Learning To Help Ourselves

Volunteer Training
Volunteer Projects
The Volunteer Dream

"I walked for three days to get here, but I was lucky. For a part of the journey, I was able to catch a ride in the back of a jeep for 1000 Liberian dollars [$23 in US currency]," said one district superintendent in Liberia. He and others had traveled from near and far to Liberia's capital, Monrovia, for a three-day training session planned by the Rev. James Labala, the newly elected conference coordinator for the Liberia United Methodist Volunteers In Mission (LUMVIM).

Who were the ones who cared so much about their church and this new program that they would walk that far? The travelers included 16 newly named district coordinators of LUMVIM along with others who had been invited to attend the training workshop in Monrovia. The motivation for the training was expressed in a radio interview, when Bishop Arthur F. Kulah said: "We have been having our friends from America help us build our schools, our hospitals, and our clinics. We thought we should learn to help ourselves."

The Liberian civil war, which lasted for seven years, has broken down the system that the United Methodist Church in Liberia strived to build over many decades. It left many United Methodists and other Liberians scattered, traumatized, distressed, frustrated, and with a feeling of hopelessness. The Liberia Annual Conference (LAC) has 415 churches, 113 schools, three clinics, and one hospital. Of these, 263 churches, 45 schools, and all three clinics suffered serious structural damage in the war. A full 40 percent of the local churches and 70 percent of the schools now lack the proper buildings in which to operate.

It was in the midst of this situation that the Liberia Annual Conference decided to constitute a committee of Volunteers In Mission (VIM) and to elect a full-time VIM coordinator. The LAC partnered with the Mission Volunteers unit of the General Board of Global Ministries to accomplish this mission through training of the district coordinators and their regional committees.

Volunteer Training

Training was conducted on two levels. The first was for district coordinators and conference committee members, held for three days in Monrovia. The second was for the district committees, held for one day in each of the three separate regions of the conference. Attendance far exceeded expectations. Sixteen of the 17 district coordinators (one was trained separately) and 61 of their committee members came ready to learn, to have fun, and to share ideas of why and how they could volunteer. Enthusiasm was so high that one district had its first meeting only three days following the training. Participants made plans to assess the damaged churches in their district and to form their first district LUMVIM team.

"How do we help our people understand why we volunteer?" asked the Rev. Stephen Snorton. "Our people are not used to volunteering. That's a new word for us." Group members suggested various answers, citing the Christian call to demonstrate the love of God by serving others and the call to share talents, skills, and gifts with those in need. The Rev. Wilfred Gray- Johnson of the Monrovia District expressed his thoughts in a song that begins: "If I can help somebody, then my living will not be in vain."

Sensitivity to cultural differences is always a vital concern for UMVIM teams. The Liberians and their trainer were no exceptions. During the discussion, the issue of the hats or headcloths that all Liberian women wear to church came up. It was explained that, in the United States, it is no longer customary for women to cover their heads in church. One man in the group couldn't believe this. His eyes widened as he shook his head in disbelief and said: "I assumed that all women everywhere wore hats to church!"

The subject of communication was also explored as a cultural difference. Group members explained that, in the upcountry, away from the capital and the coast, they passed information along by word of mouth. As travelers walked from settlement to settlement, they carried letters and notes for one another, and they sometimes used drums. The trainer shook her head in disbelief and said: "I didn't know that you still use drums to communicate!" The whole group got a good laugh out of that one.

At the end of each training session, participants talked about what they had experienced and learned. Shadrack Gueemie, from the Gbarnga District, said he learned "that as Volunteers In Mission, if our job must be done effectively and efficiently, we must have our team members well trained. When they are trained, the required job will be done with ease, pleasure, and interest." The Rev. Pay W. Suah, also from the Gbarnga District, commented: "I have learned today that we do not have to depend upon the overseas friends for all of the help, but we have to do some things for ourselves, as the members of the United Methodist Church in Liberia."

Volunteer Projects

Following the training sessions, the Rev. Labala reported that a special collection on each second Sunday for district LUMVIM projects had been approved by the bishop's cabinet. In addition, the Kakata-Farmington River District had acquired 10 acres of farmland to be cultivated as an agricultural project to raise funds for mission volunteers. Some congregations with damaged churches in the district had started cassava farms to generate funds for rebuilding, and some of these had already constructed temporary structures to use for worship services. In the St. John River District, the LUMVIM committee completed a comprehensive assessment of all the damaged churches and held a fundraising rally to buy planks for roof construction on the Isaac Padmore United Methodist Church. A local UMVIM team of 19 members had already started sawing the planks for the roof.

The Volunteer Dream

Throughout the Liberia Annual Conference, the Volunteers In Mission movement has brought renewed hope and encouragement. The Rev. Robert N. Sieh, Sr., district superintendent of the Garraway District, said: "My dream is for this process of volunteering to be a part of the whole church, because it brings us together, and, by this, we'll be a greater church. We'll be able to demonstrate God's love to our neighbors. My dream is that the whole idea will bring us closer and closer together and help us become children of God together."

Bishop Kulah was asked by a radio reporter if he believed the excitement generated by the volunteer movement would stimulate the annual conference to undertake the reconstruction of the war-torn country. Bishop Kulah's answer was powerful. "This is an invitation for us to help ourselves. Here in Liberia, we always like to look up somewhere, to get help. This is a moment when we prepare ourselves and motivate ourselves to help ourselves. The invitation is ours to come, to pray, and to prepare so that we can help ourselves...not only for our own sakes but for the church in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Jeanie Blankenbaker is Executive Secretary in the Mission Volunteers Program Area of the General Board of Global Ministries.