaders expressed deep concern for leaderless parishes, with no facilities for resident clergy. As a result, membership in many churches has been cut in half. The situation may improve as refugees who fled the country begin to return. Yet unemployment is also a factor. "Nobody is working so it is hard to rebuild the church," one person said. "We need zinc," added another, stressing that replacing the roofs of churches and homes that disappeared during the war would be a sign of hope.

"The question for us is how do we find a way to mobilize the resources of our church to strengthen this church," said Duggan. "It is not an overwhelming task."

Sandra Swan, executive director of the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, shares the excitement of her colleagues on the team. "And I'm convinced that members of our church will also share our enthusiasm for the rich possibilities for helping the church in Liberia rebuild," she said. She reported that the fund is already looking at ways it can cooperate with other agencies, church-related and secular, in those efforts.

"Since the children of Liberia have essentially been without education for almost 10 years, the situation has a sense of urgency," she added. "Every day is one more day lost in their education."