Hope
for war-torn lives of Liberia’s children
by
John Syratt
In
the war-weary streets of Monrovia, Liberia’s capital city,
orphaned children live under tables in the markets or in abandoned
and wrecked automobiles. Losing their parents in the 14-year battle
between the Liberian Government and two rebel factions, many of
these children now scrounge for food, trying to survive by any
means possible.
A large number of the boys take on a life of crime and violence,
and they often become soldiers at a young age, carrying guns almost
as big as themselves.
In 1999, John Kpewoan, pronounced "paywan," helped found
The Lord’s Prayer Outreach Association Inc. to bring God’s
love to these street kids.
"Our
mission is to go into war-torn countries" Kpewoan said, "and
build homes for street children and orphans."
"These
are completely orphaned children," he said, "their parents
were killed in the war. They have no place to go. There is no
welfare system here."
John
Kpewoan with monrovian ophaned children |
Since
the resurgence of civil-war, the ministry found itself under the
threat of attack. Kpewoan relocated the group to a safer location
30 miles away. "There was lots of shooting and bombs dropping
in our area," he reported.
"People
had to flee their homes and leave their schools and churches,"
Kpewoan said. "Close to 2 million people were displaced."
The area surrounding the capital saw rampant lawlessness prior
to the arrival of the peacekeeping forces sent in by West-African
leaders. The UN is taking over those duties in October of this
year.
"Things
are beginning to get back to normal, Kpewoan said. "The good
news is, the children are back on campus and have lots of food."
The areas surrounding the campus were looted but nothing was touched
on the campus. "Praise God, exclaimed Kpewoan. "Just
think back, all the pigs, all the chickens, the vegetables, all
the things in the dormitories, all the buildings on campus - none
was touched. God is good, all the time!"
While Kpewoan spent the summer in Canada raising support for the
work in Liberia, he gave a plea to Western Christians, "Let
us all join the thousands of people that are praying for peacekeeping
soldiers to be sent to Liberia. This will be the best thing for
Liberia. The different fighters need to be disarmed. Keep on praying!"
For more info on the work of The Lord’s Prayer Outreach Association
Inc. visit www.tlpministries.org.
