The meeting with the county officials on this day was not possible due in part to the holiday so I went to J.J. Dossen Hospital to meet with the Administrators and schedule a meeting with them. I met the Hospital Administrator Mr. Amos Clark. We could not have a formal meeting on this day because the Chief Health Officer Mr. Kamara was still in Monrovia and he was expected the following day. We had an informal discussion regarding the conditions and problems of the hospital. I also used the time to inform Mr. Clark about MFP and how it is different from Africa House Project. He mentioned that the materials sent to Maryland for the hospital has not reached the people. I was not sure if the items he referred to were from MFP or Africa House. It became clear to me by the second day that the people in Harper did not know much about MFP. Those I spoke to were under the impression that all the items shipped to Maryland County were part of Africa House project.

MAY 15, 2002
A formal meeting was held at the office of the Supervisor of Schools, Mr. Dio Harris and his staff this morning. Details of the meeting are on a video tape which will be made available to the President this week. The officials outlined the problems facing the public school system and made some suggestions regarding their needs

After the meeting with the school officials I met with the market women in Harper to find out about the status of the loan system and actually interview some of the beneficiaries. The President of the Harper Market Association in collaboration with the President of the Liberia Marketing Association of Maryland, who administers the loan, organized a formal meeting with the officers of the association. After the formal indoor meeting, I went around the market and interviewed people who have benefited from the program. The entire meeting was also video-recorded. I interviewed some of the market women- both recipients and non-recipients after our formal meeting. I was disappointed that I did not get to talk to more recipients of the loan. For some reason they were not selling on that day. After the interview we went to the Research Center on Maryland Avenue to review the Credit Union books. I found the record keeping system to be in good shape. Each recipient had a folder where details of the transactions are kept. After reviewing the records, I suggested that they should
The loan system appears to be working well. There is a systematic documentation of names of people who have benefited, the amount, interest and those who have paid back the loan. I have a copy of the record books for MFP to see. I browsed through the books for both Harper and Pleebo. I recommended that those who do not pay their loans on time should be charged additional interest since it was unfair to those who pay back their loans on time. If this is inconsistent with MFP policies then the President can overwrite it. I also suggested that those who benefit should represent a wide spectrum of marketers. For example, I found out that a small number of those who sell used clothing and dry meat were recipient of the loans.


MAY 16, 2002
I met with the Chief Medical Officer, Mr. Kamara, Mr. Amos Clark, the Hospital Administrator, and the Director of Nurses, Mrs. Rose Ireland at J. J. Dossen Hospital. Although the hospital is the only referral medical center in the Southeast, it is in a deplorable condition. The following facilities are completely damaged: private ward, TB ward, and the central kitchen. Presently, the surgical patients share the ward with TB patients. Medicine San Frontier (MSF) has stopped contributing to the renovation process. Their present focus is on providing medical services which is still inadequate. The hospital officials indicated that the dental and optometry departments are nonfunctional. In addition, there is no children’s ward. During our tour of the hospital I saw tents being used as feeding centers for the malnourished children. The surgery theater has little or no equipment. According to the medical officer, he performs about 7 surgeries a day ranging from hydro seed to bowl obstruction and fibroid cases. They also indicated that they are in serious and urgent need for hospital equipment, such as instrument sterilizers, bovil (a machine for controlling bleeding during surgery), incubators, bed pans, urinals for men, X-ray machines. X-ray cases are sent to San Pedro. There is also a need for computers, and photocopiers. Medications are inadequate and the delivery facilities are about a century old. The only thing that is available to the hospital for several hours a day is a generator. It runs mostly at night and when there is a need for it for a major surgery.

I took pictures of the different departments and the buildings. The hospital is in a serious problem. In a nutshell, we have to save the hospital sooner than later. Madam President, I can confidently conclude that Maryland County is dying at an exponential rate if nothing is done fast.

From the hospital I met with the city major who expressed his concerns about the dilapidated government buildings such as the museum, administrative building, and the city hall. We did not have much time together because by the time I met him I was exhausted and I also had family commitments.

Recommendations
1. MFP needs a new coordinator of its affairs and projects in Maryland County. Melita Gardner’s name kept popping up. There is no clear distinction between MFP project and that of Africa House. This is because Mr. Walker is the coordinator of both activities and has not made that distinction to the public.
2. There is a need for a new administrative structure put in place: the President of the Marketing Association serves as the main overseer of the loan system, representative from the school system or the supervisor of schools be responsible for all educational activities, and the hospital administrators mentioned above handle programs directly but the overall coordinator be informed and oversee the administration. These people should report the overall coordinator.
3. MFP should communicate with these groups more often and directly especially the hospital officials.
4. MFP should send one or two people to Maryland for about two weeks for an in-depth analysis and follow-up of activities and travel to the other parts of the county to assess development projects.
5. I personally asked a Midwife from Pleebo, Hnede Konde to meet the commissioners of Barrobo and Karluway Districts to inquire about their immediate development needs. Also she is willing to provide information on the number of wells and latrines that are functioning in the two districts.

The county as whole is in a serious problem. The trees are going, no post high school education for the youth, the cities of Harper and Pleebo are overgrown with bushes. The only thing the people are holding on to is espoir (HOPE).

If you have any questions about this report or what I discussed with you verbally but is not in this report please call or e-mail me.

Submitted by

Blidi Stemn


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