Today we went to visit some of the centers in the countryside. First we went to Gbowee Town which was about an hour and a half outside of Monrovia. To get to the road to Gbowee town, we drove across Monrovia’s only bridge (the other one is near by, but collapsed) and past the “free port of Liberia.” Anyway after the port, we turned off of paved road and headed into the interior. The months of June, July and August comprise the rainy season here in West Africa, and as such, the countryside is verdant and lush. Unfortunately, the rainy season also makes for awful road conditions throughout most of Liberia’s dirt road system. In order to move around here, you really need a jeep (slang for land rover) and you have to have a lot of patience.

As we approached the village, which was basically a small turn off from the main dirt road into a little valley, we ran into the town preacher. He also runs a shop on the main road, and Emily, my boss, made sure we stopped and caught up with him. Then we made our way down what was less and less of a road towards the meeting place. When we arrived, women were trickling in, and a few were even wearing their FFW shirts. I took a brief walking tour of the village, which consisted of about eight or ten homes that I could see, and a lot of banana, avocado, mango, pepper, and cassava. Cassava is a very important staple food here. I will explain it later. I returned just in time for the meeting to start.

The first thing we did was pray. As I have learned, this is a very religious country. All types of Christian churches prosper and there are parts of the country that are Muslim as well, though they are a minority. Most of the group meetings take place in or around the local churches. Anyway, the women were very thankful for having Emily and me there, and they offered us Kola nuts after the prayer. Kola nuts taste awful, but have caffeine and are used here by folks to get through tough days of work without having to eat (sound familiar?). The meeting was relaxed and Emily gave them a pep talk and I introduced myself. After that, they served us food. They served us Fufu, which is pounded out cassava root, (think white plado but kinda salty) served with a fishy type stew. Liberians don’t even chew the fufu; they just swallow it whole. It does the trick, I was full in no time. To show us their appreciation, they also gave us giant quantities of banana and butter pear (avocado).

On the way to the next meeting, I took a serious nap. That fufu was thick! Our next meeting was at (surprise) a church on famous island. This is a bit of dry land surrounded by swamp. At this meeting there were over 50 women, though only 15 had taken loans thus far. This group was extraordinarily energetic, and as soon as we walked in, commenced singing and dancing and all manner of celebration. Throughout the whole meeting they would call and respond denouncing the importance of men, and praising the capabilities of women to lift themselves up. They served BBQ Pringles too which was nice. All of the singing and good vibes contributed to make this meeting truly inspirational. In addition at this meeting I also saw first hand how dedicated these women are to this program. One of the borrowers had her daughter pass away this morning. She still sent her payment in. What an honor it was to be in these incredibly empowered women’s presence!