Meet our “adopted” son, Gebelah.
Carys actually met Gebelah first. A couple of years ago, we were asked by the principal of his grade school to consider covering the tuition for Gebelah and Washington--two boys who excelled academically but for various reasons (like 80%unemployment) their families could not pay for their education. Gary and I, at that time, were busy with our jobs on board but my friend, Brenda, took Carys out to meet the boys and deliver the tuition money. Washington, it turns out was sick and but they met and visited with Gebelah.
This past September, a few days after our return to the Africa Mercy, Gebelah came to find us and waited for hours on the dock until he found someone who would bring me a message that he was waiting to see me. Now 13 years old, he was clutching the dog-eared note that I had written and sent with Carys and the school fees so long ago. It was actually my stationary that I recognized...
I invited him to visit with us in our cabin. It was then, over lunch, that he asked us to adopt him. His story slowly unfolded: He had lived with his single mother and younger sister in a suburb of Monrovia called Chocolate City. Shortly before Carys had met Gebelah, his mother, who was deeply in debt and desperate to make some money to pay off her creditors, had taken his younger sister and some fabric into “the bush” to sell. She said she would return within two weeks. He never saw her again. That was two years ago.
Gebelah did not know where to turn. He could not stay on his own in Chocolate City. He asked, Musa, a classmate, if he could move in with him. Musa’s father kindly agreed. Gebelah now lives with Musa, his older brother and their father in downtown Monrovia. He hauls water, scrubs the floors and does various other chores for one meal a day and a floor to sleep on. There wasn’t enough money for school.
When we were in the States last summer I had the opportunity to visit my dear friend and college roommate, Sharon Hobson, and her extended family the Hodges clan. Sharon’s young nieces and nephews, the “Hodges Grandkids” have a business -- they earn money doing odd jobs and selling lemonade. I think they planned to use the money to do something fun. Instead, at the end of my visit they brought their entire savings to me and asked me to help a child in Africa for them.
As I listened to Gebelah’s story, I thought, “This boy is the Hodges grandkids’ child. Their money is going to pay for his first semester in the 7th grade.” And so it did. We enrolled Gebelah in September at BW Harris Episcopal School. He’s working hard. Thank you Hodges grandkids. Your sacrifice is an inspiration!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Brenda and Gebelah at
BW Harris Episcopal School
