Notes from Africa: The Joys of a Bucket Bath   Waste not, Want not. Going green in Liberia Steps to a great bucket bath: 1. Heat up a tea kettle and pan of water on the gas stove. 2.Pour hot water (carefully) into bucket in tub. 3. Let cool, but not too much. Get your soap and rag.. 4.Enjoy a refreshing bucket bath. 5. Put bucket underneath sink and brush your teeth (with...

Alvin Sompon and Abrahim A. Sarnor Words from the future of Africa. Alvin’s words on Service. Alvin is a rising senior at Ricks Institute. He is the son of the Ag teacher here. He’s been sharing with me about service. Here are a few of his thoughts: “Service is guiding the younger people to serve the older people of our community. One project we are doing is in the Displaced...

Marcus Perkins Marcus and his Garden President Obama’s weekend visit to West Africa was big news inLiberia. We only heard sound bites from the BBC radio as we rode in a vehicle. Our Liberian friends told about the president’s words including phrases like: “We must start from the simple premise thatAfrica’s future is up to Africans.” To the youth, who make up the...

Good eating at Ricks. This is our wonderful cook each day for lunch, Mrs. Musu. She’s cooked plenty of what I call “soul food.” We’ve had collard greens, potato greens, fish gravy (like catfish couvillian), and cabbage with chicken. This is how Ricks Institute. This is staff housing. Notice the palm trees. The palm nuts are a major source of food for Liberians. Share...

Kid Magnets in Liberia We’re proud to be members of the Liberian Kid Magnet Club at the Ricks Institute. The four of us, DeDe, Colleen, Gordy and me, are bonafide “kid magnets” at Ricks School. Colleen is shown with two students, Patience and Steven. Their father Maurice is a long time French teacher at Ricks. Maurice, a native of nearby Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory...