When you share knowledge you usually never know if you inspired anyone or made a difference. This past February board members of Dignity:Liberia and talented volunteers traveled to Liberia to teach several sessions on how to sew washable/reusable menstrual pads and holders. Classes were full and learners were serious. Approximately 435 persons attended classes. Ages of learners ranged from 6th grade to women with families. Women talked about making kits for themselves and family members, or even to make kits to sell in the market. Boys told me they were going to go home and teach their mothers and aunties. Obviously, there is a big need and much interest.
 
Several of the volunteers have taught these classes before. But I was new to the project. So new that a young woman in my first class said, “ah, we are cohort one” and nodded her head. She proceeded to tell me that she and the other women at the table intended to teach these classes in rural areas and other high needs locations. I was hot and stressed and didn’t take it all in. Yes, cohort one challenged my teaching skills. We shared contact info but I didn’t assume I would ever hear from her. Little did I know that she indeed had big plans.
 
The lady who talked to me was Samkay Karworzohn and she is the president of “TEAM, Inc” in Liberia. It is a small NGO that is involved with many organizations that support women and children. Their name stands for “Together Everyone Achieves More”. Areas they have been involved in include substance abuse prevention and awareness, mental and reproductive health, and social inclusion of vulnerable groups. The women are mentors and advocates.

Before I left Liberia Samkay reached out to me as promised. She wrote about “period poverty”. She told me women are shunned if they try to go out in public with no way to collect their monthly flow. They cannot work or go to school for that week so fall behind. Their mental health suffers. Samkay wanted to make a difference. She knew these kits were important.
 
I returned to the U.S. in March. Samkay busied herself trying to find partners and teaching locations. She stayed positive.
 
On April 5, 2024 TEAM held its first class in Kakata. This is a small town about an hour northwest of the capitol. 40 women and girls attended and 95% were able to finish their project. TEAM provided the fabric, plastic and pattern as well as needles and thread. A success but just the beginning.

On July 4th, the United States celebrated Independence Day. The day was observed with fireworks, picnics, and concerts. July 4th commemorates the date in 1776 when the original 13 colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. The day is associated with pride, freedom, justice, and peace.
 
On July 26th, Liberia will observe its independence from the American Colonization Society. Liberia’s national anthem includes the words, “Long live Liberia, happy land! A home of glorious liberty, By God’s command!”
 
Many women who suffer from obstetric fistula don’t feel as if the words “freedom,” “peace,” “happy,” and even “justice” apply to them. Their freedom is restricted, not by another nation, but by the constant leaking of urine or feces (sometimes both). They feel no peace as they have to scrub sheets two or three times a day, or clean their bodies and clothing even more often. They are sad, not happy. They are not at peace. Their situation is frequently caused by the injustice of limited healthcare or funds to pay for prenatal care.
 
Dignity:Liberia exists to give women freedom from the fear of developing a fistula by providing them with prenatal care by a medically trained midwife in its maternity waiting home, House of Hope and Dignity.  Should the expectant mother require emergency treatment in a hospital setting, we will have the ability to transport her to the nearest hospital by ambulance. 
 
The words associated with the national ambitions of both nations apply in a very personal way to the mother and her child: a freedom from fear, peace of mind, pride and happiness at the safe delivery of a child, long life for both mother and child.
 
So many of us take access to skilled medical care for granted. However, that is not always a given. It takes a dream to reach this goal and it takes support to help achieve the dream. Please do your part in making this dream become a reality. Thank you!

Imagine you live in a rural village in Liberia, where pregnant women rely on the traditional tribal midwife (TTM) to deliver their babies. She’s an old woman. She delivered you, and you’re 16 years old!  Your best friend, Fatu, is a year older than you.
 
Fatu got pregnant last year and when the pain grabbed her (when she went into labor), she relied on the TTM, just as your mother had when she delivered you and your younger siblings. This time something went wrong. Fatu was in labor for 5 days. The baby was stuck in the birth canal. You listened to your friend screaming in pain. Finally, the TTM said Fatu needed to get medical treatment. 
 
