Dear Reader of the Rector's Blog,
After the loss of our friend and fellow St. Anne's member so suddenly last Sunday I decided to hold off on sending any blogs until today, Wednesday.
Tee Shirts
“You can run, but you can't hide.” It's a sentiment that police officers, dentists and parents have used with recalcitrants for years, and it's apparently true. I've been trying to forget a really dismal season as a faithful Redskin football team fan, when the most forgettable player of the season went zipping past me this morning, the third man riding on a motor scooter, called a pan-pan here in Liberia. Ok, so it really wasn't Portis Clinton in his #26 Redskin jersey, but it was a young Liberian wearing a replica. It made me reflect on this phenomena, which is the most ubiquitous U.S. presence throughout the developing world, the American theme tee-shirt. Wherever I have been to do this kind of work, all over the world, the most obvious things are these colorful American jerseys. This week I saw a toddler wearing a Buffalo Sabers hockey team tee much too large and a 40ish year old woman with a Little Princess tee much too small. I wonder if this is what we as a nation really want to be known around the world for, especially since all of these shirts were worn by others, indeed worn out, before they arrived in aid packages or shops selling only second-hand.
Running into Portis' shirt this morning, thankfully not actually, was while we were on our way to Cuttington University, an Episcopal school of great repute throughout Liberia, one of the shining lights of higher education. Founded in 1889 in Harper in Maryland County, the school moved from the rather isolated southeastern corner of the state to where it is now, in Bong County which is much more in the central part of the country.
With a large beautifully situated campus, Cuttington was, tragically, one of the pieces of prime real estate for the various rebel groups during (what I am calling) the reign of terror. The first of the hoodlums who took over the space as a training ground was Prince Johnson, then came Charles Taylor, and finally the property was used for over thirty thousand refugees. In complete disrepair, like so many structures and institutions, it was hard to imagine that the University could ever move out of exile (which was in Lawrence Virginia), back to the campus in Bong County. I can only imagine how disheartening it must have been for the faculty to come back and see the damage.
Today the campus is thriving once again. And it is a testimony to the perseverance of the Liberian people and the vision and perseverance of the leadership of the University. Enrollment has grown steadily in the past three years; there is now a fledgling campus television and radio station, and they are broadcasting health and other social service programs that reach widely into the community. One of the most important components to this revival is the grant awarded to Cuttington from the United States AID that allowed the University to buy three large generators. Their presence has provided power for all the needs of the school, twenty-four hours a day. In a country where electricity is scarce, this is a huge benefit. So, I thought to myself, maybe the generators balance out the tee shirts, or maybe complement them, I'm not sure. Anyway, I saw the American flags on those big heaving machines and felt proud.
