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Speaker 1: Everybody's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks. And

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Speaker 1: we continue now a part two of our conversation with

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Speaker 1: Peggy Halberson, right after these brief messages from our general sponsors.

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Speaker 1: So let's just talk about wells for minutes. I think

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Speaker 1: an American sent their listen to this is like, oh,

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Speaker 1: that's cool. They dug a hole and got some water.

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Speaker 1: And we take so much for granted the United States.

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Speaker 1: I haven't been to Liberia, but I have traveled extensively

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Speaker 1: for work. We sell lumber all over the place, and

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Speaker 1: oftentimes lumber is made where inexpensive labor. Lumber is sent

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Speaker 1: where inexpensive labor is to make furniture as inexpensively as

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Speaker 1: possible to the nextport back to first world nations. Candidly,

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Speaker 1: some of it is a lot like the garment industry,

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Speaker 1: So that takes me to places that have poverty. Oftentimes,

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Speaker 1: I have witnessed human beings trying to bathe in a ditch.

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Speaker 1: While not far up the ditch, another individual was relieving

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Speaker 1: himself and said, ditch. And while that's maybe distasteful to

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Speaker 1: imagine and picture in your mind's eye, then the person

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Speaker 1: downstream of ditch creek is scooping up their cooking water

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Speaker 1: with the same water as someone had just relieved themselves

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Speaker 1: and bathed in. So when you talk about the importance

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Speaker 1: of clean water in a well, you really need to

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Speaker 1: understand that cholera in some of these places can claim

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Speaker 1: up to forty percent of the people's lives, and it

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Speaker 1: is why in many of these places the population the

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Speaker 1: age of the population is typically like sixty percent under

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Speaker 1: thirty years old, because people just don't live long because

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Speaker 1: they don't have something as simple as clean water to drink,

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Speaker 1: bathe or cook with.

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Speaker 2: Sure is that Liberia, Absolutely, the seventy percent of librarya

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Speaker 2: is under thirty years old.

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Speaker 3: Seventy under thirty under thirty.

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Speaker 1: That may be the worst number I've ever heard. There

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Speaker 1: may be a worst country, but there can't be many it.

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Speaker 2: They just did a census two years ago and those

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Speaker 2: were the statistics that came up. So between the war

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Speaker 2: and the water health things, the country is full of

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Speaker 2: young people with no mentors.

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Speaker 1: So just building a well literally upgrades exponentially the lifestyle

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Speaker 1: of the people in that village.

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Speaker 2: Yes, and there are a lot of the communities, and

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Speaker 2: I wish I had better numbers on how many. But

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Speaker 2: some of the communities had enough structure and enough organization

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Speaker 2: and leadership in that community that once they had a well,

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Speaker 2: it was theirs and they took care of it with

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Speaker 2: like most of the time. What they do in Liberia

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Speaker 2: is you have a chain and a lock on pump

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Speaker 2: and you only open it in the morning and in

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Speaker 2: the evening so that the kids don't come and play

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Speaker 2: on it and you know, throw whatever, you know, be kids.

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Speaker 2: So there's a lot and you in some places you

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Speaker 2: do not wear your shoes on the culvert around that pump.

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Speaker 2: Like in those places that keep the place really clean

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Speaker 2: and neat, that pump is going to last a long time.

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Speaker 2: But not every community has leadership. And in the community

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Speaker 2: that we put our first well in, it was a

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Speaker 2: community of almost all women. The only guy that I

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Speaker 2: knew who was there was drunk most of the time.

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Speaker 2: So we have had to repair that well. Oh my goodness.

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Speaker 2: Almost every year we have to go back and do

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Speaker 2: simple repairs just because they don't have enough organization in

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Speaker 2: that community to maintain that pump. And that when that

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Speaker 2: happens over and over and over, I start thinking there's

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Speaker 2: another problem that we need to address. Before we can

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Speaker 2: even address the water problem, which is education, organizations and mentorship. Yep,

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Speaker 2: which is why wells. So Michael morphed to one well,

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Speaker 2: which morphed to more wells, which morph to civics and teaching,

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Speaker 2: civics and education. Oh yeah, sure is that right? Well?

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Speaker 2: And we also so at the times, at the same

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Speaker 2: time that we are doing wells, we are also doing

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Speaker 2: a child sponsorship program, so we are trying to help

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Speaker 2: kids go to school. So in Liberia there is a

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Speaker 2: public school system that is free. But as Peter used

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Speaker 2: to say, it's free of teachers, it's free of books,

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Speaker 2: it's free of dea, free everything, free of everything. So

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Speaker 2: that is not an option Peter from Peter's Liberian he

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Speaker 2: is He's from the same tribe that Michael's from.

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Speaker 1: No kidding, Yeah, just a librarian dude, trying to do

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Speaker 1: it right.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, he's a pastor and a husband and father of

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Speaker 2: five kids, plus a whole bunch of other kids that

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Speaker 2: he kept bringing home. I don't know how is it

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Speaker 2: would be like Peter, he for got to stop bringing

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Speaker 2: home children.

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Speaker 1: So all right, so take us from the first wells

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Speaker 1: onwards and the sponsorship.

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Speaker 2: We did the first well in the first school and

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Speaker 2: then Teamwork Africa started and then we actually were able

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Speaker 2: to partner with an organization from Texas called the Last

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Speaker 2: Well and they were focused on bringing clean water to Liberia.

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Speaker 2: So we were one of their partners for five years,

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Speaker 2: five year, four or five years something like that, and

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Speaker 2: we did a ton of projects with them because we

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Speaker 2: had Liberian well technician teams and they you know that

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Speaker 2: they're special the specializ and going to really remote areas

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Speaker 2: where you couldn't bring a well digging rig and they

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Speaker 2: would carry in all the materials on their heads, so

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Speaker 2: the cement, the frame for molding the culverts, and they

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Speaker 2: would mold the bricks on site and so yeah, they

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Speaker 2: would chomp through that and I and then I got

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Speaker 2: to go to Liberia and do the follow up. So

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Speaker 2: I got to walk on all those jungle paths and

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Speaker 2: go verify. Yep, there's a new well right here in

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Speaker 2: the middle of nowhere where you know, we walked an

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Speaker 2: hour from the closest road to go to this village

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Speaker 2: and see that there's a brand new well there. So

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Speaker 2: sad for Oh, sure, easily, yeah, yeah, I mean sometimes

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Speaker 2: it would take a land cruiser as far as the

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Speaker 2: land cruiser would go and then would take a motorcycle

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Speaker 2: as far as the motorcycle would go, and then we

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Speaker 2: would walk from there.

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Speaker 3: Did you ever fill No, really.

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Speaker 2: No, because by the time I was doing that part,

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Speaker 2: I had developed really really close friendships with my friends

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Speaker 2: in Liberia and so they were so, so so careful

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Speaker 2: with me. We actually moved to Liberia in twenty sixteen.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that we actually after Yeah, well, okay, well.

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Speaker 2: We did and we were living there and I was

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Speaker 2: so on weekends I would go into the rural areas

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Speaker 2: to go do my you know, my well checkups, and

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Speaker 2: I would travel with the well technician team, and then

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Speaker 2: there was a place that I would guest house that

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Speaker 2: I would stay overnight. And there's one time where my

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Speaker 2: my well technician team was like, we don't know about

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Speaker 2: this place that you stay because it doesn't have a

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Speaker 2: fence around it, and we don't really know the guys

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Speaker 2: that are there, and are you sure that you're safe there?

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Speaker 2: And I'm like, yes, I know the guys there, they're okay,

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Speaker 2: and they're like okay, fine, So they dropped me off

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Speaker 2: and then the guys at that place they're like, we

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Speaker 2: don't know about those well technician guys that you're hanging out.

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Speaker 3: So it's like.

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Speaker 2: Everybody was always, you know, looking out for me. And

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Speaker 2: one time I was a little bit foolish and it

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Speaker 2: was not a very high hill, but it was steep

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Speaker 2: and it had gravel on it, so it was like

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Speaker 2: six foot little incline and I slipped and I fell

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Speaker 2: down and slid down it on my knee and so

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Speaker 2: I got a big gash in it made it actually

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Speaker 2: a nice scar. And the guys that were with me

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Speaker 2: were absolutely horrified that I got hurt, and for the

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Speaker 2: rest of like not only for the rest of that trip,

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Speaker 2: but for months after that, I was not allowed to

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Speaker 2: walk up or down a hill without holding someone's hand.

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Speaker 2: They told me, they said, we have committed to bring

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Speaker 2: you back to your husband in the same condition that

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Speaker 2: you left, so you cannot get hurt.

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Speaker 3: Unbelievable.

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Speaker 1: It also speaks to the humanity, to the desire to

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Speaker 1: just be safe and happy and have the basics, and

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Speaker 1: how despite all of the twenty years of the past

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Speaker 1: that these people have lived through, that their raw humanity

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Speaker 1: still comes.

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Speaker 3: Sorry.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and they you know that point, they knew us,

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Speaker 2: they and they were so grateful that the family who

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Speaker 2: lived in a country like the United States would give

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Speaker 2: all that up to come and live with them, and

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Speaker 2: they and they really wanted to honor that sacrifice that

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Speaker 2: we were making.

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Speaker 3: And so take us.

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Speaker 1: To the decision that you and Mark and your four

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Speaker 1: children made to move to Liberia. And at this point

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Speaker 1: you still have Michael living with you. No, no, he's

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Speaker 1: still in Libera is So tell me how that worked.

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Speaker 3: Well.

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Speaker 2: From the very first time I went to Liberia, my

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Speaker 2: heart was just captured and I just really wanted to

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Speaker 2: be there, so I wanted to bring it recaptured. I

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Speaker 2: was looking over some of the things I wrote on

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Speaker 2: my first trip and really, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Speaker 1: Just for those who aren't watching this on YouTube, she's

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Speaker 1: got a folder with a bunch of notes in front

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Speaker 1: of her and when she said that, she looked down.

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Speaker 3: These are some of your notes from fifteen years ago.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, this is my.

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Speaker 3: What's for you? That's how seriously she's taken this. That's precious.

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Speaker 2: I this is, you know, from October twenty ten. So

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Speaker 2: this is from my first time, my first time in Liberia.

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Speaker 3: So what what'd you fall in love with?

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Speaker 2: I said, let me read this. Let this is like

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Speaker 2: the end my last. This is what I'm leaving.

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Speaker 1: He said.

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Speaker 2: I didn't want to think about leaving. I said, I'm

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Speaker 2: not sure what to feel now about leaving. I said,

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Speaker 2: I hope Mother Teresa's quote is true. And her quote

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Speaker 2: is that I found this paradox that if you love

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Speaker 2: until it hurts, there could be no more hurts, only

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Speaker 2: more love. Because I have surely loved until it hurts deeply.

