Over the Garden Fence: Sally Ruth determined to help Liberian children

Before me lies a challenge. For you, the reader this will become an invitation. This trip Over the Garden Fence is headed for Harrisburg, Liberia.

The route is one with many supporting threads that become woven together with love. This happened after back-to-back civil wars, 1989-1996 and 1997-2003, wrenched education, commerce, food, water and peace from simple, rural citizens. The people struggled to live, clinging to a strong faith in God.

To simplify the beginning is to speak of Pryde Bass and his pastor, Ray Ake. Pryde came to America from Liberia. HIs parents were educators and church leaders. He served in the Vietnam war. Pryde and Ake teamed with a thought to bring support to Pryde's Liberian homeland using "church, clinics and classrooms" and support from their United Methodist Church members.

By 2011 the East Ohio Conference of UMC was supporting a ministry now known as Farmer to Farmer.

When Pryde and Ake came to Bucyrus, Pastor Mike Corwin declared the Bucyrus UMC a sister church to St. John in Liberia. This led to the church sponsoring a 350'-foot deep well. Harrisburg folks now had water near them and their school. Before that the well was a mere 12 feet deep.

By 2016 Nathan Brause and Sharon Hahn trekked to Liberia and David Bradley mended rototillers and hand plows to send over. A tractor arrived. At this time Sally Ruth felt a calling yet could not leave her youngsters.

Hope rested on her heart. Sally was restless. By 2019 she sparked a drive for 200 pairs of shoes that led to 200 pairs of velcro sandals for Liberia. Inside her there was an aching to make this delivery herself yet because of COVID two 50-gallon cans carried the needed footwear to the children.

In 2023, Sally finally arrived in November to big smiles and a fanfare of sorts with fresh fruit and vegetables, even a ready-to-cook chicken in a rice bag.

With nine pages of notes capturing answers to questions, facts and reflections let me summarize, with a few revelations.

Daily life utensils basically are a small bowl with a long handle to ladle water. A low-sided basket is used to soak rice, carry laundry and shop for goods. A 5-gallon bucket carries water for cooking, bathing and washing clothes. The cutlass tool is used to butcher, clear fields, open soil and plant seeds, crack coconuts and harvest palm branches.

No appliances. Open charcoal fires manage cooking. A few generators and fans work only when a electricity flows. This is unreliable.

As for the St. John school, at elementary and high school levels memorization was how knowledge was achieved. There are some benches, a blackboard and chalk, maybe a book or two. Middle schoolers might have thin composition books.

Things are getting better with the arrival of computers but staff had to be taught to use them.Teachers can make $80 a month.

The church of St. John is alive and well with faithful, lovers of the Lord. Sally will share more of how she has been led to embrace the people of Harrisburg weaving the threads of hope together with God and so many others from our community.

Please bring curiosity and concern to the April 7 meeting of the Earth, Wind and Flowers Garden Club at the Bucyrus Public Library at 6:30 p.m. when Sally can share much more. The foods eaten, how gasoline is purchased, why her ankles and shoulders became swollen and why boulders appear in the unpaved road. She will make the whole story come alive. Be our guest and bring a friend.

Mary Lee Minor is a member of the Earth, Wind and Flowers Garden Club, an accredited master gardener, a flower show judge for the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs and a former sixth grade teacher.