When Fatu came back to the village, she was not the same. She was no longer the bubbly, outgoing friend you once knew. She had lost her baby and suffered an injury called obstetric fistula, causing her to leak urine. You hardly see her anymore because she’s ashamed of the smell it causes. When she did let you visit, she told you not to rely on the TTM when you get pregnant. She said you need to have a trained midwife tend to you.
 
Dignity:Liberia’s maternity waiting home, House of Hope and Dignity, is built: all interior and exterior work has been completed, it is painted inside and out, there is electricity, running water, rooms that can sleep two patients and beautiful landscaping, but no ambulance. The Ministry of Health requires that we have one before we can open our doors. 
 
Why?  Keep reading.
 
While in Liberia in March, Dignity:Liberia’s founder and president, Kathi Gutierrez, met a young woman who had just given birth. The mother told Kathi they had to cut her open for the birth of her boy whom she named “God’s Gift.”  When she arrived at the hospital, they couldn’t find a heartbeat. They thought the baby had died in the womb. After the baby was born by C-Section, he wasn’t breathing. They took the baby upstairs to their NICU and worked on him. Eventually he started breathing! The nurses told the mother that God had special things in store for her baby.
 
Even with pre-natal care, things can go wrong during the delivery of a baby. If our medically trained midwife determines an expectant mother at our home needs to deliver in a clinic, we will need to be able to quickly and safely transport her by ambulance. 
 
We hope the story of “God’s Gift” will inspire you to make a gift. For information on how to help us get our ambulance, go to our GoFundMe campaign, or go to our giving page. 

I find people have good hearts.  They want to help, but they have to know there’s a problem.  Someone has to tell them.  I recently made a presentation to the Brenham Evening Lions Club about Dignity:Liberia.  Some had heard of Liberia but knew nothing or little about the country.  They certainly had never heard of obstetric fistula.  However, they were eager to learn and were very interested in the pictures and information that I shared.  This made me wonder how our recent Dignity Advocates heard about Liberia and obstetric fistula.
 
Kay Green remembers reading about Liberia in an article in the Southern Baptist Women's magazine, Mission Mosaic.  A friend of hers, Carol Gutshall, contacted Dignity:Liberia’s founder and president, Kathi Gutierrez, who subsequently did a program at the Baptist Home, a nursing facility.  Kay’s ladies group began to sew dresses and reusable menstrual pads.  They later participated in a sewing day at board member Linda Thornsberry's church, First Baptist Church of Lee’s Summit.  
 
Susie Calaway learned about Dignity:Liberia and the obstetric fistula problem in the country from Kay.  They made their first trip to Liberia in 2019 and a second trip in 2020 just before the global shutdown due to the COVID pandemic.  They recently returned from their third 3rd “sewing trip” in March of this year.  Susie also participated in the “building trip” in 2021, when American and Liberian volunteers worked with the paid construction workers on House of Hope and Dignity, our maternity waiting home.  Kay and Susie shared what they learned about obstetric fistula and became part of the solution. 
 
After the recent workshops in Liberia, some of the participants passed on what they learned with other women and girls.  A young lady who attended one of the classes held on the Lott Carey Baptist Mission School campus, taught a class in her community, sharing what she learned.  Similarly, a group of young women who are members of an organization called TEAM – Together Everyone Achieves More, attended one of the 2024 reusable menstrual pad workshops in Monrovia and subsequently organized their own a reusable sanitary pad training sessions.  Following a class in Telecom community in Kakata, Margibi County, they received permission from Liberia’s Ministry of Justice to hold classes in women’s prisons.  They shared pictures and video with board member Anne-Marie Mueller.
 
The song “Pass it On” includes the line, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.”  You can be that spark!  Spread the word about obstetric fistula in Liberia and what Dignity:Liberia is doing to combat this injury.  Long-time supporter Miatta Caine recently wrote an article for TLC Africa.  There are other ways to spread the word: repost this blog on your Facebook newsfeed talk about obstetric fistula in small gatherings with friends.  How did you hear about obstetric fistula?  How did you learn about Dignity:Liberia?  Pass it on!

During the reusable menstrual pad workshop, Dignity:Liberia posted a number of photos taken by Matthew Walters and various team members to our Facebook page.  Today’s blog includes favorite photos taken by team members on their recent trip.
 