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Speaker 2: I have come across the world only to find myself

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Speaker 2: at home, a joy growing deep in my soul. As

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Speaker 2: long as I never forget the love, laughter, family, and

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Speaker 2: friendship that is here, It'll always be with me. So

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Speaker 2: I have so much to do when I get home.

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Speaker 2: Feels a little overwhelming, but these memories and God's strength

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Speaker 2: will encourage me in my weakness. Everyone said that coming

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Speaker 2: here would change me, but I didn't understand how. When

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Speaker 2: I first arrived, I said that Liberia had a beauty

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Speaker 2: among the rubble, and I have found such beauty and

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Speaker 2: it is the beauty, not the rubble, that has changed me.

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Speaker 3: Wow, And you're saying that with tears in your house

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Speaker 3: right now?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, we'll be right back.

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Speaker 1: So you get the wells going, you sponsor some kids,

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Speaker 1: and then you or Mark, or you and Mark look

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Speaker 1: at each other and say, why don't we just hook foot?

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Speaker 2: I wanted to move there, and I again waited because

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Speaker 2: I did not want to make my husband back up

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Speaker 2: our house and move to Africa. So I just was

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Speaker 2: patient and I waited to see if God would speak

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Speaker 2: to him the same way that he was speaking to me.

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Speaker 2: And so after a couple of years, Mark said, Okay,

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Speaker 2: well if it go like kind of like I don't

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Speaker 2: know how this could possibly happen, but if you can

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Speaker 2: find a way to make it happen, let's see where

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Speaker 2: this leads. And we found someone who said, oh, sure,

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Speaker 2: I can support you guys going to Africa. So we

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Speaker 2: had a guy who was like really like literally started

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Speaker 2: funding us to go to Liberia about six months before

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Speaker 2: we left. So we had, you know, we had some

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Speaker 2: money saved up for us to go to Liberia. We

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Speaker 2: sold our house and packed up our kids and moved

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Speaker 2: to Liberia.

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Speaker 1: You say it almost as you say it, you're laughing,

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Speaker 1: like you're not even sure you actually did that.

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Speaker 2: I know, the whole time, I was like, it's simple,

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Speaker 2: it's crazy. It's like, how does somebody just pack up

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Speaker 2: suitcases and just move to Africa, and and then we

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Speaker 2: just but we just did all right.

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Speaker 3: So how old were your kids they were?

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Speaker 2: That's a great question. So twenty sixteen, so Evelyn was sixteen, sixteen, fifteen,

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Speaker 2: thirteen and eleven.

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Speaker 1: What were they thinking about leaving high school and friends

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Speaker 1: to go to Africa.

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Speaker 2: Well, Dawson had just my son had just finished middle school,

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Speaker 2: so he hadn't started high school yet, so I mean

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Speaker 2: he was probably the most like, yeah, whatever, mom. The

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Speaker 2: girls were home. My oldest two girls were already homeschooling.

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Speaker 2: They had had had it with middle school and in

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Speaker 2: high school, so the a so they were good with it.

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Speaker 2: And then Elena is just she had just finished elementary school.

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Speaker 2: So it's kind of like a transition year for most

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Speaker 2: of the kids.

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Speaker 3: Any school actually fit.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and they, I mean they weren't like they were

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Speaker 2: open to it. I wouldn't have said they were like

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Speaker 2: gung ho, like excited were moving to Africa, but they

248
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Speaker 2: were certainly open to it. Two of the girls had

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Speaker 2: already gone to Liberia with me, so they kind of

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Speaker 2: knew a little bit of what we were getting into.

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Speaker 3: And at this time, team work Africa is a thing.

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Speaker 3: It is, and you're raising money.

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Speaker 1: So now you're taking teamwork Africa to have teamwork in Africa.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and I you know, so we had we had

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Speaker 2: to find somebody to be the director on the US side.

256
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Speaker 2: So that was another huge factor in being able to

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Speaker 2: even leave because we had to have somebody here who

258
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Speaker 2: was running everything. So we had, you know, so we

259
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Speaker 2: had someone to do that, We had someone to sponsor

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Speaker 2: us to go, and then we we went.

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Speaker 3: Would you live what's did you live in Maroon?

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Speaker 2: We? Yep? Outside so Menrovia is like, you know, capital

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Speaker 2: city and then there's little communities around Minorvia just kind

264
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Speaker 2: of like suburbs are here. And so we had a

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Speaker 2: base in Liberia where we had a guest house, and

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Speaker 2: so our family moved into the guest house. We had

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Speaker 2: built our first school there and we were in the

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Speaker 2: process of trying to build a medical center, so we

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Speaker 2: had a place to stay in the and the Fhlomo

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Speaker 2: family had also built a house on that same property,

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Speaker 2: so we were all living together. We were it was

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Speaker 2: absolutely insane. I had traveled to Liberia at least twice

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Speaker 2: a year up to that point, and I had stayed

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Speaker 2: up to three weeks at a time, and I thought

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Speaker 2: I kind of had an idea of what it might

276
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Speaker 2: be like to live in Liberia, and I really thought

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Speaker 2: I had covered all the bases and I thought I

278
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Speaker 2: knew what this would look like. And when we got there,

279
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Speaker 2: we put all our stuff in a container and shipped

280
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Speaker 2: it and the container stayed in the port until three

281
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Speaker 2: weeks before we went back to the US for our

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Speaker 2: first visit.

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Speaker 3: Customs.

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Speaker 2: No, no, I it was. It was the most awful

285
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Speaker 2: that year.

286
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Speaker 3: Was work hard, it was.

287
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Speaker 2: We shipped it in August and we got it in May.

288
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Speaker 2: It in May three, three weeks before we left to

289
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Speaker 2: go back to La suitcase for seven months. Whatever we yeah,

290
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Speaker 2: whatever we could get and we know, whatever we could

291
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Speaker 2: you know, get in Liberia or whatever we had in

292
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Speaker 2: our suitcases, that is literally what we had. Yeah, it

293
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Speaker 2: was a very interesting time for us. And we had

294
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Speaker 2: a plan to have a generator. We had raised a

295
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Speaker 2: whole bunch of money to build a community generator so

296
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Speaker 2: that we'd have electricity. It never never.

297
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Speaker 5: Worked, so our struggle to have electricity every day, Like

298
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Speaker 5: we would try to have the generator on from like

299
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Speaker 5: seven PM until like you know, three or so in

300
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Speaker 5: the morning, because it's hot.

301
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Speaker 2: It's hot and humid in Liberia. But you know, we

302
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Speaker 2: were going to have running water in our house. We

303
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,640
Speaker 2: had running water in our house for one day. After

304
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Speaker 2: that we had to carrying water to the bathrooms, to

305
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Speaker 2: the big barrels where we could. Yeah, we had regular toilets.

306
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Speaker 2: You just you know, dumped the bucket of water in

307
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Speaker 2: the toilet and then we did bucket baths every night.

308
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Speaker 2: No hot water, no consistent electricity.

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Speaker 3: For how long was this?

310
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Speaker 2: Two school years? So we were there from we went

311
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Speaker 2: there August of twenty eighteen. We came back in June

312
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Speaker 2: of the following year, and then we were back for

313
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Speaker 2: two months and then we went back for another year.

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Speaker 1: So for Yeah, and you had running water one day, Yeah,

315
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Speaker 1: of that entire stuy, Yes, and your children bucked it

316
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Speaker 1: up and said, okay they did.

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Speaker 2: Yeah they And now you know, my kids are between

318
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Speaker 2: twenty five and twenty now, and they will tell you

319
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Speaker 2: that living in Librea for those two years shaped their

320
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Speaker 2: lives and they, for the most part, are incredibly grateful

321
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Speaker 2: because of how it has changed how they see life

322
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Speaker 2: in the United States. And they they know, are yes, yes.

323
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Speaker 1: So what was your plan? What did you do the

324
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Speaker 1: two years you were in a Botbaria besides to water.

325
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Speaker 2: Well, my background's actually in education, so I was planning

326
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Speaker 2: to work with the school kind of in the administration.

327
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Speaker 2: I wanted to be training the teachers and implementing some

328
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Speaker 2: programs that would help the school, you know, be better,

329
00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,439
Speaker 2: be different. And then Mark actually ended up being the

330
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Speaker 2: Bible teacher in the school. He actually ended up in

331
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Speaker 2: the classroom teaching more than I did. The kids still

332
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Speaker 2: talk about him when I go back to visit.

333
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Speaker 3: Yeah, unbelievable.

334
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Speaker 2: So then I went out, of course into the jungle

335
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Speaker 2: and did my well assessments to go check on all

336
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Speaker 2: our water projects.

337
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Speaker 3: Do Okay. So you come back from Liberia and eighteen

338
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Speaker 3: eighteen with the.

339
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Speaker 2: Goal of well, we had hoped that when we were

340
00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:10,920
Speaker 2: in Liberia we would finally adopt Michael, but that didn't

341
00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:12,040
Speaker 2: happen either.

342
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Speaker 1: Let's remember this all started with trying to adopt Bikeael. Yeah,

343
00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,520
Speaker 1: and in the meantime, you've moved to a library and back.

344
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Speaker 1: Did he get to live with you while you were

345
00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,800
Speaker 1: in library, Yes, bless his heart and your heart. So

346
00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:31,720
Speaker 1: you guys formed a real familial relationship.

347
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Speaker 3: And then when you had to go, you had to

348
00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:33,879
Speaker 3: leave him again.

349
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Speaker 2: Yeah. The summer when we left for two months, you know,

350
00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:40,600
Speaker 2: he stayed but when we knew we were coming back,

351
00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,119
Speaker 2: so we ended up coming. So my oldest daughter had

352
00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,879
Speaker 2: a knee injury, a significant one that we thought she

353
00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,040
Speaker 2: needed surgery for. So in the spring of twenty eighteen,

354
00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:51,840
Speaker 2: she had to come back to the United States. And

355
00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,280
Speaker 2: she was just turned eighteen, so she legally could travel,

356
00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:59,240
Speaker 2: but physically she couldn't. And so we sent my son.

357
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Speaker 2: So like, you know, tall, strong guy, he's going to

358
00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:04,600
Speaker 2: make sure she gets to the airport ocape. Except the

359
00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:06,560
Speaker 2: two of them don't have a clue on how to travel.

360
00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,280
Speaker 2: But my fourteen year old daughter is got the you know,

361
00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,240
Speaker 2: she knows how, she knows how to navigate the airport.

