Liberia - a small country in the western part of Africa with a population of just over 4.5 million. It differs from European countries in many respects, including the fact that there are only two seasons: dry and rainy. Our employee, Radosław Szczęsny, will set off on a mission in July to help on the spot and teach computer science at the same time. He will also purchase the necessary equipment.
Let’s start from the beginning - how did the idea of going on a mission come about?
We are part of the missionary volunteering programme “Młodzi Świat”, which has been running in Wrocław for over 10 years. It is responsible for supporting mission outposts and preparing people to go on missions. Over the years we have managed to send more than 60 people, which is a very good result. The whole preparation process takes 2 years. During that time we gain the necessary experience and learn about the countries we are to go to, and we get to know the institutions there. And we are not talking only about Africa - our partner facilities are also in Asia (Mongolia and India), and there is one facility in Brazil, so there are plenty of these places. I have been involved with the Salesians since I was a child. First I went to the oratory, then I became an animator, and somewhere along the way it turned into a greater willingness to help. Let’s be honest: we are doing very well in Poland. We live well, even during the coronavirus pandemic. But there are countries that are far worse off. They don’t have those possibilities - and that is why the idea is to fly out and give something back.
Why Liberia? Did you suggest this place?
As volunteers we fill out an application for a mission, and in that application we can write where we would like to fly. In the end, though, we accept wherever we are sent, because the destination is chosen by the programme’s management. Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me whether I fly to Liberia or to Brazil. Help is needed everywhere in these countries, and that is why I am very glad I am going with my IT skills. I will try to do my best. Liberia, Brazil or other such places are countries with much worse living conditions than ours, so help is needed everywhere.
You are certainly prepared with knowledge about the country you are going to. Can you tell us more about the place?
Liberia has a very beautiful history. It is a country founded by former slaves from America who settled there - which is why their flag closely resembles the American one. How they are doing today is remarkable. Until recently Liberia suffered from a very heavy Ebola outbreak, which severely devastated the country, as did the two civil wars that took place a dozen or so years ago. The fact that Liberia is still developing well after all that, and that it is one of the better-developing African countries, is amazing to me. Nevertheless, living conditions and standards are very limited. To put it in terms we understand as people working in IT: a 20 GB internet package costs 40 dollars there. For comparison, a teacher’s salary ranges from 60 to 80 dollars a month - so you can see how small the salaries are at that exchange rate and how hard life is. That is just one example from the IT angle, and in Tappita, where I am going, there isn’t even a shop. Once a week, on Wednesdays, there is a market where people gather and sell what they have gathered with their own hands. Speaking of Tappita, it is a small town of 10,000 inhabitants situated in the bush. It consists only of tiny houses in the middle of the forest.
Can anyone fly to Liberia? What are the legal restrictions and vaccinations required to enter the country?
There are visas - that is probably the biggest legal restriction. Of course we also have to remember about vaccinations. We are going to Africa, and there are many diseases you need to be vaccinated against, so we go through that before departure. Right now it is also very important to monitor the spread of the coronavirus, because the scale of the disease determines whether restrictions are imposed or loosened. Here in Europe we have a lot of Covid-related bans and orders. There are not nearly as many restrictions in Africa, so to be honest it is easier to fly to Liberia than to come back.
You are not going to Liberia empty-handed. What are you taking with you?
What matters in our project is buying additional equipment for Tappita, because we will be there together with Kuba, the volunteer I am leaving with, to teach children computer science. At the moment there are three working computers in Tappita, and some classes have 45 pupils. It is easy to calculate that one computer is shared by 15 people. For us that is unimaginable, because some people have two or three computers each. So collecting money to buy equipment is very important to us. Because of customs duties we will not be able to transport 10 laptops. We plan to take two laptops per person and buy the rest on the spot. We don’t want to run a collection of used equipment, because we should also remember that in Poland we have IT services at every corner that will help us fix a computer, and I often have enough knowledge myself to restore some broken functions. In Africa they don’t know as much about computers, repairing them and maintaining them as we do. That is why we would like to buy the laptops in the capital, Monrovia, which we will travel to right at the beginning. Thanks to that the computers will be under warranty, and even if they break it will be easier to have them repaired locally - despite the fact that Tappita and the capital are 8 hours apart. Buying such equipment is undoubtedly a great help for these people, because thanks to it they will have access to information.
How can we make a real contribution to buying laptops on the other side of the world?
Together with Kuba we run a Facebook page, “Windows to Liberia” - that is the name of our project. On the one hand, “windows” in English means a window to Liberia; on the other, almost everyone associates Windows with a computer, because it is a type of software. We have a fundraiser set up there that you can contribute to. In addition, our Salesian missionary volunteering programme has the option of donating for a specific purpose on its website, which I also strongly encourage.
When exactly are you planning your trip?
We fly out at the end of July and come back in early September. That is a month and a half of work and help. Of course COVID is a risk and we take that into account as well.
Are you, simply as a human being, a little afraid of this trip? It is the other end of the world, a different culture, and you can never be sure what will happen.
Fear is always there, we have to say it openly, which is why I also pray about it. But on the other hand, very strongly and perhaps even more dominant, there is the willingness to help that fights that fear. I know that I have a good life, a lot of good things have happened to me, and it is worth sharing that with those who are not so lucky. I know it will be hard - these will not be the same conditions as in Poland. The most beautiful thing about it is that to be a volunteer all you need is the willingness to help. We don’t always have to go on a mission. Sometimes financial help is needed even more. We ask you for that help too, and we encourage you to support our departure.