As we make our way to the city, the gasoline crisis is much more visible. From Buchanan to Monrovia, we pass five gas stations, each with its masses of people waiting around the one pump that’s pumping a limited 2 gallons per each person. Thousands of people and hundreds of cars and motorbikes wrapped around the street. We’re fortunate to have two diesel vehicles to maneuver around these shortages and continue our work. Most things are at a halt for the locals right now, which is not suitable for the economy or anyone’s well-being.

We spotted our stop and pulled into West Coast Energy. WCE specializes in solar power projects and has been our supplier for many projects in the past. They’re a group of smart people with a reliable platform with mixing quality products and operating education. It’s easy to spend a lot of money to implement fancy projects to look good for a year or two, but maintaining those projects takes educating the people you plan on leaving behind with that fancy stuff. We plan on implementing just as many operating clinics as we do projects this year, which will hopefully educate just as many people as it helps. After talking solar with the guys at WCE, we moved on to lunch with a special crew from the states.

Jesse and Jessica have been living in Liberia, bringing jobs through construction projects(learn more here). Jesse and his team have built two of our mega chicken houses, probably two of the best chicken houses in all of Liberia. But that’s not the only way we have come to know them. We have recently supported their journey of adopting Job. It was great to catch up with them and to share a meal with their family. They also welcomed their little girl, Mira, into this world six months ago. We want to thank you, because coming alongside us, means playing a part in adoptions like Jobs.

Love Him, love them.
Team OAL
#LIVE2540

As we make our way towards the third destination, we have to squint through the dust. Liberia is in the middle of the dry season, which makes it mostly hot with not much rain in sight. On top of the gasoline crisis, Liberia is also facing a water crisis. Wells all around the country are dried up, causing many people to have to walk miles for little water they have to purchase. Access to safe drinking water is a major concern of ours for the children, so we immediately headed for the well we installed a couple of years ago to make sure the pump was still wet. It was. This was a relief because these children are two hours down a bumpy road. A dry well for them means back to the dirty creek. We don’t want that to happen again.

After assessing all of the children and making sure there were no medical needs that stood out, we moved on to the chicken house we built two years ago. It’s currently being cleaned and emptied for a new batch of chicks. The previous 150 chickens have now run there course. They produced thousands of eggs and provided meat for the children. Now, the process will repeat itself, beginning with fresh chicks.

Once departing Grand Bassa Two orphanage, we went back to deliver mattresses and school supplies to Paul and the children at Grand Bassa One orphanage home. They were more than excited to see the big truck come rolling up with fresh beds, promising a more comfortable night ahead. They quickly ran inside their dormitory to pull out their tattered and stained pieces of foam they had previously been sleeping on. They kept screaming, thank you, and singing songs of praise. Their gratitude echoed through the air. We hope our gratitude will also echo across the ocean and meet you wherever you are because, without YOU, there are no new mattresses today.

Love Him, love them

Team OAL

#LIVE2540

As we begin our journey, we cannot help but realize the apparent changes on the roads in Liberia. Much fewer cars and motorbikes. We’ve been keeping an eye on the gasoline crisis from afar, but seeing the extreme of it firsthand is a bit scary. The economy is already in some of the toughest times in recent history, and the most common income source and transportation for locals is taxi by car or motorbike. Both run on much-needed gasoline that has yet to make its way into Liberia’s port.

As we were leaving our first destination in Edina and making our way to Buchanan, we passed a disabled man dragging his legs through the dirt road on crutches. This man was tough, and you could tell he had been operating on crutches for a long time, as his upper body strength was peeking through his tattered shirt. We stopped and asked if he could use a ride. He accepted and pointed us a couple of miles up the dirt road. He had just gotten off work from a night shift of making coal. Typically he can catch a motorbike ride back home, but today he would’ve had to trek the 2 miles on arms if we hadn’t of stopped. As the night comes and his work resumes, he may not be as lucky to catch a ride from a few strangers in a diesel-powered vehicle. Lack of gasoline can crush an economy deeply. Even though the people located in more rural areas can handle a crisis like this a little better than the city, it still starts to trickle towards them and causes difficulty for the whole country, rich or poor. Please pray specifically for Liberia leadership to stand up and take charge of their country and get gasoline back into these people’s transportation.

