When I first saw Esther hobbling towards our car, I thought, here is the poorest of the poor. Old and thin, she could be 60 or 70. A toothless smile lit up her lined face as she reached out her hand to give me the traditional Liberian handshake. “Welcome, welcome” she exclaimed in a voice that betrayed her age.
I’m on assignment, taking photos and getting histories of the malnourished children that benefit from Equip’s “Come eat at my table” program. Esther is a trained traditional birth attendant as well as one of Equip’s trained CHAs, (Community Health Ambassadors). Part of the CHA program is to encourage CHA graduates to identify malnourished children in their village and neighboring villages and educate the families on how best to feed and care for their children. Over the years we has seen that education is often not enough. There are many different factors that play into the health of a child. Traditional beliefs that identify malnutrition as the result of witching, (or worse yet, that identify the child himself as a witch,) family disharmony, poverty, lack of care, lack of parents and many other superstitions all can play a part. We have found that there are times that without some outside help, the child will surely die. At these times, CHAs and other concerned church members will commit to providing two meals a day for the child. In this way, they can guarantee that the child is getting a well balanced diet that will lead to recovery. The CHAs also educate the parents on how to feed their children. Esther teaches the church and community women these truths every Sunday.
As Esther leads us through the village to her small traditional mud hut she shares her heart for the children. Esther is aware of and will even walk to pick up children from villages as far as a 9 hour walk away, that suffer from malnutrition. She is so deeply concerned for the health of these children that a total of 12 children presently live with her, in her home as well as 2 mothers from a distant village. She is truly devoted to a life of serving children in need!
The mid day sun brought beads of sweat on my face as we walked the hard packed red earth to her home: a freshly dubbed mud hut the size of my bedroom! Surrounding the house were several dishracks, (a new concept in Liberia) a bamboo table that keeps dishes and pots off the ground. She was preparing a healthy sauce over an open fire. She spoke with such enthusiasm and compassion and I was moved by her heart for her people and her willingness to give up some of her luxuries (like any space!) to help the children. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” John 15:13.
After I had taken pictures of the children and asked her some more questions and concerns she may have about her work, she showed me her roof. A hodge, podge of rusted old zinc. “When the rains comes it goes bombombombombom inside the house!” she says with great animation. I was warmed by the presence of God in this place. “This is where God is at work.” I thought to myself. I then recalled something I had learned at my church back in Canada. Wherever you see God working, join in! Esther gave me a bag of country rice as a parting gift. She who has so little, gave me a gift!
“How much would it cost to fix her roof?” I asked Andrew and Emmanuel as we got back into the car. They estimated about $ 150 USD. So I decided then and there, that the money that my church raised for me in Canada, would go towards a new roof for Esther Labalah. Esther is not the poorest of the poor in Africa. She is rich in faith, in compassion, in generosity. She shares the love of God.
I went back the next day with the roofing materials. She threw up her hands and said, “Great be to God. Thank you, you take care of us!” She then grabbed my hand with a hearty shake and a face beaming with appreciation.
The new shiny roof on Esther’s humble home reflects the Son and the rain no longer drips bombombombombom inside the house!