Press conference attendees, July 18, 2003. (Left to right:) Company manager, Miss Taiwan 2003, Nat (Family member), Esther (Family member), Malawi’s ambassador to Taiwan, John Cummings (Liberia’s ambassador to Taiwan), a Rotary Club senior member, a representative from Taipei City Hall, the executive director of the Africa-Taiwan Economic Forum, a Liberian embassy staff member, Taipei Rotary Club members, and a company director.
While attending an international book trading fair in February 2002, I met an African gentleman who looked to be in his 50s and was manning a booth displaying artifacts from Africa. He turned out to be the Liberian ambassador to Taiwan. We had a short discussion and he was interested in our work, so we exchanged name cards. Shortly after that I visited him and explained our work, beliefs, and projects. My parents live in Africa, and I had a video of some of the Family's projects there, which I showed him. He was thrilled! Like most Liberians, the ambassador is a Christian. Later, he gladly donated to our local work a couple of times.
When the political situation in Liberia deteriorated in June 2003, I felt an urge to call the Liberian ambassador and ask him for advice for our Family members there. He explained that the country's infrastructure was steadily crumbling. Help to get anyone out of the country would have to come from foreign governments or international relief groups such as the Red Cross. That was exactly what happened. Shortly after that, I heard from Family members in Liberia that they had been evacuated by helicopter. They were safe, but when I heard of their concern for their many close friends who were Liberian that they had left behind, I felt there must be something we could do to help from here.
I called the ambassador to discuss how we could work together to provide some relief for Liberia, and he jumped at my offer. Before I could even finish my sentence, he said, "Yes! I need all the help I can get. I've been praying for someone I can count on, and up until now it's all been empty promises. I am manning the embassy alone with one secretary, while trying to appeal to the government and the public for aid to ship to Liberia. It's a big job and I can't do it alone." We met right away to make plans and start contacting those who could help.
The Family in Taiwan and Okinawa responded swiftly to the appeal we sent them. They collected and forwarded enough donations from local sponsors to fill a 40-foot container—clothing, shoes, industrial water filters, powdered milk, etc.—as well as cash donations. The ambassador was touched to see how we worked together without all the red tape of formal requests and public acknowledgment that many donors require.
An article was published in the local newspaper appealing for more help, and it soon came rolling in. The ambassador appointed me executive project director of the Taiwan-Liberia Emergency Relief Network, the NGO he had set up to provide relief to Liberia. It's wonderful to play such a part in this worthy cause. Please keep the Liberian situation in your prayers, and pray for the successful delivery of each of these shipments to those there who need them so desperately.
Liberia Receives Aid From Private Sector
Taipei Times, Wednesday, June 25, 2003
"We need tents because the people are sleeping outside. We need sleeping bags, dehydrated foods, and mosquito repellant," said Liberian ambassador John Cummings in a press conference yesterday.
"The supply is dwindling," Cummings said, adding that a growing number of refugees are sleeping in a roofless football stadium in the Liberian capital in Monrovia.
DPP Legislator Lai Chin-lin, who joined Cummings at the press conference, said the non-governmental sector should step up its efforts in offering humanitarian aid to Taiwan's diplomatic ally.
Reminding citizens of the timber Liberia shipped to Taiwan in an attempt to help rebuild homes in the wake of the 921 earthquakes, Lai said it's time for Taiwanese to lend a hand to their Liberian counterparts.
The Rotary Club of Luchou, Taipei County, has already agreed to donate US$10,000 to purchase much-needed items for the Liberian refugees in need of help, Lai said.
The ambassador said the materials would be channeled into the hands of Liberian refugees through a local branch of the Rotary Club in the name of the newly founded Taiwan-Liberia Emergency Relief Network.