As we made our way onward to Buchanan, we headed directly to an orphanage home we have been partnering with for several years. It was wonderful to see familiar faces smiling and healthy. We pulled up as they were starting a Quiz Bowl. About sixteen of the older children broke off into two teams of 8 (Team A vs Team B they called themselves).They were passionate and excited about friendly competition and took pride as they answered correctly in front of their audience. It was super fun to watch.

We continued our inspection shortly after the game and quickly noticed they could benefit from some new mattresses, which we will deliver on our way to our third destination in the morning.

As we were finishing up we met our first heart break of the trip, Paul. Unfortunately, Paul was thrown against the orphanage home’s fence from a motorbike by his mother at 6 months old. She screamed she could not care for him, and was obviously battling some mental disabilities of her own from what the witnesses reported. The mother of the orphanage has reached out to the government for help but nothing is there. Nothing ever seems to be there, no matter the cry. The mother of the orphanage has decided to take Paul in and care for him, until she can find a better solution or more permanent family. Pray for his journey, as it will most likely be a long one.

Love Him, love them.

Team OAL

#LIVE2540

We’re 1 hour from take-off from Chicago O’Hare airport and about 17 hours away from touchdown at Robertsfield airport in Liberia.

Our team will be on the ground for the next 16 days with a lot on the schedule, and we’re taking you with us through this “In The Dirt” series.
Be sure to follow along and check in with us daily as we trudge the dusty roads of Liberia.

Talk to you soon, family.

Love Him, love them,
Team OAL

It’s been a fun-filled busy two days with our beautiful family at Williams & Garblah Orphanage.

• We conducted a vision clinic which sent over 75 people home with a pair of glasses that will help them see the world in a whole new light. Quite literally.
• We handed out over 10 Messengers (audio Bible) to local Pastor’s in hopes to help them better understand and spread the Gospel of Christ.
• We watched the older caretakers, drivers, and locals play soccer against some of the younger kids. They take these exhibitions very serious, but it’s all in good fun.
• We made lunch for the kiddos. This consisted of PBJ’s, cheetos, and a cookie. The kids enjoyed every crumb.
• We ran hygiene/health clinics that taught the children the importance of cleanliness, especially in regards of washing the germs off of their hands. It can be tough getting our own children to wash their hands before dinner, could you imagine getting 60 orphans to clean their hands before a meal? And without having access to a sink. Gabi has been doing a fantastic job showing/teaching these children by singing, and urging these children to respond with participation. It’s been fun watching her work and seeing the kid’s eyes light up when it clicks.
• We handed out goodie bags filled with coloring books, crayons, wristbands, suckers, and biscuits (Liberian cookies).
• We also raced, blew bubbles, sang, sat, laughed, took walks to the well, and fellowshipped.

We have a lot of great things going on for the children at this orphanage, and we’re so grateful for each one of you who make this possible.

In the next couple of weeks the boy’s dorm will be built, and today we just broke ground on the girl’s dorm. All of these children who were once living (some cases still are) in deplorable conditions are seeing our Heavenly Father use Orphan Aid, Liberia to lift them up and love them and that’s all because of you.

Love in action,

Team OAL
#Trip28

We’re excited to announce that we have partnered with five-time CrossFit Games athlete Emily Bridgers Benson to further our reach for the orphans of Liberia!

It’s no secret that the CrossFit community has been helping the children of Liberia by generously supporting the Best Shirt On Earth (1 shirt = 36 meals). Over the past year, we have visited many CrossFit gyms which have provided over 50,000 meals for our kids by purchasing shirts. We receive the same response from each gym, “These shirts are awesome!” One of those gyms we visited was CrossFit Terminus, which is owned by Emily Bridgers Benson. We’ve known Emily for a few years now and have watched her grow into one of the fittest, kindest, and most down to earth people in the CrossFit world.

