One of the highlights of any trip we take to Liberia is buying quilts and quilted wall hangings from the “quilt ladies,” Maude and Alice. The colors they choose are vibrant and the designs often represent things Liberian. Their work is unrivaled. These two women survived Liberia’s civil wars making and selling quilts. They now teach others how to quilt, so they too can make a living.
As much as I enjoy looking at their beautiful handiwork, I love visiting with them and getting to know them. Maude shared a story about the birth of her granddaughter that both impressed me and humbled me.
When Maude’s granddaughter was born, she weighed about 2 lbs, so they took her to the hospital where she was placed in an incubator. Each incubator held three to four babies. The baby’s mother was also hospitalized. Each bed in the ward had about three women per bed; Maude’s daughter shared a bed with two other women. Maude felt she could give her better care at home and declared her intention to take her home. The hospital said if she took her daughter, her grandbaby had to go also. She made the decision to take both of them home.
She wore the baby tied to her chest by fabric to keep her warm, and she did not wash her so she wouldn’t get cold. In order to feed her granddaughter, she squeezed milk from her daughter into a spoon and fed the baby a little at a time. When her daughter’s breast got swollen, a woman told her to heat some pawpaw (papaya) leaves and apply them to the breast to reduce the swelling.
I was astounded at Maude’s instinctual wisdom and touched by the love that kept her granddaughter alive. The girl is now six years old.
To quote Alice, Maude was “guided by God.”
As much as I enjoy looking at their beautiful handiwork, I love visiting with them and getting to know them. Maude shared a story about the birth of her granddaughter that both impressed me and humbled me.
When Maude’s granddaughter was born, she weighed about 2 lbs, so they took her to the hospital where she was placed in an incubator. Each incubator held three to four babies. The baby’s mother was also hospitalized. Each bed in the ward had about three women per bed; Maude’s daughter shared a bed with two other women. Maude felt she could give her better care at home and declared her intention to take her home. The hospital said if she took her daughter, her grandbaby had to go also. She made the decision to take both of them home.
She wore the baby tied to her chest by fabric to keep her warm, and she did not wash her so she wouldn’t get cold. In order to feed her granddaughter, she squeezed milk from her daughter into a spoon and fed the baby a little at a time. When her daughter’s breast got swollen, a woman told her to heat some pawpaw (papaya) leaves and apply them to the breast to reduce the swelling.
I was astounded at Maude’s instinctual wisdom and touched by the love that kept her granddaughter alive. The girl is now six years old.
To quote Alice, Maude was “guided by God.”
By Kathy Beth Stavinoha
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