362
00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:15,720
Speaker 2: And so we sent the three of them back to

363
00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:19,080
Speaker 2: the United States together ahead of time. And then after

364
00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:22,360
Speaker 2: they left, we got word from the US that the director,

365
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,040
Speaker 2: the US director that was in charge of Teamwork Africa

366
00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:29,720
Speaker 2: was resigning within a month, and that immediately meant that

367
00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:31,679
Speaker 2: in order for Teamwork Africa to survive, we had to.

368
00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:32,240
Speaker 3: Come back home.

369
00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,680
Speaker 2: So we were already planning to come back again for

370
00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:39,520
Speaker 2: two months during the summertime. So when we came back,

371
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:41,400
Speaker 2: we had two months to find a new place to live,

372
00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,640
Speaker 2: to get new jobs, to get new cars, to to

373
00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,600
Speaker 2: re establish everything. And while I had done a lot

374
00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:53,320
Speaker 2: of you know, studying and research and learning about what

375
00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:55,440
Speaker 2: it would be like for our family to live in Liberia,

376
00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:57,359
Speaker 2: I hadn't had any time to think about what it

377
00:19:57,359 --> 00:20:00,960
Speaker 2: would be like to come back. And it turned out

378
00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:05,560
Speaker 2: that coming back to the United States was much harder

379
00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:09,320
Speaker 2: on my family than it was leaving. Why the reverse

380
00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:12,520
Speaker 2: culture shock? Like everybody thought it would be the same.

381
00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,439
Speaker 2: Everybody thought it would just feel the same, and it didn't.

382
00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:18,680
Speaker 2: Everything felt really different. And that like at that point,

383
00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,440
Speaker 2: we had just had a new Woodman's grocery store come

384
00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:24,639
Speaker 2: into our community, and I walked in and looked at

385
00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:27,600
Speaker 2: it and walked right back out. The idea that you

386
00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,920
Speaker 2: would have an entire aisle for peanut butter was totally

387
00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:35,040
Speaker 2: overwhelming to me. I could for a long time. I

388
00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,040
Speaker 2: had just shop out little grocery stores.

389
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Speaker 3: You know what's about.

390
00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:41,960
Speaker 1: That is you're an American and you're only gone two years.

391
00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:46,160
Speaker 1: How overwhelming must it be? Or someone that comes from

392
00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:47,960
Speaker 1: there and tries to integrate.

393
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Speaker 3: Into our.

394
00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:53,719
Speaker 1: And I mean for only two years and you're an

395
00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,480
Speaker 1: American you came from that. What must it be like

396
00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:00,280
Speaker 1: for someone to try We always talk about people need

397
00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:06,000
Speaker 1: to integrate into society better. But the overwhelming I mean,

398
00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:08,679
Speaker 1: I've never thought about it until you just said that,

399
00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:11,359
Speaker 1: But how difficult I must be for people?

400
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:11,879
Speaker 3: Yeah.

401
00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:15,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, My kids were in youth group and they were

402
00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:17,920
Speaker 2: talking about a story, something that had happened in Haiti,

403
00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:20,520
Speaker 2: and they were showing a video of kids from Haiti.

404
00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:24,640
Speaker 2: And and for my daughter Grace, those kids looked like kids.

405
00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:26,840
Speaker 2: She knew they lived in a community, you know, in

406
00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,439
Speaker 2: an environment that she was familiar with. The girls in

407
00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,320
Speaker 2: front of her were giggling and playing on her phone,

408
00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:36,960
Speaker 2: and she was like, like so overwhelmed. She actually had

409
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,000
Speaker 2: got up and left and went to the bathroom and

410
00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:44,840
Speaker 2: sobbed because she couldn't connect with these girls who just

411
00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:47,199
Speaker 2: they just had no connection to what they were seeing

412
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:49,479
Speaker 2: from that video. But for Grace, she knew what it

413
00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:52,119
Speaker 2: was like to live there. She knew the struggles that

414
00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,000
Speaker 2: those kids were going through. So a lot of those

415
00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:59,040
Speaker 2: things were just really hard. My kids thought differently than

416
00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:01,480
Speaker 2: the kids that they, you know, went to school with,

417
00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,239
Speaker 2: And for quite a long time, for several months, it

418
00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,040
Speaker 2: was I felt like I was just trying to keep

419
00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:08,920
Speaker 2: everybody's head above water as we were trying to acclimate

420
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,000
Speaker 2: to being back here. And then we had Michael with

421
00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:14,639
Speaker 2: us that when we came back to stay we were

422
00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:16,800
Speaker 2: able to keep Michael came with us for four months,

423
00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:18,399
Speaker 2: and then at the end of four months I had

424
00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:20,600
Speaker 2: to take him back to Liberia to wait for the app.

425
00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:22,280
Speaker 1: Yo.

426
00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:27,959
Speaker 2: He was so excited to come to the United States,

427
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,040
Speaker 2: and that was a whole other thing too, because people

428
00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:34,679
Speaker 2: in Liberia think that the US is heaven. It is heaven,

429
00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:39,160
Speaker 2: and so anything that didn't go the way he thought

430
00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:41,440
Speaker 2: it was going to go, it was really hard for

431
00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,080
Speaker 2: him because he thought everything was going to be perfect here.

432
00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:48,560
Speaker 2: So that made it a little bit, you know, it

433
00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:52,320
Speaker 2: was Those were some really funny, funny times where we're like, no, Michael,

434
00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:55,400
Speaker 2: this is actually just another part of Earth where things

435
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:57,760
Speaker 2: are a little bit easier, but they don't go perfectly either.

436
00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:01,440
Speaker 3: So yeah, but that's interesting. All right.

437
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:08,919
Speaker 1: So you're back here, you're running teamwork Africa, and Michael's

438
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:09,880
Speaker 1: still there.

439
00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,399
Speaker 3: Yeah, okay, and you stop work today.

440
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:16,280
Speaker 2: Well, and when we got back to from Liberia and

441
00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:21,080
Speaker 2: the director quit, so did all the other staff. So well,

442
00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:25,119
Speaker 2: we came back to Teamwork Africa. The organization kind of

443
00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:29,400
Speaker 2: in shambles, and I'm trying to keep our family, you know, floating,

444
00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:31,560
Speaker 2: and now I got to take Michael back to Liberia,

445
00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:34,159
Speaker 2: and so I took he went back in October. In

446
00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:38,320
Speaker 2: January of that year, So twenty nineteen, Peter Flomo dies

447
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:43,600
Speaker 2: suddenly and he's our country director. Peter, Yeah, my one

448
00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,800
Speaker 2: of my best friends. And I'm like, we can be

449
00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:49,919
Speaker 2: done now, like we can just be done well. And

450
00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:53,960
Speaker 2: then yeah, so that's two, and then I can go

451
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:58,280
Speaker 2: through Michael's whole adoption story. But we do finally adopt

452
00:23:58,359 --> 00:24:03,240
Speaker 2: Michael in December of twenty nineteen, right before twenty twenty,

453
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,800
Speaker 2: and then twenty twenty hits and then everybody, you know,

454
00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,639
Speaker 2: all the nonprofit organizations are there's no fundraising, you know,

455
00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,360
Speaker 2: like and I was, yeah, exactly. I do want to say, though,

456
00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:16,360
Speaker 2: that is by the grace of God that Michael came

457
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:20,280
Speaker 2: home in December of twenty nineteen, because if he hadn't

458
00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,679
Speaker 2: based on his age, he had just turned fifteen. I

459
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,720
Speaker 2: am not sure after everything closed during COVID, by the

460
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:31,000
Speaker 2: time we could have possibly traveled, he might have aged out.

461
00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:33,400
Speaker 2: So that was like the I mean at the very

462
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:37,080
Speaker 2: last minute, because I was like, God, seriously, we've gone

463
00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:39,399
Speaker 2: through all this, Please don't tell me at the end

464
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,600
Speaker 2: of the day we are not going to adopt this kid.

465
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:44,360
Speaker 2: So we did.

466
00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:49,440
Speaker 3: We'll be right back.

467
00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:05,520
Speaker 1: You're finally adopted and together without going back and forth,

468
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:10,000
Speaker 1: you've started to try to put back together team work

469
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,520
Speaker 1: Africa US. And then Pastor Peter does and it's twenty

470
00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:18,520
Speaker 1: twenty going into COVID and candidly it's like, maybe we've

471
00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:19,520
Speaker 1: done what we've gone to do.

472
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:21,840
Speaker 2: Yeah, like I can be done. God, can I be done?

473
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:23,959
Speaker 3: Candidly? Who could blame you?

474
00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:27,800
Speaker 1: And you still have done an enormous amount Yeah, schools

475
00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:32,360
Speaker 1: and medical centers and wells and teamwork. Africa's story could

476
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:34,240
Speaker 1: be a good one, and boat up right there.

477
00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:37,919
Speaker 2: I think it would have. I would have been satisfied

478
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:40,040
Speaker 2: with that. I would have I would have been okay

479
00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,440
Speaker 2: with moving on to doing going back to the life.

480
00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:45,439
Speaker 2: I thought we were going to have, you know, a

481
00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:46,359
Speaker 2: decade before that.

482
00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:49,320
Speaker 3: But it's five years later and you're sitting say no,

483
00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:50,120
Speaker 3: what happened.

484
00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:54,879
Speaker 2: What happened was in those quiet moments where I sat still,

485
00:25:55,400 --> 00:26:00,040
Speaker 2: I knew that we weren't done yet, and so we

486
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:04,800
Speaker 2: we reorganized and we refocused, and I gathered the people

487
00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,160
Speaker 2: that I knew best in Liberia and brought them all

488
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,359
Speaker 2: together to see what kind of team we could rebuild.

489
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:15,160
Speaker 2: And the Teamwork Africa team that we built in Liberia

490
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:19,120
Speaker 2: after that is the strongest our team has ever been.

491
00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:21,840
Speaker 2: The work that we're doing now.

492
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,119
Speaker 3: One door closes, more open.

493
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:26,720
Speaker 2: We It's almost like the first decade of Teamwork Africa

494
00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:31,040
Speaker 2: was just practice for the work that we're doing now.

495
00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:33,200
Speaker 3: How many wells have you guys built?

496
00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:35,360
Speaker 2: Oh yes, I brought that too because I'm super bad

497
00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:35,919
Speaker 2: at numbers.

498
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,320
Speaker 1: So yeah, give me, give me, give me what we're

499
00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:42,159
Speaker 1: going to get to what you're doing now so that

500
00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:48,240
Speaker 1: people get how this crazy story is not ended but

501
00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:53,200
Speaker 1: currently in the present progressing. But let's put some perspective

502
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,480
Speaker 1: to it now in terms of numbers. Yeah, from two

503
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:56,800
Speaker 1: wells and all of it.

