At the end of March and into early April, I had the opportunity to witness the work of World Hope International (WHI) firsthand in West Africa. My trip started in Liberia, where Nancy Green, WHI chief development officer, and I were met by the WHI Liberia team at the airport. Due to the massive traffic at the airport, we traversed a dirt road through a rubber plantation for hours to avoid the traffic jams.

After a much-needed night of rest, the next morning we were met with a joyful welcome at the WHI office. We were able to meet with all the teams and dive deeply into our programs in Liberia.

One thing I noticed right away in Liberia is that the impact of the shutdown of USAID is severely felt. Our team was able to visit several communities that have been directly impacted by the shutdown, including those devastated by seeing critical water projects left incomplete. As we consider stepping into the gap left by the closure of other organizations and taking on such projects, we met with the stakeholders and community leaders. We learned that several families have donated the deeds to their land so that their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will have access to clean water.

But there also was much to celebrate on this trip. On one Sunday I had the joy of preaching at Gardnersville Wesleyan Church in Montserrado, Liberia, and meeting with the Wesleyan leaders later that evening. I am grateful for our partnership and history with The Wesleyan Church around the world!

We also were able to commission a well named after one of our Child Sponsorship beneficiaries. It was a true day of celebration! We also had the opportunity to visit a number of sites where World Hope works, including the rehabilitation center at the JFK hospital where Anna Vines, West Africa Regional Disability & Rehabilitation Director in Global Health, is working to expand the Enable the Children program and the JDJ maternal health hospital.

New Water Wells in Sierra Leone

The next day we traveled to Sierra Leone. First, we arrived for lunch in Bo, where I tried cassava leaves with rice for the first time. Delicious! We also had time to swing by and meet our CHAMPS team in Bo, who are doing incredible research for maternal and infant mortality. When we finally arrived in Makeni, we drove directly to a community where our WASH team was drilling a well. We were greeted by the singing and dancing of the community, who were overjoyed to be receiving clean water!

The next morning, the WHI team in Makeni greeted me with an epic welcome, complete with dancers, an original World Hope theme song, worship, and a Q&A time. I was blown away! We then had the opportunity to visit a number of WHI sites where we work, including the state-of-the-art CHAMPS lab, a pop-up cervical cancer screening clinic in a nearby community, WASH projects, and one of our Child Sponsorship schools. On a Saturday night we watched the Jesus Film at the school, where more than 400 people were in attendance and about 24 people gave their lives to Christ. Praise the Lord!

On my second Sunday I had the honor of preaching at Rogbaneh Wesleyan Church. That afternoon, we drove to the community of Kunsho and spent time at what is known as the “missionary graveyard” where 10 missionaries are buried. These were people who came as young adults (and a one-year-old) to Sierra Leone to share the Gospel. They knew ahead of time that their chances of returning were so slim that they packed their belongings in their own coffins to make the trip to West Africa. Some of the community and Wesleyan church members shared the history with us, and we were all moved by the legacy of faith that remains today. That evening we were able to share a meal with the Wesleyan leaders, and I was once again grateful for the many years of partnership. 

Meeting the Local Teams

The following day, we drove to Freetown, where we had the opportunity to visit a beautifully renovated Recovery Centre. Then we went to the ETC clinic where we were met by our team and the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare. We observed an initial assessment of a child whose mother had traveled all the way from Makeni because she knew of the good work of our ETC team. As we were leaving the clinic, a young boy walked in for his session with a huge smile on his face. Why? Because he has found HOPE in this place! We were then able to do a home visit to meet an 8-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. His mother shared her brave story of advocating for her son, and today, he is thriving, with a family and community that supports him and loves him. WHI is making a difference in whole communities!

We then made our way to Radio Fry Fry, where Grace Kargbo, West Africa regional director, and I joined Station Manager Brigitte Dalton-Sesay and Mary Koroma on-air for a special show about women in leadership. There may have been spontaneous worship, as well. After that, I had the opportunity to meet the first country director and former national superintendent of The Wesleyan Church, S. D. Kanu. We also gathered with several of our WHI team members, where we shared fun facts about ourselves. I learned that our team has talents in dancing, singing, comedy, and more!

On my last day, I was greeted once again at our WHI Freetown office with an original song, warm welcome, and gifts. I toured the office, shared a devotional from Hebrews 12, and got to see where our teams work. There is nothing like meeting with one another in person! After this, we made our way to meet with the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and the Vice President of Sierra Leone. Our scheduled 30-minute session went for over an hour, as the Vice President passionately shared his vision for development for Sierra Leone and how World Hope is contributing.

One thing that keeps coming to my mind as I reflect on my time in West Africa is this: World Hope is STILL HERE. In a time when hundreds of organizations have been shut down and abruptly had to stop work, by the grace of God, World Hope is still working. Still serving. Still loving. Still bringing HOPE. We will continue standing with, loving, and serving the most vulnerable, because this is the heart of Jesus, and this is who we are.

We are World Hope International. One team, one mission, one hope.

Let’s keep bringing this hope to the world.