Dignity:Liberia board member Linda Thornsberry, who led the workshops, told me that on her first Saturday in Liberia, she attended an event sponsored by the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), that included a small market of items made by women and a meeting held by the organization.  Several members gave short talks.  They were interested in Dignity:Liberia and asked Dignity:Liberia’s Founder and President, Kathi Gutierrez, to give a short talk.  Linda spoke with several AWE members after the meeting.  On the following Monday, five or more AWE members came to the Rotary Sewing Workshop in Monrovia.  One of Linda’s favorite photos is of her with one of the students.
 
Kay Green’s favorite picture is one of her with Susie Calaway, dressed for the last day of teaching with their “class necessities” (pin cushions, patterns, etc.).  They are long-time friends who get to share a common love for mankind in faraway lands.  Kay and Susie have missioned together in Hawaii, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Liberia.  Liberians have stolen a piece of their hearts. 
 
Jenneh Wilson does not have sewing skills, but helped by serving as a supply runner, making gift bags, and managing registration. She set up the chairs and fans, got water and food, and helped with sewing as best she could.  Her favorite memory, however, was helping deliver a baby by c-section with Dr. Kebah at Trinity Medical Clinic.  It was a life-changing experience that filled her with love and joy.    
 
Jill Gordon wrote that there were too many touching moments to just pick one.  However, she greatly admired a “creative thinking young man” who showed her weaver bird nests, babies, and an egg.  He then he piled a bunch of lizards in her hand.  She wrote, “He’s destined for great things.”
 
Susie Calaway’s heart is into helping ladies in their pregnancies, and trying to prevent fistulas, so it was a great privilege for her to step inside the maternity home, House of Hope and Dignity.  She was surprised to see Friday, whom she met on the “building” trip and just had to hug him.  Her favorite picture is of the two of them looking out from the maternity waiting home.  She also walked the grounds, talked to a neighbor lady, who is planting a garden down past a well named “Rick’s Well,” after one of the Dignity:Advocates who helped with construction in 2021.  She enjoyed reminiscing of the time she spent bagging plant cuttings under Friday’s direction, and the excitement she felt of “being a part of it all.”

Kathi Gutierrez shared the story about visiting a little hospital around the corner from where the classes were being taught in Kakata.  They met a young mom who had just given birth.  Kathi asked the mom if she could see her baby.  The mother was very proud of her baby boy whom she had named God’s Gift.  She said they had to cut her open.  Kathi told her that she had the same cut when she had her son.  Kathi felt moved to pay the mother’s bill after finding out how much it was.  The nurses grew excited and told the woman “See? We told you this baby has destiny with God.”

As Kay wrote, the team was there for a mission - to equip girls and women to overcome the stigma of period poverty and to learn a solution to help them live a successful life.  She added, “If only one student passes the skill forward, the chain reaction to changing Liberian women's lives has begun.”
 
This has already happened!  Anne-Marie Mueller, another Dignity:Liberia board member, wrote  that the ladies from the first class held in Monrovia had formed a group TEAM – Together Everyone Achieves More – and have already held a "reusable sanitary pad training session in Telecom community in Kakata, Margibi County."  
 
Quoting Kay again: “I believe we finally have taught the correct group to keep the sewing and teaching going without us. It has been a great blessing to work with this like-minded, mission group to influence the ladies of Liberia.”  
 
Keep an eye on our Facebook page.  We will soon share photos of TEAM as well as a young lady who attended a class at Lott Carey who are keeping the “sewing and teaching” going. 

Whenever Dignity:Liberia donates supplies to the Rehab Center or to a hospital, we are thanked profusely.  We explain that the donations are not from us directly, but from donors back in the States.  However, we get the credit, because we are the faces that the recipients see.
 
A couple of weeks ago, our team returned from Liberia, where they conducted 10 workshops, teaching participants how to make reusable menstrual pads.  435 people attended the workshops, including school girls and boys, entrepreneurs, and members of other women-related non-profits.  Our goal was to help school-age girls stay in school so they could complete their education.  An educated girl is less likely to become a pregnant teenager who has to drop out of school, and more likely to become a wage-earning adult who can make choices about her life. 
 
