Mold/Mould

I once read a Graham Greene book set in Liberia, in which the climate was so damp that the ex-pat characters had to wipe mold of their leather book covers. Now I know what he was writing about. Everything leather here grows mold if its not kept in air conditioning - including shoes, sofas, hand-bags and even Land Rover steering wheels and car upholstery. And currently, black mold is growing all over the ship's exterior, where the warm damp air is condensing on the cool metal walls. So this is rainy season! It will take a long time to scrub the ship clean and mold-free. Olly

Black and green mold growing on Deck 7. Fascinating photo, eh?

M/V Kaduna sails

Since her arrival mid-week, M/V Kaduna has been loading 24 hours a day (come rain or shine) the Nigerian Army's tanks, armoured personnel carriers, trucks, fuel tankers, and Land Rovers. On Friday evening she already had over 60 APCs onboard...when she finally sailed earlier this morning (Sunday) all her inside decks were crammed full, and her outside upper deck was half full too. Such a movement of Nigerian vehicles is significant, and must surely reduce the UN's capabilities here. Olly

4 APCs waiting to be loaded.

M/V Kaduna sails away in the rain.

Land Rovers wanted

Does anyone out there have access to Land Rover Defenders, or their spare parts? I am trying to replace some of our older and more battered members of the fleet with newer ones. Maybe someone out there might have access to a Trust that would consider donating money for Land Rovers. Their new price is about $37,000 USD, but they are guaranteed to last at least ten years in our hands, unlike many other 4x4s made of steel which are expected to last only 4 years in an NGOs hands. Please email me or make a comment. Olly. P.S. Did you know that 75% of all Land Rovers made since production began in 1948 are still on the road!

Old UN tanks leave Liberia

Here are some photos of the Nigerian Army's old tanks being loaded before returning to Nigeria. Thanks to Major Austin, Logistics Officer, for permission to take the photos. Olly

New armoured cars arrive in Liberia

Today a large Panama registered roll-on/roll-off ship moored next to us, and after it's berth was secured by armed Nigerian soldiers, it unloaded 15 brand new Cobra 4x4 armoured cars, and 11 brand new Land Rover Defenders (am I envious or what?). The ship then loaded 5 small tanks and a big truck. All these vehicles are owned by the Nigerian Army, who have recently committed to staying in Liberia for another couple of years as part of the UN peacekeeping force. The delivery of these new vehicles is reflection on the current stability of Liberia: out go the tanks, which are slow moving and heavily armoured for serious fighting, and in come the armoured cars for high-speed disbursement of civil unrest, which is currently the biggest threat to Liberia's peace. The vehicles are slightly different from the Cobra in the photo below - they are painted white with "UN" on the sides, and are equipped with blue flashing lights and very loud sirens. Their gun turret is slightly different from that in the photo too - it was not a rotating turret, but more of a hole in the roof surrounded by armour, which allowed the soldier to stand with his head out of the vehicle in a less confrontational and more friendly manner.

Noah and I enjoyed talked to a Nigerian Major who was overseeing the unloading operation, and who explained that the Nigerian army has over 5 million soldiers in it, out of a population of 115 million. Once the unloading had been done, all the Cobras and Land Rovers left in a bright and noisy convoy of flashing lights and loud sirens and powerful engines - it was quite a sight! Olly

Cool painting

This is a photo of a painting we bought in the local craft market for only a few dollars. It is appallingly badly drawn, but captures Monrovia's daily struggle very well. It shows ex-combatants pulling a hand-cart of water barrels up the hill into the city centre, where they are sold at a profit of 10p per barrel. It is incredibly hard work for the young men, who often suffer from hernias from all that lifting, pushing and pulling. Olly

Noah's favourite Ghurka

This is Noah and his favourite Ghurka, Ganesh, who is from Nepal but served in the Indian Army before becoming one of the Africa Mercy's four Ghurka security guards. He is a lovely guy, who misses his wife and grown-up children in Nepal, so he is grateful for Noah's affection. Noah gives him a big hug every time he passes him on the gangway. Olly

Our mechanics

The guys below keep the Africa Mercy's Land Rovers and Nissans on the road. They do a great job, and I'm proud to work with them. On the left are mechanics Lamin and Moses Turay from Sierra Leone; on the right is Momo Zwannah, our apprentice mechanic from Liberia. Lamin and Moses are training Momo so that when we leave Liberia mid December we will leave behind a lasting legacy. Olly

Running Club starts again

Today, the Academy's Running Club started again after the summer vacation. Six lengths of the dock equals one mile, and twenty-six miles equals a Liberia Marathon. Noah and Anna both managed 2 miles today, so they should achieve the 2008 Liberia Marathon by the time we leave the country mid-December. Olly

L-R: Natty, Anna, Fride & Noah
Libby in her running shoes. In fact, she did no running and went to bed early.

