On the 19th of August (Friday), 2022, an announcement of “free foods” across a Street attracted a body of 100-plus disabled Liberians (blind, wheelchair-mobile, etc.) from their ‘daily street-begging spot’ (located at the Vamoma House junction, Sinkor, Monrovia), to the distribution point on the other side of the Street. Some were led by kids who the adults often use as their escorts.
Moving cars came to an abrupt stop as the disabled persons forced themselves into the Street, with the visually impaired (blind) persons raising their walking sticks (Canes)–a message to drivers of the cars: ‘A blind person is crossing the street’.
They were being assisted by some of the Liberia National Police (LNP) officers assigned at the place (with Traffic Light poles) to control flow of vehicles.
The items on offer were:
rice (uncooked), vegetable oil (in a two-liter plastic bottle), and multi-purpose soap (bathing and washing)
The offer was coming from a group of men and women in white T-Shirts, each T-shirt with “The Lord’s Pentecostal Church International (TLPCI)” written behind and in front.
“Please allow us arrange you in queues, so that serving you will be easy for us,” a male TLPC member said to the impatient and crowd of street-begging disabled Liberians.
In five minutes two lines were created, and service began. Each disabled person was handed a black polythene bag containing quantity of unparcelled rice, a transparent plastic bottle with vegetable oil and a tablet of soap over the rice.
This writer wasn’t officially invited to cover the humanitarian gesture of TLPCI, but his passion of writing about the welfare of members of Liberia’s community of disabled persons (since 2013) attracted him to the event. His writings about the ‘community’ has focused on members’ plights, as well as their success stories in education, business, arts and entertainment) This writing started two years after his return from a ten-year (2001-2011) refugee and learning life in Nigeria.
On the day TLPCI was demonstrating empathy to the Liberian PWDs, I was on my way to do another writing-related work.
I spoke to some members of the Church while the distribution was going on.
“We are celebrating our sixtieth anniversary today, so we decided to identify with our physically disadvantaged African brothers and sisters of Liberia here today,” a male member, identified as Rev. Papin Daniels, said to me.
The accent of another male member sounded like a Ghanaian.
“Are you a citizen of Ghana, my second Home, were I was a refugee for eleven years–1990 to 2001?” I asked.
“I am a Ghanaian,” he replied.
Another male member introduced him to me as the General Overseer of TLPCI.
He introduced himself as Apostle Eric Essandoh Anin Otoo, his name, on a sheet I gave for “Executive Members of the Church” to write their names for me to be featured in my news story. Other names provided were: Rev. Papin Daniels, Arthur V.B. Farubah, Rev. Dr. Chris Sokpo, and Rev. Tim Dzeby.
I spoke with some of the recipients on their feelings about what they had received.
“With this food, especially, my worry of hunger today has reduced. You are aware, we cripple and blind poor Liberians beg car drivers and people moving with feet. I’ve not got anything from anybody in a car or passing since I came here,” visually impaired (blind) Garmai Forpa, age 33, responded to this writer’s inquiries.
Mr. Abu Bhuba, who refused to reveal his age, said: “I appreciate what the Church has given me, but I need more. My family is large.”
Madam Julia Fouarene, age 56, was over-ecstatic on the gifts. “The Church has done for me what my Government is not doing for me now!” she responded to the journalist’s question.
A visually impaired recipient, who only introduced himself as “Squilah”, said the TLPCI’s food-gift will be his “lunch” on the day it is given, “it will be my breakfast tomorrow before I come on the hustle again,” he added.
After sharing the relief items, the Church prayed with the body of disabled Liberians, led by the General Overseer. Over ten percent of the disabled persons who had come to receive had left–after receiving–before the praying session started.
The Lord’s Pentecostal Church International was founded on October 25, 1951 in Peki, Volta Region, Ghana, by a Ghanaian named Sam Amedzro, a Ghanaian Head of TLPCI’s first Liberia Branch, Rev. Tim Dzebu, told this writer on the next day after TLPCI’s humanitarian interaction with Liberian disabled persons on August 19.
“Unfortunately, the Founder died at age 42,” Rev. Dzebu added.
After the death of brainchild, Apostle Wuaku took over, Rev. Dzebu said, but couldn’t remember the successor’s other name.
“The Lord’s Pentecostal Church International opened a Branch in Liberia in May, 2011,” the Branch’s Ghanaian Head, Rev. Tim Dzebu, told this writer during the August 20th interview.
Besides the Church’s first branch, there is another one 12th Street, Sinkor, adjacent the Seventh-Day Church School.
The Lord’s Pentecostal Church International is also present in several other Countries–outside of its birthplace (Ghana) Some of the foreign branches can be found in Togo, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.
“We are in the United States of America, but it is at a Fellowship level for now. In the future, the Fellowship will be transformed to a Church on the Lord’s enablement,” Rev. Dzebu disclosed during the interview with this writer on August 20, 2022.
Members of Liberia’s disabled community are the worst-hit by hardship in recent times, compared to their compatriots with no disability. Many of them are no longer getting alms (food or cash) from places they used to rush whenever hunger struck.
Their worst-hit (economic) condition came to national attention when a group of visually impaired persons (children and adults)–of the “Hope For God Association of the Blind”–conglomerated at the gate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (hosting President George Manneh Weah’s official Office) on Thursday, September 17, 2020, brandishing placards with various information relating to the COVID-19 Stimulus Package. Some of the wordings on placards said: “WFP Where Is Our Food?” and “WFP, Please Give Our Food”
Some individual persons and organizations have been filling the Liberian Government’s gap of failure, or delay in, providing life-sustaining needs, especially foods, for some of the Country’s most vulnerable body of physically deformed citizens. These persons or groups do that through daily or weekly provision of cooked foods, with water, to conglomerations of disabled persons at their ‘regular begging spots’.
One individual who is most nationally popular for providing ‘hot meals’ of groups of disabled persons is former head of India’s Consulate in Liberia, Mr. Ubit Singh Sachdeva, popularly called “Jetty”, now a private businessman. He has also extended his gesture to street-inhabiting economically disadvantaged Liberians popularly called “Zogos” and those at the Country’s Maximum Prison center named “South Beach”
“I’m praying for this Ghanaian Church to do for us every day in the future what they did today,” one of the recipients on August.
Samuel G. Dweh, Liberian Writer, Author, Development Journalist (Freelance)