Emily didn’t hesitate to say yes when given the opportunity to help these kids in desperate need of care. She was happy to utilize her amazing fan base to spread the LOVE and give other people the opportunity to support Orphan Aid Liberia.

If you’re hearing about us for the first time, you might have some questions like “Who is Orphan Aid, Liberia?”, or “What exactly do they do?”, or “Why in the world are they going around box-to-box selling awesome shirts?” Well, we’re glad you asked and we don’t mind getting right to the facts.

1) Who is Orphan Aid, Liberia?

OAL was founded ten years ago by Daryl Roberts and his wife, Chrissy, after Daryl visited Liberia on a church mission trip. He felt called to do more after seeing the orphans’ poor health, nutrition and living conditions. They started fundraising for the children before the wheels of the plane touched down in America. OAL was born out of that trip and the mission has grown significantly in Liberia, West Africa where we now care for thousands of orphans annually.

2) Why do we exist?

We exist to care for orphaned children. Of course, you want specifics, right?

A fourteen-year civil war began in Liberia in 1989. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people died leaving behind thousands of orphaned children. In addition to the war, the Ebola epidemic struck Liberia in 2014, killing over 4,800 men, women, and children and leaving thousands of more orphans behind. This is WHY we exist.

3) What exactly do we do?

We began by helping children with necessities. Our first 100 children desperately needed shelter, food, and water. We are still meeting those needs today and, with the help of many donors, we are now able to provide necessary medication/medical treatment and in many cases education. We have completed a number of much needed constructions projects including dorms, classrooms, a cafeteria, and chicken coops (to provide eggs for added protein) and we have installed a number of wells.

Over the past ten years, we have served thousands of children and have provided over 1,500,000 meals. Today we feed over 1,000 children daily, deworm over 13,000 annually and have over 500 children in school (some who are starting and even graduating college).

4) So why are we partnering with Emily Bridgers, and why do we spend a lot of time in CrossFit gyms?

a) Emily is awesome!

b) The Best Shirt On Earth is one of, if not, THE best workout shirt.

c) We’ve had an incredibly generous response from the CrossFit community and want to keep the Box Tour rolling to help feed our kids.

It doesn’t hurt that most of our staff are CrossFitters! ;)

That covers the basics of who we are. If you would like to know more about us, please feel free to e-mail us or visit our website at orphanaidliberia.org. There you can see more pictures, projects, information, as well as learn more about our awesome shirts that have been providing hundreds of thousands of meals for over three years.

Lastly, if you are a Box Owner or Coach and would be interested in having us come to your box or setting a promo code up through our website to purchase shirts, please contact zach@orphanaidliberia.com.

Here’s to the continued journey of serving those in need with LOVE

Team OAL

www.orphanaidliberia.org

Instagram: @OrphanAidLiberia

Fortunately, technology has evolved and with that, so does our reach.

Over time we have used everything from Facebook to e-mail to events, but today we’re super excited to have new software to allow our loyal supporters to fundraiser for these kid’s themselves.

Our new user-friendly campaign platform allows ANYONE to create a page for the orphans in Liberia. You can choose to fundraise for education funds, medication, or food. If you really want to get creative, you can dedicate your next birthday or sporting event (5K) to the cause.

Last month I decided to raise money for a well for an orphanage located outside of Buchanan in Liberia.

These were the simple steps I took:

Step 1: Visit Site | orphanaidliberia.org

Step 2: Select “As an individual”

Step 3: Personalize Your Page

Step 4: Share your page with friends

With the help of my Facebook friends alone, I was able to raise over $2,900 in less than 72 hours. This is the positive side of social media that we love to get behind and we hope you will choose to get behind it as well.

Let me know if you have any questions about our mission or the fundraising software in general.

You can view my Well Campaign Page here

Big Love,

Zach Brown
zach@orphanaidliberia.com

Cartersville resident, Jeff Tindall, Founder of Tindall Media approached us last November interested in putting together a Christmas package for his employees and clients. He said he wanted to do something unique and thought the LOVE. shirts would be a great gift and loved the fact that each shirt would provide 36 meals for orphans in Liberia.

