Reporting from Liberia
How do I capture in a brief blog entry some essence of my time in Liberia so far? Already I know it will be hard to say goodbye to the people I am getting to know here – the We-Care Library staff, the writers, the teachers, and the other people CODE has sent over from N.A.
On Saturday I attended three meetings, at which I felt quite at sea. Between the noise from the street below and my ear being unaccustomed to the Liberian accents, I wondered at moments if there would be any point to my being here at all. One was a meeting of teacher-leaders, teachers who have been identified by We-Care staff as being qualified to work with other teachers to improve skills at teaching reading. Another was a meeting of LAW (the Liberian Association of Writers) and the last a meeting of just five people, including me, to determine in general terms the composition of the committee that will determine which of the 50 or so manuscripts submitted will be sent on to the next stage of development for ultimate publication. It was at this meeting that I started to feel that perhaps I did have something to contribute here, in part because of experience on various juries and boards of directors in Canada.
Tomorrow – visits to schools.
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Kathy Stinson is the author of the classic Red Is Best and the award-winning The Man with the Violin. Her wide range of titles includes picture books, non-fiction, young adult fiction, historical fiction, horror, biography, series books, and short stories. She has met with her readers in every province and territory of Canada, in the United States, Britain, Liberia, and Korea. She lives in a small town in Ontario.
Good work! Remember to take your electrolytes, Kathy!
CT
Wow! What a trip you are having Kathy. Can't wait to hear all about it.
Love the photo.
xoxoxo Safe trip home,
LR
I've come home in pretty good shape, Charlie, so I guess I must have got my electrolytes somewhere along the line, even if I do forget what they are. 🙂
Come back for more pics, soon, Lorna!
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