Cynthia

liberia

Hi, my name is Cynthia, follow me on my journey to Liberia, West Africa, hope you enjoy.

I have lived 13 years in Sweden and 13 years in England and this year after 26 years i am returing to Liberia. I dont know what to expect after so many years away after the terrible civil war. All i have are my sweet memories from childhood growing up in LIberia.

My main purpose for this journey is to find family members and also to do a bit of charity work.
For my charity work my project is to provide locals with mosquito nets and give advice on how to protect themselves the best way against mosquito bites.

Before I go any further I would like to thank everyone who supported and contributed in raising money towards this project. By that I mean ,my colleagues in the community and at stokemandeville hospital.
Also ,I would like to say a big thank you to Adam Flynn(Sales and Marketing Manager) at Global Vector Control Sumitono Chemical UK . PLC UK. for providing the mosquito nets. Last but not least, I'll like to thank J.Napoleon Torque ll at the Liberia Embassy , London for aiding in the safe delivery of the nets once I get to Liberia.

I will be taking the nets to my place of birth Kakata a small village north of the capital Monrovia. People do not realize how big a killer malaria is in Africa. It is estimated that every 3 second a child dies from malaria in Africa. The vast majority of cases occur in children under 5 years old, pregnant women are also especially vulnerable. Despite efforts to reduce transmission there has been little change , in fact if malaria continues on its present upwards course the death rate could double in the next 20 years.


I still cant beleive that i am on my way. It has been 26 years since i left Liberia and i remember promising myself that i would return one day to give something back to this wonderful community which has so little yet live life to the full.

What i remember from Liberia is that there is a sense of community, warmth and althought people do not have much they are willing to share the little they do have.Now obviously , the war would have had an effect on people but i am hoping that magic has not been lost. There is something special about life in africa.

It is taken me 26 years to get here but finally ,by the grace of God here i am. Life is too short , if you want to do something just go for it.