Additionally, several business people attended with the goal of being able to make and sell these reusable personal hygiene products.  While someone purchasing a pad is having to spend money, they are not having to do so every month.  Many boys in our classes said they were going to teach their moms or sisters how to make the pads.  The impact on these 435 lives is huge! 
 
It would have been very difficult to hold these classes without the tireless help of Matthew Walters and Jackson Carter. 
 
Jackson drove for the team, picking up people and materials.  In addition to being an excellent driver, he is a highly skilled mechanic.  When there was a problem with one of the vehicles, he repaired it, even giving up his own truck’s battery to replace the one in ours! 
 
Matthew reserved rooms at the guesthouse in Kakata in advance of the team’s arrival.  He shared pictures and videos with me on a daily basis, which I was then able to post to Dignity:Liberia’s Facebook page.   
 
The women conducting the workshops got well-deserved credit, but Jackson and Matthew’s contributions were vital. They are unsung heroes, as are all of you who donated supplies and helped assemble material. 
 
To learn how to donate time, material or cash, go to https://www.dignityliberia.org/

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Florists, chocolatiers, restaurants, grocery stores, balloon makers, and card makers are working overtime to help sweethearts observe their special relationship. It is a day to celebrate romantic love. 
 
There are other kinds of love as well. I recall a cartoon strip called “Love Is,” which often depicted acts of kindness that showed love in action. I have seen many instances of love in action over the months of preparation for the upcoming menstrual pad workshops. Love is…
 

• people donating 532 yards of cotton, 482 yards of flannel, and enough sewing accessories to make 400 kits for workshop participants
• a church donating $235 in order to buy 1,600 large eye sewing needles
• 10 women in Texas volunteering on a rainy afternoon to assemble needles, pins, and cloth
  
• 6 women braving the snow and cold of the Midwest to plan the workshops and assemble supplies
• volunteers in Kentucky, Missouri, Oregon, and Texas making wrist pin cushions
• a woman in her 90s volunteering to gather pins in tubes
• a Rotarian in Liberia working on logistics and recruitment for the workshops
• a volunteer confirming that donated fabric was 100% cotton

 
This is just a sampling of what love is. I am amazed at the love people have for complete strangers in order to help ensure the success of the menstrual pad workshops which will start in 2 weeks in Monrovia.
 
The ramifications of the workshops are far-reaching. You see, many Liberian girls cannot afford to buy personal hygiene products, so each month they stay home during their menstrual cycle. This causes them to fall behind in school, and those who are unable to catch up, drop out. This can lead to early pregnancy and, as you know, a girl giving birth at too young an age may develop a fistula as her body is not yet ready for the childbirth process. By being able to have 2 reusable menstrual pads (and most of the supplies to make more), the girls who attend our workshops have hope and are more likely to stay in school. 
 
Additionally, a few local entrepreneurs will attend the workshops as well. Although we are donating supplies for the workshops, all items can be purchased locally in Liberia. Armed with the skills to make a much-needed product, these business women (and perhaps business men) will have a new source of income.
 
So regardless of how big or small the donation, even a tape measure or a spool of thread, this is what love is!

After I paid to send a package to my brother, the postal clerk pointed to the URL on my receipt and told me I could give my feedback by going to that address.  The next day we took our cat to the veterinarian.  Before we made it home, I had received an email asking me to rate our visit.  It seems as if everyone wants to be rated: doctors, mail services, department stores, dentists, chat session agents, airlines…  I never rate them. 
 
However, as I looked back at 2023 and thought about how much Dignity:Liberia has accomplished over the years, it occurred to me that you, our supporters, should know you receive top billing.
 
