POST comes through in Freetown

We still have a few boxes “floating” in the postal limbo world. Boxes that we have shipped priority air from the United States but suddenly find themselves in a holding pattern upon arrival to Lungi, Sierra Leone. Fortunately, Four more of our boxes resurfaced yesterday and James has retrieved them!

When the old man was alive and worked at the post office in Freetown, every box from us came through with no hold ups. Since his death, things have not been as efficient. I am hoping that the postal workers will live up to this man’s integrity and begin to deliver each box speedily as he did. He respected the work of Nazareth House and did not want anything to impede its aid to the people in need.

I realize the postal workers in Freetown are rarely paid their wages on time, if at all. I understand this and sympathize with the workers. Because we have received these four boxes, I am sending a box specifically for them with supplies they can use. I do expect that they will continue to do their job with honesty and make sure we get our boxes timely. The contents help those in need, I can’t imagine someone trying to obstruct these acts of care and concern for their countrymen. Yet, it happens.

The boxes that St. Laurence House received yesterday contained much needed medical supplies and other items desperately in demand for adequate survival. Roo, who at the moment of this box’s arrival was suffering a high fever can now have some relief with the children’s ibuprofen that came in the box.

Thank you for the immediate response to yesterday’s pleas for school fees and funds f0r “on the ground” aid while we are in Sierra Leone during our next mission. A few donations came in via paypal last night, other funds have been pledged. We still have a long way to go to make the goals, but we are moving in the right direction.

To make a donation to this worthy cause please visit our updated website at www.nazarethhouseap.org. Everything you need to donate is 0n the right side tool bar. While you are there, please navigate through the website and let us know what you think of its new appearance.

In these boxes, medications and other supplies came through.

Also a few of the shoes were sent directly to St. Laurence House for distribution to the poor in the neighborhood. You never know how long a container will take to sail to Salone or what it may encounter once it arrives. There have been occasions when containers have been “held hostage” waiting upon very exaggerated “tips & fees” to be made before granting you access to your container’s contents. Some of the neighbors near St. Laurence House are in desperate need of shoes and we took a chance that the post would get these shoes on their feet quicker. We were very fortunate that this came through as we hoped.

Roo has, once again, been very ill and I am delighted to report that FINALLY, a few packs of worm medications have made it to St. Laurence House without being “kidnapped” along the way.

Until this box, every time I mailed medication to treat internal parasites, the box was promptly “lost” once it reached Sierra Leone. I could track the box to Lungi, then it disappeared. I am anxious for Roo to receive this medication as he is losing weight and has been very sick this last week. We realized he had worms several months ago and have been trying to ship worm medication all this time. Praise God, enough to treat him arrived yesterday. Ann Marie and Lucy sorted all the supplies received (what stays and St Laurence House and what is distributed). Once sorted, the distribution items were placed in a large box to be given out to those in need.