504
00:26:56,880 --> 00:27:00,960
Speaker 2: Okay, from twenty eleven to twenty twenty four, we did

505
00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:03,800
Speaker 2: two hundred and sixteen new wells.

506
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:08,919
Speaker 1: Meaning two hundred and sixteen entire communities yes, no longer

507
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:10,399
Speaker 1: dying from Cawra.

508
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:14,680
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, brand new wells places yeah. And then over

509
00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:18,520
Speaker 2: way over five hundred repairs. Like we would do major

510
00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:20,760
Speaker 2: repairs that we would record, but we would go to

511
00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,080
Speaker 2: communities where there was a little mini repair, a small repair,

512
00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:26,240
Speaker 2: and we would always fix them. We didn't even write

513
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,320
Speaker 2: it down. So there are times we'd be out doing

514
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,760
Speaker 2: our well assessments and we tried always to get back

515
00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,520
Speaker 2: to where we were staying before dark, because you know,

516
00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,880
Speaker 2: a breakdown in the dark in the jungle is not ideal,

517
00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:40,600
Speaker 2: you know. So we'd be like watching the time, and

518
00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:42,720
Speaker 2: you know, I'd see one more well. I'm like, Willy, Willy,

519
00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:44,000
Speaker 2: do you think you have time to fix that one

520
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:45,520
Speaker 2: more well? And he's like, yeah, we can do it.

521
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,000
Speaker 2: And then another time he'd be like, Sis, Peggy, can

522
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:49,960
Speaker 2: we fix one more well before we leave for today?

523
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,240
Speaker 2: And so between you know, the two of us where

524
00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:55,880
Speaker 2: he just Peter Willie Jackson is our well technician. He's

525
00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:59,840
Speaker 2: been with us the entire time. He is passionate about

526
00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:03,840
Speaker 2: having drinking water. Yeah, and he's so talented. I've seen him.

527
00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:08,640
Speaker 2: You know, mcgiver has nothing on Willi. He has way

528
00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,679
Speaker 2: to innovate and figure out how to solve problems. And

529
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:14,640
Speaker 2: he just doesn't quit either, Like he just keeps going

530
00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:16,159
Speaker 2: at it until he figures out a solution.

531
00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:17,960
Speaker 3: All right, So that many wells? What else?

532
00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:20,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, So that's what I have for water, for our wells,

533
00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,119
Speaker 2: so for like our kids. So right now we have

534
00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:25,880
Speaker 2: two one hundred and eighty kids on our scholarship program,

535
00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:28,600
Speaker 2: and we're about ready to open up our second school.

536
00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:32,720
Speaker 2: And what that's I mean we've done less of other

537
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:34,040
Speaker 2: things too, But I don't have all the numbers for

538
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:34,600
Speaker 2: all this stuff.

539
00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:38,959
Speaker 1: That's still incredible from a mom who wanted to adopt

540
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:44,000
Speaker 1: a kid, a normal kid, a mom sitting in Oa Claire,

541
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:49,520
Speaker 1: Wisconsin who wanted to adopt a kid, I mean, how

542
00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,560
Speaker 1: many how many people in each of these villages?

543
00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:53,320
Speaker 3: On average?

544
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:57,280
Speaker 2: We we estimate that each well can provide I think

545
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,320
Speaker 2: the governments to ts Dick say two hundred people, but

546
00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,880
Speaker 2: the last well said five hundred for each for each well,

547
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,320
Speaker 2: and how many wells two hundred and sixty.

548
00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:12,920
Speaker 3: So it's two sixty time.

549
00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:16,000
Speaker 2: Those they don't work, well, yeah, they don't work.

550
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,680
Speaker 1: That's like, that's one hundred and thirty thousand people or

551
00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:25,720
Speaker 1: so I haven't Yeah, that are living free of cholera

552
00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:27,880
Speaker 1: because you decided to adopt Michael.

553
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:35,560
Speaker 3: He that is insane. All right, so reorganize.

554
00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:38,240
Speaker 2: Yes, what's today look well, because Liberia is so young,

555
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:42,000
Speaker 2: and because the war and the lack of healthcare has

556
00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:46,760
Speaker 2: taken so many grandparents on doctor per seventy thousand My gosh, yeah,

557
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:49,360
Speaker 2: that'd be one doctor for my entierement for all Claire,

558
00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:53,000
Speaker 2: for the entire shot of the city. Yeah, I think. Yeah.

559
00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,360
Speaker 2: We decided that a lot of the challenges of the

560
00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:59,920
Speaker 2: programs that we had started were didn't work because of

561
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:03,760
Speaker 2: just lack of education and in a lot of ways

562
00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:08,040
Speaker 2: a lack of character development. Liberia is an incredibly corrupt

563
00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:11,480
Speaker 2: country and it's because of the civil war and the

564
00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:16,400
Speaker 2: disruption of the fabric of their society. It just makes

565
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,680
Speaker 2: it just you know, lying is is a you know normal,

566
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:24,480
Speaker 2: stealing from everybody is acceptable, like, and it just makes

567
00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:28,080
Speaker 2: nothing works well when you don't have integrity, when you

568
00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:31,760
Speaker 2: don't have character, and trying to get like we try

569
00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,320
Speaker 2: to do agriculture projects and so trying to bring in

570
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:39,480
Speaker 2: more innovative, more resourceful forms of agriculture, and nobody wants

571
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:41,920
Speaker 2: to change the way they do things. So that is

572
00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,240
Speaker 2: like just beating your head against the wall. So we decided,

573
00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,080
Speaker 2: you know what, we're gonna work with children. We're going

574
00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:51,720
Speaker 2: to work with youth because they are going to be

575
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:55,000
Speaker 2: the leaders for tomorrow. They are they have the opportunity

576
00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,840
Speaker 2: to change the direction of this country. And so we

577
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:03,360
Speaker 2: decided to focus on education and mentorship, especially the mentorship.

578
00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:05,880
Speaker 2: So we started a program from girls and a program

579
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,600
Speaker 2: for boys. We limit it to thirty kids with two

580
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:13,080
Speaker 2: leaders mentors. We teach character lessons, We use the Bible,

581
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,320
Speaker 2: they get into small groups, they talk, and then they

582
00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:19,600
Speaker 2: meet weekly. And we also, as you mentioned.

583
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:21,080
Speaker 3: This is in addition to school.

584
00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:24,760
Speaker 2: Yes, yep, yeah, so we ran we are our first

585
00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:27,760
Speaker 2: so we have one hundred and eighty kids that get scholarships.

586
00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:29,320
Speaker 2: They do not all go to our school because they

587
00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,320
Speaker 2: don't all live close enough to us. But in twenty

588
00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:36,080
Speaker 2: twenty two, I was getting so frustrated with the cost

589
00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:38,840
Speaker 2: of the tuition going up and the quality of education

590
00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:42,320
Speaker 2: going down that I was just like, we have got

591
00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:44,400
Speaker 2: figure out a way that we can run our own school.

592
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:46,560
Speaker 2: And we didn't have the money to build a school

593
00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:48,520
Speaker 2: and that was going to take forever to do. And

594
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,480
Speaker 2: so I just asked the team, I'm like, could you

595
00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:54,400
Speaker 2: guys look around and see is there a house that

596
00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:56,680
Speaker 2: we could rent that we could start a school, or

597
00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:59,920
Speaker 2: what can we do? And one of our staff was

598
00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:02,840
Speaker 2: going to a church and the church school closed and

599
00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,880
Speaker 2: she talked to the pastor and told that told her

600
00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,120
Speaker 2: our interest in starting a school, and we worked out

601
00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:11,680
Speaker 2: an arrangement that we're renting that school now for the

602
00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,320
Speaker 2: next ten years. And that was our first school. So

603
00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:18,640
Speaker 2: it's called Imago Day. It's called what it's called Imago Day.

604
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:22,040
Speaker 2: What is Imago Day is Latin for image of God.

605
00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,560
Speaker 2: So the motto of our school is based on Genesis

606
00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:27,480
Speaker 2: one twenty seven where it says God said, let us

607
00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:29,520
Speaker 2: make people in our image.

608
00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:31,200
Speaker 6: All right, Peggy, show them your tat.

609
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:34,800
Speaker 3: And it's on your wrist.

610
00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:36,360
Speaker 6: Those are midlife crisis.

611
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:39,960
Speaker 3: Is that your mid life crisis tat?

612
00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:43,400
Speaker 2: Yes? It is. It is Imago Day, that phrase.

613
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:45,080
Speaker 3: Do you ever think you'd have a tat? No?

614
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,000
Speaker 2: I've thought about it for the last two years, and

615
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,040
Speaker 2: then this year i turned fifty, and I'm like, if

616
00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:53,720
Speaker 2: I'm ever going to do it, it's going to be now.

617
00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:59,920
Speaker 2: So I am so passionate about the children in Liburian,

618
00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,760
Speaker 2: knowing that each one of them has been made in

619
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,479
Speaker 2: the image of God and deserves love and respect and

620
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:07,320
Speaker 2: not only that for them to know that, but for

621
00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:10,280
Speaker 2: them to see the people in their communities that every

622
00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:13,320
Speaker 2: single person that they see is also made in the

623
00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:16,800
Speaker 2: image of God and deserves love and respect. And I

624
00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:19,200
Speaker 2: want to I want our school to be a place

625
00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:22,880
Speaker 2: where that's true. I want these kids to grow in

626
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:25,760
Speaker 2: communities where that's true. I want them to build families

627
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:28,000
Speaker 2: where that's true.

628
00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:31,200
Speaker 1: You're literally trying to change the culture of the country

629
00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:32,080
Speaker 1: from the bottom up.

630
00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,160
Speaker 2: Yeah and not and small and small, Like it's so

631
00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,560
Speaker 2: easy when you get started to say we're going to

632
00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:40,880
Speaker 2: change Africa or we're going to change Liberia, or we're

633
00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,640
Speaker 2: going to change Bond County, or we're going to change

634
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:47,640
Speaker 2: Swakoko District. And now I'm like, you know what, I'm

635
00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:50,680
Speaker 2: going to pour my life into the lives of one

636
00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:54,640
Speaker 2: hundred and eighty kids and I'm going to pray that

637
00:33:54,720 --> 00:34:02,560
Speaker 2: God is going to change the communities through them.

638
00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:03,080
Speaker 3: Wow.

639
00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:10,520
Speaker 1: So one hundred and thirty thousand people in communities getting

640
00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:16,200
Speaker 1: clean drink of water, schools, character development, character building, trying

641
00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:17,759
Speaker 1: to change it from the ground up.

642
00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:22,839
Speaker 3: Where's money come from?

643
00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:25,800
Speaker 2: I don't know, Like I told.

644
00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:28,000
Speaker 4: You a weak you're the executive director, so you need

645
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,919
Speaker 4: to know, well when we first started, and I told

646
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,719
Speaker 4: you that I didn't know anything about running a nonprofit,

647
00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:38,120
Speaker 4: and so I just my husband worked at the radio station,

648
00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:40,600
Speaker 4: and so he would have me on he had a.

649
00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:43,880
Speaker 2: Talk show at the time, perfect and I would tell

650
00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:47,160
Speaker 2: the story, you know, when I was in Liberia, and

651
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:48,680
Speaker 2: I would you know, you always have to give a

652
00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:51,640
Speaker 2: greeting to the community, and I would always close my

653
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:53,640
Speaker 2: greeting to them and I would say, I'm going to

654
00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:55,839
Speaker 2: carry you back with me in my heart, and I'm

655
00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:58,360
Speaker 2: going to share your story. And so that's what I

656
00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:00,719
Speaker 2: would do. I would just tell the story of what

657
00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:03,520
Speaker 2: I had seen and what I had felt and what

658
00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:08,680
Speaker 2: the what life was like there, and people just responded.

659
00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:08,880
Speaker 5: You know.

660
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:10,840
Speaker 2: We had a guy the very first time I was

661
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:12,480
Speaker 2: on the radio, We had a guy call and say

662
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:14,719
Speaker 2: how much does it cost a sponsor a well? And

663
00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:17,560
Speaker 2: I had to go find out and he was like,

664
00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:19,319
Speaker 2: I want, I want to put a well in in

665
00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:22,600
Speaker 2: one of those communities and people. And I went to

666
00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:24,920
Speaker 2: the church I grew up in and I told the

667
00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,800
Speaker 2: story of the first ten kids and they're like real sponsor,

668
00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:30,799
Speaker 2: all ten of them. And you know, things in the

669
00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:34,960
Speaker 2: early days just just came in and I was sitting

670
00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:38,759
Speaker 2: with a pastor who connects with lots of different missionaries

671
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:41,520
Speaker 2: and international organizations, and I was telling him what was

672
00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:44,279
Speaker 2: going on with Teamwork Africa and he said, he said,

673
00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:47,640
Speaker 2: what's happening with you guys is truly astonishing. And I'm

674
00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:51,120
Speaker 2: like it is. I'm like, you mean this is how

675
00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:55,759
Speaker 2: it happens for all our organizations. He's like, no, I.

676
00:35:55,880 --> 00:36:01,319
Speaker 1: Uh, you know, it is astonishing as it starts with

677
00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:05,640
Speaker 1: a normal person, an average person, a mom wanting to

678
00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:09,279
Speaker 1: adopt a child who got passionate about where that child's from.

679
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,440
Speaker 1: And all of this has happened and is ongoing. But

680
00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:18,400
Speaker 1: I do want to give you an opportunity to answer

681
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:21,440
Speaker 1: a question. And this is a softball and I'm a

682
00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:24,319
Speaker 1: love it up there for you, all right, Why should

683
00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:26,560
Speaker 1: we give a crap about the kids in Liberia? We

684
00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:28,880
Speaker 1: got problems all around us the United States.

685
00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:35,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, because every single person matters whether they're here or

686
00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:41,160
Speaker 2: whether they're there. We are all just people. We're not

687
00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:44,759
Speaker 2: different people. There's not you know, we make so many

688
00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:48,640
Speaker 2: boundaries between here and there or what makes us one

689
00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:51,520
Speaker 2: group and them another group? And the truth is we're

690
00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:54,799
Speaker 2: just all people, right, now, the radio station that my

691
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:58,200
Speaker 2: husband works at is doing a backpack fundraiser and they're

692
00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:01,640
Speaker 2: raising money for backpack for Eau Claire, and they're raising

693
00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:04,080
Speaker 2: money for backpacks for Chip of Falls, which is the

694
00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:06,600
Speaker 2: community next door, and they're raising backpacks for the kids

695
00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:11,000
Speaker 2: in Liberia too, And it's a it's a beautiful partnership

696
00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:14,879
Speaker 2: between saying that the kids in the in my community matter,

697
00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:17,680
Speaker 2: and so do the ones far away that I don't see.

698
00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:22,320
Speaker 2: They all matter and wherever you can find a spot

699
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:25,480
Speaker 2: to do something, do it. A lot of times when I,

700
00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:27,600
Speaker 2: you know, I get that question, why should we care

701
00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:30,520
Speaker 2: what happens? You know in Africa? We have problems here,

702
00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:33,080
Speaker 2: and my question is great, what are you doing about

703
00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:35,719
Speaker 2: it that a girl? Don't don't tell me that you

704
00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:38,160
Speaker 2: know we have problems here if you're not doing anything

705
00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:40,960
Speaker 2: about it, this is where I having called to do something.

706
00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:43,279
Speaker 2: And if you're called to do something with me, then

707
00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:45,200
Speaker 2: let's go do it. But if not, find the thing

708
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:47,680
Speaker 2: that you are created to do and do it and

709
00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:53,960
Speaker 2: stop complaining and what other people are doing.

710
00:37:51,719 --> 00:37:54,160
Speaker 3: That sounds like how we opened the show or something.

711
00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:55,360
Speaker 6: She's ready to host it R.

712
00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:02,040
Speaker 3: Because that's what I've.

713
00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:06,319
Speaker 1: Been saying to anybody who'll listen, is you know, I

714
00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:08,560
Speaker 1: wish somebody would do something about that day.

715
00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:09,799
Speaker 3: Who is somebody?

716
00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:15,080
Speaker 1: It can be just a normal person from Oa Claire, Wisconsin.

717
00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:17,880
Speaker 1: It could be anybody who wants to employ their passion

718
00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:21,840
Speaker 1: and an area's need and make miracles happen.

719
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:24,960
Speaker 2: One of the I really really love the name of

720
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:26,600
Speaker 2: your podcast, and I think it's one of the reasons

721
00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:27,920
Speaker 2: why I was like.

722
00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:30,280
Speaker 6: I'm this morning.

723
00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:32,759
Speaker 2: Why I can, why why I can be on this

724
00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:37,640
Speaker 2: podcast is because I am just a normal person. It's

725
00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:41,359
Speaker 2: like you've said it, I'm a mom from from Wisconsin.

726
00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:44,080
Speaker 2: I'm a kid who grew up in the you know,

727
00:38:44,239 --> 00:38:47,759
Speaker 2: in the rural farmland and wanted to grow up and

728
00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:50,759
Speaker 2: you know, get married and have kids. Like this was

729
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:53,680
Speaker 2: not I'm not. It frustrates me to no end when

730
00:38:53,719 --> 00:38:57,400
Speaker 2: people say, oh, you're so, You're so amazing. I'm like, no,

731
00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:01,240
Speaker 2: why not? What what God has done in my life

732
00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:05,160
Speaker 2: is truly amazing. But it's not because I'm amazing. I'm

733
00:39:05,239 --> 00:39:07,560
Speaker 2: simply following. One step at a time.

734
00:39:11,239 --> 00:39:12,520
Speaker 3: We'll be right back.

735
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:27,920
Speaker 6: One thing built to your question about why I care

736
00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:30,640
Speaker 6: about Africa. You know, sometimes you'll go on the riff

737
00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:33,200
Speaker 6: about even if you don't care about the morality of it,

738
00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:36,680
Speaker 6: how about the practical basis? And I think what you

739
00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:39,319
Speaker 6: guys did with a bola is a great example of that.

740
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:42,480
Speaker 6: And people now appreciate, especially from COVID, that the world

741
00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:45,280
Speaker 6: really is interconnected. So like we don't deal all these problems,

742
00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:47,360
Speaker 6: it's going to get here too. If you want to

743
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:49,560
Speaker 6: talk about what you get, Yeah, I mean what I say.

744
00:39:49,719 --> 00:39:53,600
Speaker 1: Oftentimes if you don't care from it from a social

745
00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:58,160
Speaker 1: and spiritual standpoint, there's a pragmatic view to the type

746
00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:02,400
Speaker 1: of work that you guys do. One of them I

747
00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:05,239
Speaker 1: use all the time is for like our city. If

748
00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:09,080
Speaker 1: you don't care about our school's felling kids from a

749
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:11,680
Speaker 1: social point of view, well, I think you're a jerk,

750
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:14,359
Speaker 1: but okay, but you should care about it pragmatically. If

751
00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:16,680
Speaker 1: you give a crap about your property values and about

752
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:21,840
Speaker 1: your tack space. It all connects. So tell us about

753
00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:23,240
Speaker 1: what alex is talking about.

754
00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:26,319
Speaker 2: Yeah. In twenty fourteen, there was an ebola outbreak in

755
00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:28,880
Speaker 2: West Africa, and most people in liber and in the

756
00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:32,080
Speaker 2: United States knew absolutely nothing about it until the first

757
00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:36,440
Speaker 2: American intracted ebola and then suddenly it was a national emergency.

758
00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:38,840
Speaker 2: But it was a big deal for us at the

759
00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:42,799
Speaker 2: time because we shortly after the breakout, we lost two

760
00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:43,680
Speaker 2: of our foster.

761
00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:45,600
Speaker 3: Moms and they're in two Ebola.

762
00:40:46,640 --> 00:40:49,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, two of our foster mom and their whole families,

763
00:40:49,239 --> 00:40:49,640
Speaker 2: like their.

764
00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:52,799
Speaker 1: Entire Linebola is a terrible death too.

765
00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:54,120
Speaker 3: It is.

766
00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:57,240
Speaker 2: At the time of the outbreak, it was about ninety

767
00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:02,279
Speaker 2: percent fatal. The chances of surviving were almost impossible. We

768
00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:06,960
Speaker 2: had two nurses who who also passed away from ebola,

769
00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:10,480
Speaker 2: so in trying to help other people survive. So it

770
00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:13,440
Speaker 2: was an incredibly scary time and so we you know,

771
00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:15,960
Speaker 2: I'm in communication with Peter almost every day. I was

772
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:17,560
Speaker 2: like every day he would call me and tell me

773
00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:20,120
Speaker 2: and let me know if everyone was okay. And so

774
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:23,719
Speaker 2: the the biggest thing that we could do to help

775
00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:26,640
Speaker 2: was the hand washing buckets, just to make sure that

776
00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:31,359
Speaker 2: everybody washed their hands constantly and exactly do that. If

777
00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:34,719
Speaker 2: you don't clean water exactly well, soap that's why you need,

778
00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:39,440
Speaker 2: right But we so we we bought hundreds, if not

779
00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:44,759
Speaker 2: thousands of buckets with faucets and bleach and soap, and

780
00:41:44,800 --> 00:41:46,640
Speaker 2: we gave those out to all of our families, to

781
00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:49,040
Speaker 2: everybody we could find, and after they got those buckets,

782
00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:50,640
Speaker 2: we didn't lose another kid.

