Punkin' Patch

It's fall, so what else do you do but visit the pumpkin patch?

Here's some pictures to make you swoon.

 

As the weather gets cooler and we break out the sweaters I hope we all take time to slow down and enjoy the sweet things in life. For me that involves a pumpkin spice latte, but different strokes for different folks, right? 

I'll post more pics. later this week after Millie's 9 month photo shoot. Can you believe it? 9 months?!

Training Daze

All week I (Jessica) have been back and forth between Ganta (our Liberian hometown) and Saclepea (about 1 1/2 hours away) organizing and assisting in the training of 17 Physician’s Assistants and RNs in the Clinical Management of Rape. Even in Liberia there are tons of details that go into having an effective training! It isn’t easy-o!

Philip from EQUIP Liberia’s Protection Team talking about legal and ethical issues of treating survivors.

The refugee influx along with Liberia’s instability and cultural taboos provides and open door for issues surrounding sexual gender based violence (SGBV). EQUIP’s Gender Based Violence Program is actually addressing these issues and working with Liberia’s justice system to find perpetrators and get convictions. Truly something that is unheard of in Africa.

Trainees work on case studies in groups.

Along with the justice component of SGBV there is the clinical management of gender based violence. Women (also, men and children) that have suffered these attacks should be seen in the clinic immediately. The training that EQUIP conducted gave clinicians the tools they need to counsel, examine, refer and collect forensic evidence for rape and abuse survivors.

Liberian’s always make time to relax! Even during a training!

The training has gone really well. The communities that the trainees have come from (many from clinics along the Ivorian border) commonly experience this type of violence and cases of abuse. These issues are not foreign to Liberians because unfortunately many were victims of such acts during the war and it is often a part of the culture rather than an anomaly.  Cases are unfortunately drastically under-reported and most go untreated for physical and emotional problems that result from such abuse. The participants were eager to learn how to work with the survivors in their area to begin healing and hopefully assist the survivor towards justice.

A representative from USAID came to the training and was highly complimentary. She even suggested that the way that we did the training should be a framework for the whole country!

charity:water partners with EQUIP Liberia

EQUIP Liberia is partnering with charity:water to expand Water and Sanitation all over Nimba county! We were pleased to see EQUIP Liberia’s work featured on charity:water’s blog! Kyle is super excited about another year of funding from charity:water. charity: water’s support allows EQUIP to train WATSAN technicians as well as provide community based sanitation efforts.

Read about charity:water’s visit to Liberia on their blog! Link below!

charity:water blogs about EQUIP Liberia’s WATSAN projects!

Monday Update in Pictures

The Monday Update is coming in pictorial form today. We've been enjoying life in Andrews this past week. It's been a change of pace and we have done a little of everything; work, preparation, relaxation, and enjoying our SWO framily. Here are a few shots comprised of the river (Nantahala), babies and applesauce.



Kyle reading by the Nanty. So smart.


The Falls- a good afternoon of entertainment and cool breezes.


a duck, as if you couldn't tell


I (Jessica) got some super cute shots of the Davis' kids while accompanying Amy to the Kid's Festival in Murphy.


Face painting- it's a blast


Future Fire Chief of America- look at those eyes!


Quilts, there were also chickens. How great is that? I wish I had a better picture.



Last but not least- APPLESAUCE! Homemade and delicious. I canned some which made my heart super happy. Helps me feel normal and not so detached. Although, I didn't have my canning pot and had to get creative. I have the scars to prove it. I managed to pinch my index finger in a pair of tongs and burn the tar out of myself a couple of times. All in a days work.

So that is a little glimpse into life right now. I wish I had a picture of Kyle covered in concrete dust. He was doing uber-manly work this week and has the splinters and cuts to prove it. Good prep for Liberia.

In other news: We are putting our Liberian visa application in the mail today. HOORAY! That means that when we show up in Liberia they will actually let us in the country!

This weeks Prayer Need: Pray for our family. The reality of our leaving is beginning to become real and they need as much prayer as we do. It has really occurred to us lately that this is a huge sacrifice for them. Pray that we will be able to surround them with love and provide little things, i.e; emails, skype dates, letters, that will encourage them and keep them connected to us even though we are far away. Pray that our time with them in the remaining weeks would be sweet and a real blessing for all of us.