Katey Schein & Justin Prud'homme

I think it’s always helpful to consider things from different perspectives.  That’s hard to do on your own.  For a truly fresh perspective, you need another person; preferably one who is new to the situation.  Enter Justin Prud’homme.

A mutual friend put me in touch with a young couple from the U.S. beginning an assignment in Monrovia, Liberia – newlyweds, Katey Schein and Justin Prud’home. (Learn more about them at the bottom of this post.)

I mentioned I was hoping to get some recent photos of the children and the Refuge Home and Justin jumped at the opportunity.  He’s a freelance writer and agreed to write about his visit with Pastor Andrew and the children. Here’s Justin’s fresh perspective for you…

On the busy asphalt leading away from the port of Monrovia towards Battery Factory community, there is a single sign to indicate which dirt side street leads to Esther’s Hope Refuge Home. Ageing and faded, the sign is obscured by red dust that comes up off the shoulder. You would be forgiven for missing it as the sign fails to compete with the alarming traffic for attention.

The sign is rendered even more inadequate by the jarring path that aggressively attacks cars as they follow it’s twists and turns. First through lumber yards, then under clothing lines and finally ending at a small, sandy communal area, bordered on one side by the bamboo fence of Esther’s Hope Refuge Home.

School is out for the Christmas break when I first visit the Home, so when Pastor Andrew Gombay greets me at the bamboo gate thirty sets of curious eyes watch us shake hands, then fix on me as they vocally welcome me in unison.

Mid-Thirties and clean cut, Pastor Andrew has a genial calm about him as we walk around the tiny compound. He asks about Pastor Bill Pevlor, our mutual acquaintance and the person who introduced me to Pastor Andrew, he asks about Katey and I and our reason for moving to Liberia. He shows me around the humble rooms of the Home, and we talk about how he was moved to start Esther’s Hope after hearing the testimonies of parishioners at church, how after a particularly troubling testimony he started to wonder what he could do to help, and how he started by taking in two boys to live with him.

Such ‘adoptions’ are a story I’ve heard a number of times since arriving in Liberia. Relatives and sometimes non-relatives take in one or more kids from another family to give them a better life. Some kids are temporarily adopted, just until their parents can get back on their feet, and some are more permanent adoptees. I think it’s a testament to the strength of community in Liberia or perhaps most to the importance Liberians place on family. For Pastor Andrew it was only the beginning.

The Esther’s Hope Refuge Home is now a Child Rescue project of the Victorious Faith Ministries (Algoma, WI). Thirty children are housed at the Home, some are orphans and others have a parent or parents who are unable to care for them. As we walk around the small yard Pastor Andrew explains that in the best case, the Home is able to re-unite children with parents or other relatives who are able to care for the young charges, but it’s not always easy or possible.

As Pastor Andrew tells it, the government has a law in place that prohibits children over 18 years of age from staying at homes like Esther’s Hope. So pressure exists to make sure the children have somewhere to go after they’re 18, because the streets of Monrovia are no place for an 18-year old orphan.

But pressure from an approaching age limit is far from the chief challenge facing Pastor Andrew. A more pressing concern is funding. He admits that there have been several times when he’s been unsure of where the next week’s food will come from, where money to pay for tuition will come from, or where clothing will come from. He has a lot of good insight into fundraising, and has obviously thought a lot about it, but solutions remain difficult to come by. In talking about the land the Home is built on (paid for) he accidentally lets slip that he still lives in rented accommodation. Later I find out that some of the staff, all parishioners equally passionate about the Home, are being paid in bits and pieces as and when money comes available

At this point I think I might be starting to worry about those questions too, so obvious is the need at Esther’s Hope. But Pastor Andrew gives a relaxed smile and says each time he has prayed his prayers have been answered in some way.

Eventually we walk back to the covered area that the children have gathered in this morning. The purpose of my visit is to take profile pictures of the children to update the Esther’s Hope website. After a few group photos the children start coming up one by one to sit inches from the camera lens. Some are shy, some unsure of where they should look, but Pastor Andrew sits at arms reach away and talks to each of them. He reassures the wary and playfully teases the confident. Out of each child he manages to coax a genuine smile. The smiles remain as the children form a half circle and start to sing once all have been photographed. Then a djembe drum comes out and one by one they work their way into the middle to dance to the music, from the youngest and smallest of them, to the seventeen year-olds nearly out of time at the Home.

The joy on their faces is genuine and the scene is incredibly uplifting. Finally they bow their heads and pray for my safety and wellbeing before Pastor Andrew walks me back to the car, back to a life of plenty and my own family.

About the author…

In April of 2009, newlyweds Katey and Justin decided to actively look for an opportunity to move overseas for a work assignment. Born in Chicago, IL, Katey studied at George Washington University in Washington DC and soon after secured a job there working on food security. Justin is a citizen of Mauritius and was living in Virginia having stayed in the USA to work following graduation from Elizabethtown College, PA. They met through rugby in Washington DC, where they both played, and were married in December 2008.

In August 2009 Katey was working for USAID in Washington DC when she was offered an opportunity to move to Liberia to work on USAID funded food security programs there. Two months later, on October 8th, they arrived in Monrovia for the start of their assignment.

Katey works as a Food For Peace Officer for USAID Liberia, and Justin is currently a freelance writer but looking for fulltime employment. They have both really enjoyed their first three months in Liberia, and look forward to the rest of their tour.

They maintain their own blog: Softly Softly catches Monkey
(“Softly Softly catches Monkey” is a Liberian expression that means “easy does it.”)

You’ll be seeing more of Justin’s photographic work on the Esther’s Hope blog and website in the near future.

Feel free to leave any comments for Justin and Katey.

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