We obviously thought this was a great idea and asked him how many shirts he needed. So, after working through the logistics, we ended up shipping out over 200 shirts to 6 different locations in the world including California, Texas, Alberta (Canada), Ontario (Canada), New York, and Atlanta.

Jeff said he received a lot of warm feedback from his customers and clients. One customer, in particular, sent him a personal message thanking him for his creativity and compassion for the needy.

Thanks to Tindall Media 200 LOVE. shirts are located in different areas of the world, raising awareness for our kiddos. The proceeds of those shirts also provided over 7,200 meals right in time for Christmas in Liberia!

Thank you, Tindall Media for sharing the love with your Tindall Family for the Holidays!

In 1952 a little girl by the name of Elizabeth Williams was born in Maryland County, Liberia.

Elizabeth would grow up in the familiar poverty of Liberian natives. At four years old her Father would die. With no mention of her mother, Elizabeth goes on to tell me she was sent to a foster home after the passing of her father.

She was lucky enough to attend grade school but couldn’t afford to finish. She ended up marrying and leaving her hometown at a young age.

Her life was like most Liberians at the time, a day in and day out struggle to survive. Not knowing where the next meal would come from was a common concern.

Her husband died in 1990 making matters even more unbearable for her. Mother Elizabeth struggled with keeping her faith during these trying times. On top of the Civil War taking over and killing hundreds of thousands, Mother Elizabeth was left alone to tend to her children with no money or job.

Not long after her husband’s death, she had a dream. She dreamed that God pretty much told her to quit sulking and to be a “shepherd woman” for the orphans. Her faith was immediately rejuvenated, and she decided to form Children’s Ministry for the war orphaned children of Liberia.

Soon after beginning, she battled many stressful situations. Although she had a vision, she couldn’t find the financial support to help feed the children that were under her care. Others suggested she pick up and go to Bong County and take advantage of the land there where she could grow food. She thought maybe she would have better luck providing food for the kids in a rural area. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. She continued to struggle. The children slept on bamboo, and the mud huts they were in offered very little protection from the elements. Dinner often times meant that the children would go out and sifting through the trash to try to find food.

One day an American man on a church trip was brought to Mother’s location where she and the children stayed. The man saw the horrible conditions and knew that God had brought him there for a reason. His heart was wrecked and he told her he wanted to help her and the kids. Orphan Aid, Liberia and their Liberian family was birthed that day.

Ten years later Children’s Ministry is one of the finest orphanages in Liberia, and Mother Elizabeth leads the way with her contagious courage, faith, and zeal. The children there are being fed, medicated, and educated as they should be. They are excelling in school and quite a few are moving from high school right into college.

After college, these children who were once abandoned orphans will be utilized in their communities. Whether through nursing, educating, or constructing buildings, they all are seeing their worth and purpose in helping others who were once in their position.

These children all reap the harvest from the seed Mother Elizabeth planted over ten years ago. It’s amazing to think one war-torn widow could create such a ripple effect for hundreds of orphans, all by saying “yes” to her calling from God.

Recently, a young lady by the name of Caroline McPherson walked up and handed Daryl a zip-lock bag full of cash and change.

She calmly and humbly said she had made bracelets to raise money to feed our children in Liberia. Too cool, Caroline!

It is acts of kindness like Caroline’s that continue to allow this mission to move into the deepest and most impoverished parts of Liberia, and we can’t thank you guys enough for continuing to inspire.

May your 2018 be as awesome as Caroline!

Big Love,

OAL

PS- If you’re interested in starting a campaign of your own, we have user-friendly software to make beautiful campaign pages. So, whether you pledge your birthday or raise money for your next marathon, we have you covered.

Orphan Aid, Liberia

PO BOX 2434

Cartersville, GA 30120

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, & Google +

How To Get Involved:

• Pledge your Birthday
• Start your own campaign
• Join the Million Meals Club