Acres of Hope Liberia Humanitarian Projects

Experience the thrill and adventure of Africa’s oldest republic in a way that few foreigners ever taste.

Challenge yourself to step beyond the comfort zone of your everyday life to plunge yourself into an unforgettable journey into the interior of the bush country.

Make a difference that will change lives far into the future.

Your adventure begins with orientation with Acres of Hope staff.

You will meet your experienced guide(s) and the program manager, as well as receiving valuable training and preparation before venturing into the bush.

There you will make your home in a village, working side by side with Liberians to assist them with their needs.

You may be constructing a building, assisting with procurement of safe drinking water, aiding in the development of a sanitation project, or supporting the health care of people who suffer the effects of poverty and malnutrition.

Other projects may include the development of agriculture, education, or orphan rescue initiatives.

Whatever the project, you will experience the gratification of contributing unselfishly to render help to those in need.

You will discover truth of the Proverb: “The generous…are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” (Prov 11:25, NLT)

Opportunities are limited with only 6-8 openings per trip. Reserve your preferred date today! If you would like to make a reservation* or request more information, please contact the Acres of Hope main office at 715.765.4118 or aoh.savinglives@gmail.com.

This new building is a multi-use facility that will also house a medical clinic, expandable orphanage space, guest rooms, and missionary housing. It includes several apartments that can easily be arranged for different purposes as needed.

Because housing is at a premium in Liberia, it is very difficult for missionary families to raise the support required to rent adequate housing. When this building is complete, we will be able to offer a low-cost alternative.

Finally, we are pleased to offer guest rooms in this facility for adopting families and other visitors. In this way, families and guests can be more connected to the heart of the organization. Adopted children will make an easier transition from their nannies' care to that of their parents. Short-term missionaries and other visitors will have ample opportunities to interact with career missionaries, orphanage staff, and of course the precious children!

Acres of Hope will continue our efforts in providing relief to the Liberian people, but we are excited to be directing much of our efforts into empowering the people through the development of sustainable community projects. Project Grow (originally the name of the feeding project) has now been transitioned to include agricultural programs.  We are grateful to those who have sent seeds to get this new development started.  They are being distributed and are bringing hope to many people.  This is an on-going project and seeds are always needed.  We have farming projects in Bonga and Mbarklee.

Acres of Hope Liberia has recently been given a land grant of 100 acres located between Monrovia and the Roberts International Airport . This will be the site of the new Sustainable Agriculture Training Center (SAT Center). Dave, Val, and Justin Reto are currently preparing to travel as missionaries to Liberia with Acres of Hope to oversee this exciting new project. Dave has a degree in Biology and the Reto's have been undergoing training in aquaponics, aquaculture, and sustainable agriculture in preparation to aid development in Liberia.

AOH is establishing the SAT Center to demonstrate and teach sustainable production methods for fresh healthy fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, livestock, and other food sources using systems integrated with aquaponics.

In the rural areas of Liberia, there was no formal education for more than16 years during the civil wars. Acres of Hope Liberia has been involved in training teachers and helping to provide schooling for children, who otherwise would never learn to read or write .

Several years ago, AOHL established a school project in Nimba County upcountry.  At the time, we had secured a source of donated food to supply school lunches.  Unfortunately, the shipments of food dried up.  However, the school project continues to educate local children.  As was our goal, we transitioned the leadership of the program from AOHL staff to local leadership.

Additionally, we were able to go on feeding people (pregnant mothers, children who had swallowed caustic soda solutions, and those affected by HIV/AIDS, for example) on a smaller scale.  Meanwhile, the larger feeding program was put on hold while we regrouped and developed new strategies and sources. Several containers of food have been recieved throughout the past several years. We hope to be full-scale again in 2009.  It is our firm belief that feeding children physically helps them to be fed intellectually.  

The hand pump we had installed in Gijaila, where we have supplied food on several occasions, continues to provide clean water to the people of the village.  And, the residents of the area have requested that AOHL assist in building another school for the children there.

Additionally, we have been working with the Rock Hill community for many months to improve the quality of life for the children of the area.  Rock Hill is a neighborhood of 30,000 people within the capital city of Monrovia.  The main source of income for the people who live here is selling gravel for around 40 cents a day.  This gravel is crushed by hand as the people pound rock into various sizes of stones. 

It is not uncommon to see pregnant women pounding rocks with tools made from found objects while small children sit nearby.  School-age children help out by carrying heavy tubs of rocks.

In an effort to give a hand up to the people of Rock Hill, AOHL has been instrumental in improving a dilapidated building to be used for a school house until another building can be built.  We are presently sponsoring numerous children to attend this school, as well as providing books and school supplies.  Also we provided the lumber and building supplies to make new desks and seats for the children and teachers.  We involved community members in this project as it is our goal to encourage community ownership of the school. 

But these measures are only temporary. The next phase is to build a brand new school building on land that has already been set aside for that purpose. We hope to start construction in the Fall (2008). Furthermore, in the past year, two full containers (and part of another) of books and school supplies have been shipped to Liberia.  The supplies are being continuously distributed in Rock Hill and other local schools to benefit the children.

Village of Hope

AOHL is anticipating a future land grant to create a self-sustaining, inter-generational community.

According to current plans, the village will be comprised of a girls' school, a geriatric care center, possible orphanage space, and agricultural projects including a pineapple plantation, cannery, and an area to grow cashews.

In the future, children of the trainees at the new Sustainable Agriculture Training Center will be receiving schooling and/or childcare on site.

Also planned are an elderly care center and girls school, which will create a truly multi-generational community, a rich environment in which everyone can learn.

The self-sustainability facet created by the Sustainable Agriculture Training Center, Aquaponics, and Plantations means that this project will be helping to rebuild Liberia for decades to come.