Alfred & Agnes Memorial Orphanage

I arrived in Liberia on Monday afternoon after a long and uncomfortable flight via Kenya and Ghana. It's very tropical here, beautiful, green and humid in the countryside and Monrovia, the capital, is in poor condition - dirty, chaotic with destroyed buildings, serving as a stark reminder that this country is only just out of a long and brutal civil war.

The orphanage is outside the city in a district called Brewerville, named after the large brewery producing the local 'Club' beer and Guiness.

The orphanage is called 'The Alfred and Agnes memorial' after the founder's parents- today their three great-grandchildren Jerome, Adonis and Evita run the place. Jerome is the main man who is full of wonderful ideas and has so much enthusiasm - the only thing holding him and the orphanage back is lack of money. Adonis is studying Agriculture at the univeristy of Liberia and has a nursery at the orphanage growing chillis and potatoes. They also have a plot of land 3 hours away where they want to grow more vegetables. Evita looks after the children and cooks for us - delicious food! They are a dedicated trio and deserve all the help they can get.

The builders have been working hard and have made 3000 cement blocks. Today (wednesday) they drew out and started digging the foundations of the clinic. The work is progressing fast and we are really pleased with the results so far. The builders are incredible. They work from dawn til dusk in incredibly hot and humid conditions.