Build Everland Children's Home
- Published Date
With your help, we can meet the needs of children in Liberia through building a Children's Home in one of the poorest countries in the world...
About Liberia
Liberia is a country which can be located on the West Coast of Africa. It covers 43,000 square miles of land and has a population of approximately 3.5 million people, around half of the population being children under the age of 18.
In 1822, Liberia started as a colony of freed slaves from the USA. Twenty-five years later, in 1847, It officially became a country in its own right and formed a government similar to that of the United States. In fact, the capital city of Monrovia is named after James Monroe, the 5th President of the United States.
This government ruled until it was overthrown by a military coup in 1980. This started a period of unrest and led to a civil war that lasted almost 25 years. During that time hundreds of thousands of people were killed, millions more displaced, and the economy of the country was completely ruined.
In 2003 a peace process was initiated due to pressure from the United Nations, the US and other Western African nations, and in 2005 a new government was elected. The current president of Liberia is Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Still, in spite of improvements, the country remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Poverty in the area is extreme and there is a severe shortage of basic necessities, such as water, medical supplies and care, good sanitation, and electricity. The situation in Monrovia and the surrounding areas has been made worse by a large number of people, including many children, having been displaced due to the ongoing unrest in the Ivory Coast.
Here you can see where in Africa Monrovia is located, and see how close it is to the war-torn area where Michael was crowned a king. His 'kingdom' is now in ruins, but we can rebuild and install love and hope once again for the King of Pop, with a little help from the King of Kings with whom he now resides.
Everland Children's Home
Built on two acres of land, Everland Children's Home will be a place of refuge for countless vulnerable children, who through bereavement, abuse, poverty, illness or war have no family of their own to care for them. These children might otherwise end up on the dangerous streets of Monrovia, begging for food and at grave risk of abuse. Shockingly, many are being recuited as 'child soldiers', to fight in the war torn Ivory Coast, some as young as seven years old. Others are fleeing such war torn areas and arriving in Liberia with nothing, having lost all family and any sense of security.
Those responsible for Everland Children’s Home will seek to provide the love and stability of a supportive family, essential for the wellbeing and development of the children in their care.
Reverend Dekontee along with his wife Joana, will be responsible for the day to day running of the orphanage, taking the place of parents to the children in their care and seeking to provide the love and stability of a supportive family. This love and stability is essential for the wellbeing and development of those in their care. Both Dekontee and his wife have spent many years looking after children, and ensuring their wellbeing. Having been given the land and the church by his ailing father, Dekontee is responsible for deciding what projects and initiatives take place at the residence. He has embraced the project wholeheartedly and has the backing of his whole church.
Two acres of land in a community called Caldwell, about ten miles from Monrovia, waiting for a miracle to happen.
Everland – the birth of a dream
The two acre plot of land in Caldwell is easily accessible to the town of Monrovia and very fertile for growing food. However, growing food is all that the land is good for since they have no money for the building, in spite of a great need.
Everland Children’s Home will seek to help every child that comes into the home to fulfil his or her potential and aspiration in life, through education, good health and social welfare. Whilst addiction and substance abuse is rife in these poorer towns, drugs, alcohol and tobacco are prohibited in this Christian home as Dekontee and Joana seek to give the children as good a life as possible. More importantly, their aim is to give children the opportunity to excel in their ambitions by providing the love and stability of a supportive family that encourages good conduct and moral values within a Christian ethos.
When Everland is completed, it will be an ideal home for the children, much more so than what might otherwise await them on the streets. Because of its size, it will be possible for many vulnerable children to be taken in and cared for. Michael’s love and legacy will live on through this project, and in the hearts of the children who will inevitably be blessed by it. We cannot take away the pain of their past traumas, nor can we help every child, but we can strive to give as many as possible a better future.
