From heartbreak to hope: The remarkable journey forward of a community in crisis and the volunteers who are helping to pave the way.
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Established on the West African Coast in 1847 as a homeland for freed slaves, including thousands of former American slaves, Liberia is the only African state that was once a colony of the United States. Liberia is Africa’s oldest republic, and for decades it was considered one of the most stable and prosperous republics in Africa.
In 1980, however, everything changed. A military coup marked the beginning of decades of political instability, which was compounded in the intervening years by two civil wars that resulted in the deaths of 500,000 people and a devastated economy that has yet to recover. Eight-five percent of the population now lives below the international poverty line. Children, especially young girls, are the most vulnerable.
Episode One of the Commerce of Caring tells the story of everyday people coming together to try to make a difference in this challenging landscape by helping improve medical care, building schools, furnishing libraries with books…and giving the children of Liberia a real chance at a brighter future. You’ll hear their inspirations, their challenges and their successes, both big and small.
And you’ll hear how they responded when, in the summer of 2014, the very community in which they were working suddenly became the terrifying epicenter of the worst Ebola crisis in the history of the planet. You will hear from one of these incredible people, Katie Meyler of More Than Me, as she tells the story of her harrowing and inspiring personal journey to Liberia, including the day she decided to go back in to Ebola-stricken Liberia…while the rest of the world headed out.
This story of the people of retail working side by side with people and charities on the ground in Liberia is a gripping tale of the power of people coming together to ensure a future for the children of a vulnerable nation.
It is a testament to the power of the Commerce of Caring.
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