National Port Authority Halts Work On M/V Torm Alexandra - 19/08/08

The Management of Delta Impex, the company that won the bid to remove the sunken vessel at the Freeport of Monrovia has been served notice by the National Port Authority [NPA] to halt further works on the vessel M/V Torm Alexander and works to remove 14 other vessels sunk off the port pier. Delta Impex was contracted to perform the task within 24 months but now 18 months into the contract, the company is yet to remove any vessels. The General Manager of Delta Impex, Charles K. Mochiah, said the NPA management did not release the contract until 12/01/07 and that equipment brought into Liberia to complete the job was held for several months due to problems granting a duty free release on the equipment. Once equipment was cleared Metropolis had only 2-weeks left on its contract with Delta and had to leave the country due to other contractual agreements. Delta then brought in another company, which sent a team to inspect the job and work began on the wreckage. However according to Mochiah, while efforts were being made to remove the vessels, the NPA management blocked workers from entering the port by seizing their passes and allegedly granted permission to another company, Sandercon Construction Company, to carry out an inspection on the vessel. Mochiah reiterated that Delta's contract terms offered a no cost solution to the government or the NPA and has recalled that the previous two bidders competing for the contract in 2006 would take nothing less than US$3million plus the scrap value. The NPA had initially contracted GETMA Liberia Limited and Rio International to remove the wrecks prior to the contract with Delta. For more interesting news about the Freeport of Monrovia click on http://www.otal.com/liberia/index.htm

I can't believe it! They were so close! I guess lawyers will be involved now, and a long delay, and meanwhile Liberia's poorest people will continue to die because they can't afford the high price of rice which is partly because so few ships can come into the port because only 3 out of 5 berths are operational. Olly

General Butt Naked - update

For an interesting article on General Butt Naked a.k.a. Pastor Joshua Milton Blahyi, click here. Photos of him in action during the war, and in action after the war. Olly

Liberia's Truth & Reconciliation Commission continues

This afternoon just about every radio in Liberia is tuned to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission testimony of Prince Johnson, who was the leader of the NPFL rebel army during the long war here, and who tortured and murdered the former President, Samuel K Doe, which was even recorded on video camera. Liberians are divided on the reason for the TRC - one guy I talked to said it was so that everyone could be reconciled and live in harmony together; another said it's purpose was to gain enough evidence to bring International War Crimes trials against "guilty" people living in Liberia. I understand that Prince Johnson is now an evangelist and Senator of Nimba County. I wonder what the future holds for him. Photos of Prince Johnson, and the unfortunate Samuel Doe during his torture. Olly

Fire Teams

Fire Team training: A couple of weeks ago we walked two miles up and down the dock in the baking sunshine, in full bunker suits and breathing bottled air, to see how long our air tanks would last. We all suffered nasty blisters on our feet as a result of wearing badly fitting boots. Olly

Above, me and my mate Josh.

Above, all three Fire Teams.

More photos of the hydro

Stop me if I've told you this before, but Liberia's hydro-electric power plant was constructed in 1965 in two parts - the earth and concrete dam that includes the sluices that control the water levels in the lake; and a couple of miles away, the power station itself. Yesterday two Land Rovers of intrepid explorers from the ship hacked their way through virgin (nearly) jungle to reach the sluices, which have been abandoned since 1990. Their remote location has prevented much looting. Here are three of the explorer's photos...Olly

Power plant update

I heard the Consulting Engineer for the rebuilding of Liberia's electrical grid on the radio yesterday in an interview. He mentioned that $140m is needed to rebuild the hydro, and $160 to rebuild the power grid across Liberia. No money has been received towards this yet so the Government of Liberia are seeking investing partners. The engineer said that it will take two years minimum for the power-plant's parts to be made and delivered, plus another year minimum for construction...so at best there will be no working power grid in Liberia before 2011. Photo of part of the grid right now. Many of the pylons and power lines have been looted, and the remaining pylons are neglected and overgrown. Olly

Burns Surgeon Returns

Most of the population of Liberia cook over charcoal fires, since there is no cooking gas or electricity available to them. Consequently, horrific burns are very common as people (especially children) fall into cooking fires and are burned by boiling oil or water. This weekend, one of South Africa's top plastic surgeons returns to the ship, to work with the burns patients. Sadly, he can't reconstruct the burnt faces of the people in the photos, but he can loosen burns contractures which otherwise can disfigure faces and bodies. Olly

The budget for the 2012 Olympic Games?

I just read in a BBC article that the budget for the 2012 Olympic Games in the UK is £9.3 billion ($18 billion). Sure, the Games are great but how can anyone justify spending £9,300,000,000 on an event that lasts 2 weeks (when there is still so much need in the world). Why not bring the Olympics to West Africa and use all that money to rebuild country after country? London doesn't need all that investment. The total government budget for Liberia for the whole of 2006 was about £63 million ($125 million). That puts £9.3 billion a little more into perspective. For the full article click here. Olly

Liberian Girl

I just found this photo on the ship's archives, of Libby in her African best and holding her nation's flag, on the day we arrived back in Liberia earlier this year after 2 months in The Canaries.

Retired

For those of you who know us, we are pleased to let you know that we are officially retired and are enjoying a hard earned rest! Bunny, white mussie and pink mussie.

Trouble at the Water Plant

On Tuesday, Liberia's only working water plant was out of action for the day due to a system breakdown. Can you imagine a whole country without running water? Its true, the majority of Liberia's population rely on wells and hand-pumps for their water, but most people in the city of Monrovia buy their water on the street, which comes from one or two water pipes that reach the edge of the city, and is then bought up the hill in 5-litre jugs in hand-carts and sold for 25LD per jug (25p or 50c). So on Tuesday, with no water in the line, there was no water to buy in the city. Can you image that? No washing or flushing for the whole day. Supply to the ship also dried up, but fortunately we have reserves in our tanks that will last for weeks if we are careful. On Tuesday afternoon our Second Engineer and Chief Electrician went to the Water Plant and managed to get things going again. Phew. Photo of a Water Boy selling his water. Olly