783
00:41:53,719 --> 00:41:56,719
Speaker 3: But the point is, why do we care?

784
00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:03,600
Speaker 1: Because the world is connected now and it may COVID

785
00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:07,040
Speaker 1: may have broken out on bats in a cave or

786
00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:11,640
Speaker 1: in a lab and Wuhan or wherever. Who listen, I

787
00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:12,239
Speaker 1: said it may.

788
00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:13,080
Speaker 3: I don't know.

789
00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:17,640
Speaker 1: Anybody will ever pinpoint for sure?

790
00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:19,839
Speaker 3: Okay, well fine, it's lab.

791
00:42:20,080 --> 00:42:24,040
Speaker 1: The point is it happened literally halfway around the world

792
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:27,200
Speaker 1: from us, and it killed all of the people are killed.

793
00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:31,560
Speaker 1: A bola killed people here and scared the hell out

794
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:35,439
Speaker 1: of people in the United States. So why why should

795
00:42:35,520 --> 00:42:40,680
Speaker 1: we care? Because basic health, basic safety, basic education makes

796
00:42:40,719 --> 00:42:44,560
Speaker 1: a world a better place for all of us. From

797
00:42:44,600 --> 00:42:46,520
Speaker 1: a pragmatic standpoint.

798
00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:50,200
Speaker 2: It was the the US stepped up and helped Liberia

799
00:42:50,560 --> 00:42:51,799
Speaker 2: at that At that time, it was one of the

800
00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:55,439
Speaker 2: most proud moments for me as an American, was that

801
00:42:56,239 --> 00:42:59,359
Speaker 2: most of the most Americans have no idea the United

802
00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:03,400
Speaker 2: States time to Liberia, but at that moment when Liberia

803
00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:06,840
Speaker 2: needed somebody to step up and help them, the United

804
00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:10,759
Speaker 2: States sent support there. And Sierra Leone was founded by

805
00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:15,640
Speaker 2: was part of England, so the UK sent resources to

806
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:19,759
Speaker 2: Sierra Leone and the French sent support to Kotova. No

807
00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:21,880
Speaker 2: Guinea was the third country that had it, and so

808
00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:24,279
Speaker 2: it was it was actually a good moment for me

809
00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:29,200
Speaker 2: to see these nations actually doing something to help these

810
00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:32,040
Speaker 2: countries who desperately needed it at the time. You know,

811
00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:35,000
Speaker 2: the sad part of it is that they did it

812
00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:37,680
Speaker 2: because they didn't want a bullet to come to their countries.

813
00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,359
Speaker 3: Got was it because of their abject generosity or because

814
00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:42,719
Speaker 3: they didn't want to bowl to spread out?

815
00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:45,400
Speaker 2: At least they were at least they were there, like

816
00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:48,200
Speaker 2: you know, they needed they I mean, library could not

817
00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:50,719
Speaker 2: have ended a bullet without world's help.

818
00:43:53,160 --> 00:43:55,600
Speaker 3: So what does it cost to sponsor one of these kids?

819
00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:59,120
Speaker 2: Twenty five dollars a month, twenty five bucks a month.

820
00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:02,000
Speaker 3: We'll get a kid educate. Yeah, that's it.

821
00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:05,520
Speaker 2: That's it. And not only that that So the base

822
00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:10,560
Speaker 2: of what our sponsorship kids get is tuition. They get backpacks,

823
00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:13,879
Speaker 2: that get school shoes. Then we have some kids who

824
00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:17,200
Speaker 2: are in even deeper poverty. And so we have several

825
00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:19,759
Speaker 2: families that also get rice support every month.

826
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:23,839
Speaker 1: How can I, as a donor be assured that that

827
00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:25,600
Speaker 1: money gets to that kid?

828
00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:26,960
Speaker 3: How does that work?

829
00:44:27,040 --> 00:44:27,360
Speaker 4: Okay?

830
00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:30,400
Speaker 2: So all of the money for Starfish kids goes into

831
00:44:30,800 --> 00:44:34,040
Speaker 2: the fund and then every year, like so, I'm getting

832
00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:36,000
Speaker 2: ready to go to library in September. I'm going to

833
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:39,320
Speaker 2: be bringing all the tuition money with me to Liberia

834
00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:42,760
Speaker 2: and so I'm there when all the kids register for school.

835
00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:46,080
Speaker 2: So and then I get all the receipts literally take care. Yeah,

836
00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:48,319
Speaker 2: when we register the kids, I'm there and I get

837
00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:51,600
Speaker 2: the receipts for the school. So we go and right

838
00:44:51,640 --> 00:44:54,160
Speaker 2: now my staff and library are doing home visits for

839
00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:56,560
Speaker 2: each one of our kids. They're going to their houses.

840
00:44:56,719 --> 00:44:59,200
Speaker 2: They're saying where they sleep, who they live with. We

841
00:44:59,280 --> 00:45:01,560
Speaker 2: get their con information and we find out what their

842
00:45:01,560 --> 00:45:04,480
Speaker 2: health concerns are. And then we get new pictures of

843
00:45:04,520 --> 00:45:07,520
Speaker 2: the kids every year, and then we register them for school.

844
00:45:07,640 --> 00:45:10,160
Speaker 2: So we have learned the hard way not to give

845
00:45:10,200 --> 00:45:14,720
Speaker 2: cash to people. So we always get receipts for everything

846
00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:17,160
Speaker 2: that we do, so that I can so that I

847
00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:18,359
Speaker 2: can removed.

848
00:45:18,080 --> 00:45:20,919
Speaker 1: Value that want to support. You can rest assured these

849
00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:21,880
Speaker 1: kids are getting.

850
00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:25,160
Speaker 2: Us money there. Yeah, even the kids on the rice support,

851
00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:28,200
Speaker 2: I get their picture with the bag of rice every month.

852
00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:30,759
Speaker 2: So when the kids go to the doctor, I get

853
00:45:30,800 --> 00:45:33,239
Speaker 2: a picture of the receipt from the clinic that they

854
00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:33,560
Speaker 2: went to.

855
00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:37,080
Speaker 1: I didn't grow up with a whole lot and sometimes

856
00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:40,840
Speaker 1: being a spooled, impetuous American kid like all of my

857
00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:42,320
Speaker 1: own children and pretty.

858
00:45:42,080 --> 00:45:43,000
Speaker 3: Much are biolsisy.

859
00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:46,360
Speaker 1: Listen, I wouldn't always finish what was on my plate,

860
00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:52,120
Speaker 1: and my mom would say, my mom would say, you know,

861
00:45:53,440 --> 00:45:56,360
Speaker 1: you should eat that and quit being such a selfish

862
00:45:56,400 --> 00:45:59,560
Speaker 1: little turd because they're they're kids starving and.

863
00:45:59,640 --> 00:46:02,839
Speaker 2: Afford, I used to say. And my joke was, and

864
00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:04,760
Speaker 2: I know their names right.

865
00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:07,520
Speaker 3: That's why I set it up for you. When I

866
00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:08,600
Speaker 3: read you said that.

867
00:46:08,560 --> 00:46:11,480
Speaker 2: I died laugh because you could say, yeah.

868
00:46:11,160 --> 00:46:13,719
Speaker 3: They're kids starving Africa, and I know who they are.

869
00:46:14,719 --> 00:46:16,760
Speaker 3: Eat your food, you little spoiled brat.

870
00:46:17,160 --> 00:46:19,560
Speaker 2: Oh Peter had the chance to come to United States

871
00:46:19,560 --> 00:46:22,400
Speaker 2: a couple of times, and one time, you know, making

872
00:46:22,400 --> 00:46:24,640
Speaker 2: dinner whatever, and I'm calling the kids to come and eat,

873
00:46:24,640 --> 00:46:27,000
Speaker 2: and he comes to the kitchen and he goes, you

874
00:46:27,120 --> 00:46:32,640
Speaker 2: have to call the children. You're like, our kids are

875
00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:33,760
Speaker 2: waiting at the door.

876
00:46:35,760 --> 00:46:37,080
Speaker 3: That's funny but sad.

877
00:46:37,320 --> 00:46:43,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think it's beautiful that you're making all

878
00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:46,520
Speaker 1: of the suffort to make it better for these children.

879
00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:50,439
Speaker 1: And starting at the ground up and cleaning water and

880
00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:53,960
Speaker 1: everything else. How do people find out more about Teamwork Africa.

881
00:46:54,120 --> 00:46:56,719
Speaker 2: We have a website, teamwork Africa dot org. We're very

882
00:46:56,719 --> 00:46:59,680
Speaker 2: active on Facebook, so you can find Teamwork Africa on Facebook.

883
00:46:59,719 --> 00:47:01,919
Speaker 2: And we have a media person and so she does

884
00:47:01,920 --> 00:47:03,560
Speaker 2: the Instagram and all that kind of stuff too.

885
00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:05,680
Speaker 3: Somebody wants to get in touch with you, yeah, you.

886
00:47:05,640 --> 00:47:09,240
Speaker 2: Can email me for sure, Peggy at Teamwork Africa.

887
00:47:09,280 --> 00:47:12,560
Speaker 3: Do at work Alex, same thing of for me over there. Yeah.

888
00:47:12,600 --> 00:47:16,600
Speaker 6: One of the things, it's like the Mountain Villager story

889
00:47:16,680 --> 00:47:18,640
Speaker 6: that's not quite the name of it, but the guy

890
00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:22,000
Speaker 6: talking about the fencing. Oh and then the also to

891
00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:25,040
Speaker 6: the story of the girl where people thought, you know,

892
00:47:25,160 --> 00:47:28,200
Speaker 6: maybe she was promiscuous, but you new selling else and yeah.

893
00:47:28,600 --> 00:47:33,239
Speaker 2: Yeah, So we wanted to learn how to teach self

894
00:47:33,239 --> 00:47:36,480
Speaker 2: sustainability and we wanted to point out why giving handouts

895
00:47:36,560 --> 00:47:39,839
Speaker 2: didn't solve any problems, and so we started found out but.

896
00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:43,160
Speaker 4: A handouts set and if you look at our logo,

897
00:47:43,239 --> 00:47:45,239
Speaker 4: we have you know, the little people trying to you know,

898
00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:46,239
Speaker 4: help the other person up.

