Sharing hope

SHARING HOPE - WHAT DOES HOPE LOOK LIKE?

What does hope look like? To get an idea, take a look at the children in Kolahun, a small village in northern Liberia.

Children like Helen, for example. She is a high school junior, president of the student body at School of Faith and mother of a 20-month-old son. Helen's father died suddenly of a heart attack six years ago. Her mother has suffered from severe depression ever since. 
 
Helen plans on becoming a doctor. This summer, she marched in the U.N. World Hand Washing Day parade in Kolahun.  
 
After the parade, Helen attended a panel discussion on hand-washing at Kolahun Hospital. When a U.N. representative asked if anyone had comments or questions, Helen stood up and spoke eloquently to a crowd of about fifty professionals on the importance of hygienic practices. 
 
Helen is curious and thirsty for knowledge. She has inspired her friends to pursue academic excellence. One evening, a few days after the parade, Helen and another RESTORE HOPE beneficiary, Hassan (who is also determined to become a doctor), came to the RESTORE HOPE: LIBERIA office just as the two doctors at the local hospital, Dr. Raphael and Dr. Christian, arrived. 
 
Along with James, the RESTORE HOPE: LIBERIA Field Coordinator, we all sat outside under the mango tree and talked until the sun went down. Dr. Raphael recounted his experience at Foya Hospital (about 11 miles from Kolahun) in early 2014 when he began to see the first Ebola cases. He arranged for the first blood tests to confirm Ebola in suspected cases.
 
Helen and Hassan listened intently. Dr. Raphael encouraged them, asking thought-provoking, scientific questions. The two young people were ready with possible answers. For example, they knew about ribonucleic acid.
 
Soon the air was filled with the language of antigens and antibodies. And as the sky turned from blue to orange to dusky purple, and swifts fluttered and soared above, you could almost feel the hope riding on the breeze that touched our faces. 
 
Lives were changing because of courage & hope. Thanks be to God.