A Farm in Virginia

Early in the 1800s, freed slaves from the US were given the opportunity to return to Africa, the home of their ancestors. Most of those freed slaves were transported to Liberia where they built their own homes and started farms or plantations. Often they named the new area after the place they lived in the States. In Liberia, you can find names like Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Virginia. Last week I visited a farm in Virginia owned by a church who sponsors an orphanage called Victorious Faith.

When orphanages are located in the city of Monrovia they often do not have space for a farm, so they purchase land elsewhere and transport the produce into the city to either eat or sell in the market. This plot of land provides food for the children of Victorious Faith and is run single-handedly by a young man named Moses. So far they have grown cassava, cabbage, sweet potatoes, peppers (see photo), and bitterball. But he is fighting an uphill battle.

The difficulty for Moses is that he must walk a long way to find water in a nearby swamp so he can water the garden. His farm is in need of a well or during the upcoming dry season the crops will not survive. As well, during the night thieves often come to steal the crops because Moses lives a mile or two away. He would like to move to the farm to watch over it and protect the land but he is in need of a small house. Even when his crops succeed, they are sometimes destroyed by caterpillars, grasshoppers, and other insects. The produce that is grown on the farm will help feed the children at Victoria's Faith, and we would like to assist Moses in his efforts to provide for those children. If you would like to contribute to the the various Agriculture projects that ORR is involved with, please indicate that your donation is for Capacity Building. Thank you for helping to feed the children!