899
00:47:46,680 --> 00:47:48,239
Speaker 2: So one of the stories that we used in our

900
00:47:48,280 --> 00:47:50,879
Speaker 2: training for self sustainability was about a community who lived

901
00:47:50,960 --> 00:47:52,960
Speaker 2: up on a mountain and there was a really rugged

902
00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:56,200
Speaker 2: trail and people kept sliding down off the trail and

903
00:47:56,239 --> 00:47:59,920
Speaker 2: getting hurt or dying, and so one you know, kind

904
00:47:59,920 --> 00:48:01,719
Speaker 2: of hard group came in and they said, well, what

905
00:48:01,760 --> 00:48:04,000
Speaker 2: you guys need is a clinic at the bottom of

906
00:48:04,040 --> 00:48:06,759
Speaker 2: this mountain, so them people get hurt, they can take

907
00:48:06,800 --> 00:48:09,839
Speaker 2: them to the clinic and get treatment. So they went

908
00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:11,640
Speaker 2: back to wherever they were from and raised money and

909
00:48:11,640 --> 00:48:13,920
Speaker 2: built the clinic and funded it and staffed it. But

910
00:48:14,040 --> 00:48:16,360
Speaker 2: over time that got really burdened some and they couldn't

911
00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:18,719
Speaker 2: keep raising money to pay the salaries and get all

912
00:48:18,760 --> 00:48:20,719
Speaker 2: the medicine and stuff, and eventually the clinic closed and

913
00:48:20,760 --> 00:48:23,319
Speaker 2: people kept falling off the mountain getting hurt and dying.

914
00:48:23,680 --> 00:48:26,040
Speaker 2: So another group from a really big city came and said, no,

915
00:48:26,200 --> 00:48:29,000
Speaker 2: what you need is an ambulance. So if you have

916
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:31,160
Speaker 2: an ambulance at the bottom of the hill, then when

917
00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:33,440
Speaker 2: someone gets hurt, you can get in the ambulance and

918
00:48:33,480 --> 00:48:36,319
Speaker 2: then drive to the hospital and the city. So but

919
00:48:36,520 --> 00:48:39,200
Speaker 2: you know, the ambulance needs new tires all the time,

920
00:48:39,239 --> 00:48:41,239
Speaker 2: and it kept breaking down, and then eventually they just

921
00:48:41,239 --> 00:48:44,439
Speaker 2: got tired of paying for that ambulance, and so there

922
00:48:44,480 --> 00:48:47,759
Speaker 2: the ambulance sits. So the community is sitting there going, well,

923
00:48:47,760 --> 00:48:50,680
Speaker 2: what are we going to do about this problem? And

924
00:48:50,719 --> 00:48:52,839
Speaker 2: this old man said, well, I didn't want to say

925
00:48:52,880 --> 00:48:56,480
Speaker 2: anything when the outsiders were here, but I was thinking

926
00:48:56,560 --> 00:49:00,440
Speaker 2: we could build a fence along the path that people

927
00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:04,960
Speaker 2: would stop falling off the side of the mountain. Crazy

928
00:49:05,080 --> 00:49:07,879
Speaker 2: thought we could have down some of our trees and

929
00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:11,399
Speaker 2: we could build our own railing to keep people from

930
00:49:11,440 --> 00:49:14,239
Speaker 2: falling off, and we could maintain it on our own

931
00:49:14,520 --> 00:49:16,080
Speaker 2: without any help from anybody else.

932
00:49:18,040 --> 00:49:23,160
Speaker 1: Old saying is you can keep pulling drowning kids out

933
00:49:23,200 --> 00:49:25,359
Speaker 1: of the river, which is a beautiful thing to do,

934
00:49:25,560 --> 00:49:28,439
Speaker 1: but eventually you need to wonder why they're falling in

935
00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:29,240
Speaker 1: in the first place.

936
00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:29,760
Speaker 2: Exactly.

937
00:49:30,960 --> 00:49:35,200
Speaker 1: Yeah, So how much money was wasted on a clinic

938
00:49:35,239 --> 00:49:37,719
Speaker 1: and an ambulance because we went in to tell them

939
00:49:37,719 --> 00:49:40,640
Speaker 1: what they needed when all we had to do was ask, hey,

940
00:49:41,239 --> 00:49:43,120
Speaker 1: how can we help you with this fountain thing?

941
00:49:43,120 --> 00:49:43,879
Speaker 3: What do you all think?

942
00:49:44,080 --> 00:49:44,319
Speaker 2: Right?

943
00:49:45,320 --> 00:49:47,719
Speaker 6: And the bottom up solutions the people closest to the problem,

944
00:49:47,800 --> 00:49:48,600
Speaker 6: or bottom.

945
00:49:48,280 --> 00:49:50,840
Speaker 1: Up solution people because the problems always know the answer.

946
00:49:50,920 --> 00:49:54,840
Speaker 1: Get my hand up out of hand out, and things

947
00:49:54,920 --> 00:49:57,319
Speaker 1: change and they have ownership on it because it's their

948
00:49:57,680 --> 00:50:02,200
Speaker 1: idea and they know what it is. Right, beautiful story.

949
00:50:04,840 --> 00:50:21,720
Speaker 1: We'll be right back. We talked early about very sad

950
00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:27,520
Speaker 1: truth of assault. You have a story about a girl,

951
00:50:28,640 --> 00:50:32,480
Speaker 1: I'll just let you tell it that some thought might

952
00:50:32,560 --> 00:50:36,280
Speaker 1: be promiscuous, but it turned out, yeah, something completely different.

953
00:50:36,480 --> 00:50:38,760
Speaker 2: I met Lomoni and one of my very first trips

954
00:50:38,760 --> 00:50:40,759
Speaker 2: to Liberia, she was four or five years old, and

955
00:50:40,840 --> 00:50:43,960
Speaker 2: she had a growth on her eye and when I

956
00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:46,200
Speaker 2: went back ahead gotten noticely bigger, and so we were

957
00:50:46,200 --> 00:50:49,000
Speaker 2: able to take Lomoni and get her treatment. Unfortunately, we

958
00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:51,120
Speaker 2: weren't able to save her eye, but we were able

959
00:50:51,160 --> 00:50:53,480
Speaker 2: to remove the tumor. And so from that time on

960
00:50:53,640 --> 00:50:56,640
Speaker 2: she lived at our campus in Monrovia to go to school.

961
00:50:57,000 --> 00:51:00,400
Speaker 2: And she was a super sweet, very shy little girl.

962
00:51:01,239 --> 00:51:03,560
Speaker 2: So she lived there for several years. And then in

963
00:51:03,600 --> 00:51:08,359
Speaker 2: twenty nineteen, when Peter died, just chaos just erupted, and

964
00:51:08,400 --> 00:51:11,399
Speaker 2: nobody knew what was going to happen. You know, Peter

965
00:51:11,560 --> 00:51:14,480
Speaker 2: held the whole thing together, and she ended up going.

966
00:51:14,719 --> 00:51:17,439
Speaker 2: She ended up leaving. I didn't know where she went,

967
00:51:18,040 --> 00:51:20,799
Speaker 2: and so I was in the community where I knew

968
00:51:20,800 --> 00:51:22,319
Speaker 2: that she was from where I had first met her,

969
00:51:22,320 --> 00:51:24,279
Speaker 2: and asking the principal of a school there, I'm like,

970
00:51:24,320 --> 00:51:26,480
Speaker 2: do you know Lomani? Do you know have you seen her?

971
00:51:26,520 --> 00:51:29,319
Speaker 2: Do you know where she went? And after I left

972
00:51:29,360 --> 00:51:31,839
Speaker 2: he contacted me he said, yeah, I found Lomoni. And

973
00:51:31,880 --> 00:51:34,680
Speaker 2: so I sent our staff from Monrovia to go see

974
00:51:34,680 --> 00:51:37,239
Speaker 2: if we could take her back to town so she

975
00:51:37,239 --> 00:51:39,359
Speaker 2: could keep going to school. And when they got there,

976
00:51:39,760 --> 00:51:42,959
Speaker 2: they said, Lemoni's just given birth to a baby. And

977
00:51:43,040 --> 00:51:45,960
Speaker 2: so my country director was like, oh, she has a boyfriend.

978
00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:47,640
Speaker 2: Now she's you know, off doing her old thing. And

979
00:51:47,640 --> 00:51:51,840
Speaker 2: I'm like, Frances, you don't know Lomone. I do, and

980
00:51:51,880 --> 00:51:54,319
Speaker 2: that's not the kind of girl that she is. Go

981
00:51:54,640 --> 00:51:58,000
Speaker 2: find out what happened to her. So we sent the

982
00:51:58,040 --> 00:52:01,160
Speaker 2: staff back to the village to to talk to find

983
00:52:01,200 --> 00:52:06,400
Speaker 2: out what happened. And the they said Lomoni was a

984
00:52:06,480 --> 00:52:10,640
Speaker 2: vulnerable girl. What vulnerable? Vulnerable just meant that there was

985
00:52:10,680 --> 00:52:12,520
Speaker 2: no she had no protectors. She didn't have a father

986
00:52:12,560 --> 00:52:16,080
Speaker 2: and uncle, a brother, nobody to defend her, so she

987
00:52:16,160 --> 00:52:19,799
Speaker 2: was an easy target. And Lomoni gave birth to a

988
00:52:19,800 --> 00:52:26,680
Speaker 2: baby girl three weeks after she turned fourteen, so I

989
00:52:26,760 --> 00:52:31,279
Speaker 2: was undone another moment where I was just like, you know,

990
00:52:31,680 --> 00:52:40,720
Speaker 2: so mad and so sad, and just we talked to her.

991
00:52:40,760 --> 00:52:43,120
Speaker 2: Her mother was still there and we asked her if

992
00:52:43,120 --> 00:52:45,040
Speaker 2: we could take Lomani and the baby back to town.

