|PIC1|Karl Schmutter, an earth moving contractor, served for two months as a volunteer with the international Christian charity Mercy Ships in Ghana several years ago, and decided to return to the Africa Mercy for the 2008 field assignment in Liberia, one of the world's poorest nations.
He has worked during the year as Assistant Site Construction Manager on one of the community development projects, re-building a health clinic serving about 6,000 people from a number of surrounding villages. The health centre was looted and burned by rebels in the early 1990s during the country's 14-year civil war, leaving the region without basic health facilities. The clinic will be operated by the Liberian Health and Social Welfare Department.
Schmutter and other crew members provided construction expertise, Mercy Ships provided some materials, while day workers from 10 different villages contributed 12,000 hours of labour to clear the site and construct the clinic. During the 10-month assignment, volunteer surgeons provided free surgeries onboard the hospital ship to correct disability, disfigurement and blindness, while community development volunteers were involved in a range of programs all aimed at helping local communities to become more self-supporting.
The area surrounding the Tenegar clinic, a short distance from the capital Monrovia, now boasts an agricultural area that includes an organic demonstration garden, chicken coop, 12,000 plantain trees, 10,000 pineapples and a low-lying rice field that has already produced 75 bags of rice for the 10-village collective. Six new wells will provide sufficient water for the clinic and the local community.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, speaking during a ceremony to dedicate the clinic, praised the efforts of Mercy Ships for its assistance and local community members for their diligence in helping themselves forge ahead towards self-sufficiency. She said, "Mercy Ships has done so much for our country, serving our people so well, administering to the needs of sick people whose lives have been changed by their operations. They had no money to get medical service or no facilities to go to."
Dr Meimei Dukuly, a descendant of the family who first purchased the land in 1850, told those at the dedication ceremony of the historical significance of the property. The first clinic, built in 1972, was to be a permanent contribution by the Dukuly family to the people of Tenegar. He described the re-building as a 'miracle of God', and thanked Mercy Ships for the many invaluable gifts, assistance and services rendered to Liberia's people.
Mercy Ships volunteers have served in Liberia during ship assignments over the past three years. Next year's ten-month assignment in West Africa will be in Benin. In all they do, volunteers seek to follow the example of Jesus in bringing hope and healing to the world's poor.