In 2023 we came pretty close to completing our Maternity Waiting Home, House of Hope and Dignity.  We just have a few more details to address before it’s operational!  The home’s construction was Phase I of a three phase project.  Phase II will be the construction of a dedicated fistula clinic.  But we have done so much more over the years.  We have:
 

• Held 2 immunization clinics in Charles Luke Town,
• Provided funds to Charles Luke Town during the Ebola crisis,
• Started a scholarship and provided supplies to the Phebe School of Nursing,
• Participated in “End Fistula” campaigns sponsored by the UNFPA,
• Donated medical supplies to numerous hospitals and clinics throughout Liberia,
• Participated in fistula repair surgeries,
• Distributed reading glasses to residents of Charles Luke Town,
• Distributed menstrual cups in collaboration with the Peace Corps,
• Held workshops on sewing reusable menstrual pads in partnership with Liberia’s Ministry of Health**,
• Constructed a Palava Hut at the Phebe Rehab Center,
• Provided dresses to fistula survivors,
• Provided teaching materials and craft supplies to the Phebe Rehab Center,
• Collected supplies for House of Hope and Dignity,
• Dug a well in Cooper’s Town,
• Donated supplies to Varney Goyah Town,
• Built a Maternity Waiting Home!

 
We couldn’t have done all of these things without the help of our supporters.  In fact, we would have accomplished very little.  You have been faithful in providing financial and in-kind gifts.  We have done A LOT together!
 
So, if I were asked to rate you on a scale of 1-10, I would give you 100.  Thank you!
 
** We will be holding additional workshops in February in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Monrovia.

I have always loved everything about Christmas – both the sacred and secular. Gift giving, of course, is a part of that.  I have a particularly vivid memory one year of my brother and me running downstairs to our stockings, which were filled with small toys, an orange, and candy, including a candy cane.  After that, we woke our parents so we could unwrap the gifts under the tree.
 
As a child, half the fun of gift giving was in thinking about what the recipient might like.  In my teen years, I became aware that people attempted to match the value of their gifts to me to what my gifts to them were worth.  Then, when I entered the workforce, I was introduced to the idea of gift exchanges with co-workers, even those who weren’t necessarily pleasant during the rest of the year.
 
All of this came back to me last year when we moved to Brenham.  Our attic was filled with stuff we no longer needed or used.  Some items were gifts I had received, still in their shrink-wrap.  On the one hand, I feel blessed to have received so many gifts, but on the other hand, I know that a number of these were given out of a sense of obligation by people who didn’t really know what to get, but felt they had to get something.  That makes me sad because it was a waste of their time and money to get me these things.
 
I still give gifts – my husband and I have plenty under the tree – but more and more, I want to give something that can make a difference.  One way I do this is to give of myself by volunteering.  Another way, is to give monetarily to an organization that is trying to make a positive difference in the world.  I support a few organizations with an annual donation, and when my friends lose a pet, I make a memorial contribution to a no-kill shelter that sends them a sympathy card.
 
This Christmas, consider making a meaningful gift that will delight a friend, and benefit others.  If you think your friend or co-worker would be honored to have a gift made in their name to Dignity:Liberia, click on this link.  Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Next week, the United States will celebrate Thanksgiving.  Liberians observed a day of thanks on November 2.  One of the people I am thankful for is Matthew Walters, who serves as the Office Manager of Dignity:Liberia’s NGO office.  In addition to accounting and managing trip logistics, he makes frequent trips to Todee Junction, to oversee the construction of our maternity waiting home, House of Hope and Dignity.  He has come to my rescue on numerous occasions, sending pictures, researching costs, answering questions, and providing clarification.  He accompanies us on all of our trips, takes pictures at events, and provides assistance as needed.  Most recently he was instrumental in working with the U.S. Embassy’s representative regarding a grant. 
 
Matthew was born in Marshall City where he lived until 1973, at which time he moved to Monrovia.  After completing elementary school and junior high school, he attended Tubman High School graduating in 1987. He enrolled at AME Zion University College, earning an AA Degree in Management.  He subsequently earned a BSC in Business Management Public Administration from Zion in 2001.
 
He is a person of deep faith and is very active in his church, First Baptist Church, Oldest Congo Town.  Although an injured knee prevents him from participating in sports, he previously played football [soccer], basketball, and table tennis [ping pong].
 
He finds it a bit of a challenge to meet new people, but he is friendly with those with whom he interacts.  He prefers being by himself, reading his Bible, and praying.
 
In April 2023, he graciously granted me an interview.  I learned some new things about him and am honored to call him friend.  I hope you enjoy getting to know him as well.