Self Development of People of Rural Liberia

Eric and Ethel Myers have been worshipping with us. Even though they are US citizens, the Spirit has laid a burden on their hearts for their homeland, Liberia. Ethel traveled to Liberia in September, 2017 to do ground work for community organization work returning in December. Eric traveled to Liberia for three weeks in January, 2018 for a conference as they seek to continue this work.  Eric shared their call with the congregation.  We continue praying for them and the vision the Spirit has given them.

This is Our Dream and Challenge: Economic Self Development of People of Rural Liberia

I have been worshiping with the Christ’s Community Church in Drexel Hill since May 2017 and I am currently part of the Seekers Class. We already feel at home at Christ’s Community Church, thanks to the hospitable spirit in the church.

I am a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Liberia, West Africa. Liberia that a small country with an area of about 43,000 square miles, the size of Ohio, with a population of 4.4 million (2014). Liberia has some of the richest mineral deposits in the world; historically, mineral extraction–particularly of iron ore, gold and diamonds–has been one of the leading export sectors for the country (Export.gov). Yet, this country is the 5th poorest country in the world with (GDP per capita of $454.30).

How does a small country with such significant deposit of economic resources become one of the poorest countries in the world? The average citizen lives on $2.00 per day while Liberian representatives receive over US$14,342 per month and each senator gets US$15,424. This excludes other expenses reimbursed annually. This information is taken from a local Liberian news outlet: The Bush Chicken.

I included this information to show the root cause of the poverty in the country and to provide a gist of the level of economic injustice being perpetuated by the government in the country. The first priority of the government in Liberia is to serve the government officials, not the citizens.

The citizens, especially rural residents are basically left to fetch for themselves. To give a voice to this disparity, I am starting a community-based organization in my community in rural Liberia to serve as an advocacy group and a self-help community-owned entity for mobilizing and managing development assistance to help contribute to improving the lives of the people in that part of the world.

The desire for the communities to unify themselves to work together is an immense challenge and the means are scarce. This is a challenge and I along with my wife Ethel will continue to pursue to raise a community that will be economically sustainable and lift the people from poverty.

Please pray for us as we seek to serve Christ in our native home.

Thank you,

Eric & Ethel Myers