What's happening on this blog?

There are seven people (Alvin, Boimah representing Chris, Oretha, Benjamin, Prince, Sampson and Beatrice) in the camp working directly with me. In the next couple of days, I'm going to attempt to get information about each team here, preferrably in it's own post, but focusing on getting drafts up so as not to waste any more time thinking I need to "find enough time to do it right." Then as I revise, I'll simply put the new versions in as new posts and the drafts will live forever, providing that history for anyone interested in looking. I'm also going to post a few personal histories and/or appeals from some of these people and some people in their teams. These might take a bit more time to get up.

Here's a bit of context:

1. How do you see your future? How and when will you leave this camp? Where will you go? What do you need to do in the meantime or to make this happen?

Answers ranged in time on the camp from 2 to 14 years and since my last visit, two of them have departed (obviously not any I met with), one for Minnesota on refugee status and one to Liberia to put everything in place for a move to the US on a Diversity Visa that he won in the annual lottery.

Answers ranged from, "I'm leaving as soon as my current schooling is finished, by June 2005 at the latest," to "I will go when my name is called for the voluntary repatriation," (going on now, but very, very slowly) to "Because of my family's connections it is not safe for me to go back until everything changes quite a bit in Liberia so I will be the last one to leave this camp," to "I am working with my relatives in the US to find any means possible to get a visa."

Does anyone reading this know anything about this process? Is there anything that I could be doing to help organize the Liberians that are already in the US to help their relatives if that's what they want to do?

2. What's happening with your humanist team? What do you need help with?

After Sampson sent me his team's information about their clean-up campaigns and need for tools of their own, people responded very quickly to raise money for this purpose. Now the other teams are more motivated to communicate with me about their own projects and what help they also need. I will be posting answers when I get them from the teams, hopefully with photos as well.