993
00:52:45,080 --> 00:52:47,799
Speaker 2: And we had have a wonderful woman who's one of

994
00:52:47,800 --> 00:52:51,719
Speaker 2: my best friends, Rosalind, who kind of raised Lomani when

995
00:52:51,760 --> 00:52:53,520
Speaker 2: she was in town. So LONEI went to go live

996
00:52:53,560 --> 00:52:56,799
Speaker 2: with with Rosalind. And then once you got to town,

997
00:52:56,840 --> 00:53:00,279
Speaker 2: they had me on video call and I knew, I

998
00:53:00,320 --> 00:53:02,200
Speaker 2: knew they were going to ask me to give the

999
00:53:02,239 --> 00:53:06,680
Speaker 2: baby a name, and I was like, all these feelings

1000
00:53:06,680 --> 00:53:09,360
Speaker 2: are just so huge. And so I'm talking to Rosalind

1001
00:53:09,960 --> 00:53:14,120
Speaker 2: and she's shown me this beautiful baby girl and she said, says, Peggy,

1002
00:53:14,160 --> 00:53:15,640
Speaker 2: what are we going to name her? And it just

1003
00:53:15,719 --> 00:53:22,800
Speaker 2: blurted out, Mercy. We'll name it Mercy. And from Mercy

1004
00:53:22,880 --> 00:53:26,840
Speaker 2: and Lumone's story, we have a dream of building a

1005
00:53:26,880 --> 00:53:30,960
Speaker 2: Mercy House, which will be housing for at risk girls,

1006
00:53:31,280 --> 00:53:34,640
Speaker 2: so that those girls who are vulnerable will be in

1007
00:53:34,680 --> 00:53:40,400
Speaker 2: a safe place, and also for girls who have already

1008
00:53:40,440 --> 00:53:42,960
Speaker 2: been assaulted and we didn't get there in time, that

1009
00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:45,840
Speaker 2: they can also have a safe place to recover and

1010
00:53:45,920 --> 00:53:49,320
Speaker 2: have a second chance at life. We have girls right now.

1011
00:53:49,440 --> 00:53:51,400
Speaker 2: We don't have the Mercy House built, but I have

1012
00:53:51,440 --> 00:53:55,160
Speaker 2: two girls right now who are in really bad spots

1013
00:53:55,239 --> 00:53:58,319
Speaker 2: and we need to find housing for them now, a

1014
00:53:58,360 --> 00:54:01,880
Speaker 2: safe place for them to be. One of our girls

1015
00:54:02,480 --> 00:54:04,640
Speaker 2: was living with her neighbor and her neighbor kicked her out,

1016
00:54:04,680 --> 00:54:07,120
Speaker 2: said she wasn't bring anything to the family, so she

1017
00:54:07,200 --> 00:54:09,520
Speaker 2: went to go live with a boy who had his

1018
00:54:09,560 --> 00:54:12,800
Speaker 2: own demands on her. And she's pregnant now, and.

1019
00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:15,879
Speaker 3: Like, what is she?

1020
00:54:16,840 --> 00:54:18,960
Speaker 2: Where's she going to go? Who's you know? We had

1021
00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:22,120
Speaker 2: another girl who got pregnant and ran away because she

1022
00:54:22,160 --> 00:54:24,120
Speaker 2: was sure her mom was going to kick her out

1023
00:54:24,239 --> 00:54:28,080
Speaker 2: because she was pregnant. So we have an incredible social

1024
00:54:28,120 --> 00:54:33,040
Speaker 2: worker in Liberia, Nima's Angeline, and she is she has

1025
00:54:33,200 --> 00:54:35,440
Speaker 2: We have a trauma counseling group. She meets with the

1026
00:54:35,440 --> 00:54:38,000
Speaker 2: girls twice a month and is trying to help them

1027
00:54:38,040 --> 00:54:42,680
Speaker 2: work through both the trauma of assault and also helping

1028
00:54:42,760 --> 00:54:47,080
Speaker 2: to tea helping to teach these girls that their body

1029
00:54:47,120 --> 00:54:49,799
Speaker 2: belongs to them and that nobody else has the right

1030
00:54:49,840 --> 00:54:53,200
Speaker 2: to touch it, and they can say no, and they

1031
00:54:53,200 --> 00:54:56,719
Speaker 2: can tell somebody when they're being harassed, and there are

1032
00:54:56,840 --> 00:55:03,400
Speaker 2: literally signs on schools in Liberia that's say no no

1033
00:55:03,560 --> 00:55:05,600
Speaker 2: sex for grades, no grades for sex.

1034
00:55:10,680 --> 00:55:13,360
Speaker 3: With all that you've done, there's so much more to do.

1035
00:55:15,600 --> 00:55:17,759
Speaker 2: The thing that ties it all together for me is

1036
00:55:17,800 --> 00:55:20,640
Speaker 2: that my entire life, what I've wanted more than anything

1037
00:55:20,680 --> 00:55:22,920
Speaker 2: in the whole world is to be a mom. And

1038
00:55:23,000 --> 00:55:26,360
Speaker 2: I have been blessed with five kids that I have

1039
00:55:26,440 --> 00:55:29,960
Speaker 2: the opportunity to raise, But there are so many kids

1040
00:55:30,080 --> 00:55:33,759
Speaker 2: in Liberia where I'm the only mom they've got, and

1041
00:55:33,800 --> 00:55:36,200
Speaker 2: they messaged me every day. I was I was like,

1042
00:55:36,239 --> 00:55:38,400
Speaker 2: I'm gonna see if I can remember the names of

1043
00:55:38,600 --> 00:55:41,440
Speaker 2: all of the kids that call me call me mom,

1044
00:55:41,560 --> 00:55:44,440
Speaker 2: And there's there's a good, good start on some of

1045
00:55:44,520 --> 00:55:47,720
Speaker 2: those kids that And some days, you know, like Sarah,

1046
00:55:47,800 --> 00:55:50,600
Speaker 2: she just needs me to say I love you, Sarah,

1047
00:55:50,960 --> 00:55:52,680
Speaker 2: Or it was Alicia's birth the other day and I'm like,

1048
00:55:52,719 --> 00:55:57,320
Speaker 2: happy birthday, dear. Like everybody needs to know they matter

1049
00:55:57,760 --> 00:56:01,279
Speaker 2: to someone, and for some of these kids, it's me

1050
00:56:01,480 --> 00:56:04,719
Speaker 2: way over here where they can. They just need to

1051
00:56:04,760 --> 00:56:08,239
Speaker 2: know that somebody cares, somebody sees them.

1052
00:56:08,760 --> 00:56:09,959
Speaker 3: How your names are on there?

1053
00:56:10,480 --> 00:56:14,520
Speaker 2: Fourteen fifteen sixteen, I was still going.

1054
00:56:16,360 --> 00:56:21,120
Speaker 1: Twenty five bucks a month. Yeah, teamwork Africa, y'all.

1055
00:56:22,440 --> 00:56:22,839
Speaker 3: And Army.

1056
00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:25,960
Speaker 1: Normal folks is about normal folks doing extraordinary things when

1057
00:56:26,000 --> 00:56:30,279
Speaker 1: they match their passion with an opportunity. And Peggy is a,

1058
00:56:31,320 --> 00:56:35,840
Speaker 1: I mean, tip top five star example of that. And

1059
00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:38,040
Speaker 1: I don't know how you can hear the story and

1060
00:56:38,080 --> 00:56:41,120
Speaker 1: hear her voice and hear her passion and understand the

1061
00:56:41,200 --> 00:56:44,480
Speaker 1: volume of need available and understand something. I suppose twenty

1062
00:56:44,480 --> 00:56:50,800
Speaker 1: five dollars could literally help change not only an individual's life,

1063
00:56:51,520 --> 00:56:54,680
Speaker 1: but join the ranks of the people that Peggy is

1064
00:56:54,719 --> 00:56:56,839
Speaker 1: trying to put together to change the culture of an

1065
00:56:57,000 --> 00:57:02,959
Speaker 1: entire country. One hearted Tom, Thanks for joining me, Thanks

1066
00:57:02,960 --> 00:57:05,000
Speaker 1: for telling your story.

1067
00:57:05,200 --> 00:57:06,840
Speaker 3: You are an inspiration, Peggy.

1068
00:57:06,920 --> 00:57:10,759
Speaker 1: It's pretty phenomenal, as well as Mark and your children. Candidly,

1069
00:57:11,239 --> 00:57:15,319
Speaker 1: your entire family. The work that they've all committed all

1070
00:57:15,320 --> 00:57:16,920
Speaker 1: because you wanted to adopt a kid.

1071
00:57:17,840 --> 00:57:20,120
Speaker 2: Tells you we're on our way to somewhere else.

1072
00:57:20,360 --> 00:57:21,560
Speaker 3: What's Michael doing now?

1073
00:57:22,200 --> 00:57:24,680
Speaker 2: He is actually in the National Guard.

1074
00:57:25,360 --> 00:57:27,560
Speaker 3: He's in the United States National Guard.

1075
00:57:27,760 --> 00:57:31,120
Speaker 2: He's trying. He had some trouble with the entrance stuff,

1076
00:57:31,160 --> 00:57:33,120
Speaker 2: so he had to get some tutoring and stuff. But

1077
00:57:33,240 --> 00:57:34,560
Speaker 2: he's trying that out.

1078
00:57:35,560 --> 00:57:38,320
Speaker 3: Holy smokes, is that actually proud?

1079
00:57:38,640 --> 00:57:45,720
Speaker 1: Yeah, phenomenal, That's phenomenal. Peggy Harvson Everybody, co founder and

1080
00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:49,800
Speaker 1: US director of Teamwork Africa from EA Claire, Wisconsin and

1081
00:57:50,960 --> 00:57:55,919
Speaker 1: Liberia and points of between doing God's work, changing lives

1082
00:57:55,960 --> 00:57:56,600
Speaker 1: one at a time.

1083
00:57:57,280 --> 00:57:59,760
Speaker 3: Peggy, thank you, Thank you so.

1084
00:57:59,760 --> 00:58:06,800
Speaker 1: Much, happy, and thank you for joining us this week.

1085
00:58:07,240 --> 00:58:10,960
Speaker 1: If Peggy halperson has inspired you in general, or better yet,

1086
00:58:11,360 --> 00:58:15,800
Speaker 1: to take action by adopting a child, easily sponsoring the

1087
00:58:16,000 --> 00:58:19,600
Speaker 1: education of their Liberian students for only twenty five bucks

1088
00:58:19,640 --> 00:58:22,560
Speaker 1: a month, or something else entirely, please.

1089
00:58:22,360 --> 00:58:24,560
Speaker 3: Let me know. I really want to hear about it.

1090
00:58:24,600 --> 00:58:28,480
Speaker 1: You can write me anytime at Bill at normalfolks dot us,

1091
00:58:28,520 --> 00:58:31,040
Speaker 1: and I'm telling you ask anybody who's ever emailed me.

1092
00:58:31,440 --> 00:58:32,360
Speaker 3: I will respond.

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Speaker 1: And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with friends,

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00:58:36,200 --> 00:58:39,240
Speaker 1: share it on social subscribe to the podcast, rate and

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00:58:39,320 --> 00:58:43,240
Speaker 1: review it. Please join the army at normalfolks dot us

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00:58:43,360 --> 00:58:45,400
Speaker 1: any and all of these things that will help us

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Speaker 1: grow an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Courtney. Until

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Speaker 1: next time, do what you can