Help for the People of Liberia
2020 has been an insane year for all of us! Last February, a group of Canadian health care workers and supporting volunteers returned to The Lord’s Prayer (TLP) School and Orphanage outside Monrovia, Liberia. This was the 8th bi-annual trip for Dr. Lourens Perold, with his R.N. wife Angela Perold at his side for half of those trips. Each trip a group of medical and support volunteers join Lourens and Angela to help serve the family at TLP. The purpose of these trips to provide medical support for the poverty-stricken people in the local village, surrounding communities as well as a remote jungle village in Gbarnga, Northern Liberia. During the last trip the team was able to provide medical attention for over 700 patients in 14 days. Being in a remote location with this being the only viable health care for them, treatments for patients ranged from simple bumps and bruises to minor surgeries and even more serious procedures requiring trips to the Liberian Hospital, funded by this group.
Our hosts at TLP are always gracious and humble, closing their school and supporting our efforts in every way possible while the clinic was in operation. Other volunteers on the team were able to provide muscle and brawn to work on upgrades and repairs to various structures within the property at TLP. This left a mark on the hearts of all involved and bonds were created and expanded.
Fast forward almost a year and the world really hasn’t been the same since. From the moment we returned to Canada, quarantines were in place and the global pandemic hit hard and fast, particularly for those medical professionals and front-line workers! It’s been a year of struggle and stress for all, but thankfully all Canadians involved have ridden out the storm thus far without major consequence.
Unfortunately, the people of TLP and surrounding areas of Liberia have been impacted greatly. While the virus itself has not taken major hold in the tropical climate of West Africa, the pandemic has caused major financial issues for the region. Fundraising and support funds have been way below average combined with rapidly rising inflation. Needless to say, this has been crippling for TLP and the people of Liberia. Basic essentials such as rice and vegetables are 150% or more of last year’s prices. When feeding over 75 orphaned children as well as many resident staff and their families, this has become a troubling concern for founder John Kpewoan and his family.
Unable to travel to TLP for the foreseeable future, the Canadian team have been looking for ways to help offset the financial struggles currently being faced at TLP. The greatest need for them right now is simply money so they can purchase food for all of them. We’ve looked at shipping food and other goods but unfortunately this is not a cost effective or viable way to provide support even with the inflation.
The pandemic prevents us from typical fundraising efforts like selling products or hosting an event, so we’ve decided to do what we can and offer up ourselves as tribute with hopes of inspiring donations from friends and family while also giving us a fresh start to 2021.
Our goal is very simple: we would like to raise a total of $5,000 CAD and here’s the fun part!
We’ve set 5 targets in order to help us reach this goal.
· At $1,250 Scott Paulhus will wax his chest! Don’t worry though, there’s not a built-in sweater there but there’s less on his noggin!
· At $2,500, Dave Marsden will wax his chest and back! Think Steve Carell in the movie 40 Year Old Virgin!
· At $3,750, Dr. Lourens Perold known for his shoulder length hair and old school hippy look, will shave his head bald!
· At $5,000, the lovely Angela Perold will shave her prized flowing locks completely!!
· Finally, if we reach our goal of $7,500, Barbara Shram will shave her head in pursuit of having the perfect “Cactus Do”!
Our goal is to raise the funds by 6pm PST on December 31st. On New Year’s Eve we will to be waxing, clipping and shaving our way into 2021 leaving 2020 behind like a ratty pile of hair on the floor as it deserves.
Please join us in supporting this amazing cause, and hopefully have a laugh at our expense along the way. Yes, the hair removals will be documented and shared for your viewing pleasure to those who donate.
We know many of you think of charities closer to home this time of year and there are many worthy causes such as the Food Bank and Children’s Hospital right here in our own cities. Anyone who has walked the streets of a country like Liberia can tell you that these people truly need our help. Every dollar helps and that $20 or $100 there will truly accomplish a great deal!
Here is a link to the group’s website including information both on the group in Liberia as well as the registered Canadian charity that supports the group financially. https://tlpministries.org/
Our hosts at TLP are always gracious and humble, closing their school and supporting our efforts in every way possible while the clinic was in operation. Other volunteers on the team were able to provide muscle and brawn to work on upgrades and repairs to various structures within the property at TLP. This left a mark on the hearts of all involved and bonds were created and expanded.
Fast forward almost a year and the world really hasn’t been the same since. From the moment we returned to Canada, quarantines were in place and the global pandemic hit hard and fast, particularly for those medical professionals and front-line workers! It’s been a year of struggle and stress for all, but thankfully all Canadians involved have ridden out the storm thus far without major consequence.
Unfortunately, the people of TLP and surrounding areas of Liberia have been impacted greatly. While the virus itself has not taken major hold in the tropical climate of West Africa, the pandemic has caused major financial issues for the region. Fundraising and support funds have been way below average combined with rapidly rising inflation. Needless to say, this has been crippling for TLP and the people of Liberia. Basic essentials such as rice and vegetables are 150% or more of last year’s prices. When feeding over 75 orphaned children as well as many resident staff and their families, this has become a troubling concern for founder John Kpewoan and his family.
Unable to travel to TLP for the foreseeable future, the Canadian team have been looking for ways to help offset the financial struggles currently being faced at TLP. The greatest need for them right now is simply money so they can purchase food for all of them. We’ve looked at shipping food and other goods but unfortunately this is not a cost effective or viable way to provide support even with the inflation.
The pandemic prevents us from typical fundraising efforts like selling products or hosting an event, so we’ve decided to do what we can and offer up ourselves as tribute with hopes of inspiring donations from friends and family while also giving us a fresh start to 2021.
Our goal is very simple: we would like to raise a total of $5,000 CAD and here’s the fun part!
We’ve set 5 targets in order to help us reach this goal.
· At $1,250 Scott Paulhus will wax his chest! Don’t worry though, there’s not a built-in sweater there but there’s less on his noggin!
· At $2,500, Dave Marsden will wax his chest and back! Think Steve Carell in the movie 40 Year Old Virgin!
· At $3,750, Dr. Lourens Perold known for his shoulder length hair and old school hippy look, will shave his head bald!
· At $5,000, the lovely Angela Perold will shave her prized flowing locks completely!!
· Finally, if we reach our goal of $7,500, Barbara Shram will shave her head in pursuit of having the perfect “Cactus Do”!
Our goal is to raise the funds by 6pm PST on December 31st. On New Year’s Eve we will to be waxing, clipping and shaving our way into 2021 leaving 2020 behind like a ratty pile of hair on the floor as it deserves.
Please join us in supporting this amazing cause, and hopefully have a laugh at our expense along the way. Yes, the hair removals will be documented and shared for your viewing pleasure to those who donate.
We know many of you think of charities closer to home this time of year and there are many worthy causes such as the Food Bank and Children’s Hospital right here in our own cities. Anyone who has walked the streets of a country like Liberia can tell you that these people truly need our help. Every dollar helps and that $20 or $100 there will truly accomplish a great deal!
Here is a link to the group’s website including information both on the group in Liberia as well as the registered Canadian charity that supports the group financially. https://tlpministries.org/
Co-organizers (3)
Dave Marsden
Organizer
Surrey, BC
The Lord's Prayer Outreach Association Inc.
Beneficiary
Ange & Lourens Perold
Co-organizer
Barbara Shram
Co-organizer