I come from a family of 12 children from a town called Bolahun in Lofa County, Liberia. My father was an electrician and my mother a nurse midwife. She worked in the hospital in order to serve people and ensure their survival. He invested the family wealth in Bolahun by building their “dream house” and preparing for a long lasting life in the town.
Life before the war was sustainable. People were capable of surviving given the opportunities available to them. Farming for cocoa, coffee and rice created security for the people. My town had a primary health center with a developed referral system for emergencies; communication was easy and ambulances were available. Children could attend school and families enjoyed recreation and social activities. Summer vacations were spent working the family farms. We were in constant connection with the developed world.
Everything changed when the war met us in Bolahun in 1990.
My family and I fled to Sierra Leone. The troops came after us to loot our house of its possessions. The war followed us to Sierra Leone, from which we fled to Guinea in 1991. I spent the next 10 years in exile, working to help Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees as well as Guinean returnees. In December 2001, I had to flee to Monrovia because fighting had spread into Guinea.
I was still in Monrovia when fighting broke out in Liberia again. By the end of what we called “World War III”—the last attack on Monrovia that forced Charles Taylor into exile in August 2003—I witnessed International Medical Corps activities throughout the city, during the fighting. In February of this year, I received a position with International Medical Corps and immediately went to Voinjama to reestablish health centers in devastated Lofa County.
After 14 years of being away, I was happy to come back home. I was afraid, but working with an NGO like International Medical Corps provided the security and the courage I needed to return. The mission of the organization was to establish primary health clinics in areas where few other NGOs were willing to risk going. International Medical Corps’ priorities of rehabilitating clinics – over the comforts of the employees – made the local population even more appreciative of our efforts.
International Medical Corps did not take sides in choosing sites, but gave services to all the ethnic groups in Lofa. As soon as a clinic went up for the Mandingo, another went to their enemy, the Lorma. Employees mix the ethnic groups, making the clinic staff feel like a family and setting aside the anger brought by the conflict. This balance has brought added credibility for the organization.
When returning families see me, they say they knew of International Medical Corps because of their clinic in Wilson Corner Camp outside of Monrovia. When they found out that International Medical Corps was in Lofa, people were encouraged to return home.
I know that I’m still a young guy, but my greatest moment will be when International Medical Corps opens its clinic in my hometown, Bolahun. Well, this is of course secondary to my wedding coming in October of this year.