Tenegar Revisited...

This past Wednesday myself and some of the Communications team headed out to Tenegar. Our aim was to get some shots of our Bridgestone tyres on our Land Rovers in action on a dirt road. Bridgestone donated the tyres and wanted some publicity. So I drove the Land Rover while our photographer and videographer captured images.

But more important than publicity for Bridgestone was to be able to get off the ship and visit Tenegar. The last time I was there was with the Malcolm Kelly vision trip back in July (see blog entry From Reception To Communications, Monday, July 14). It is amazing to see the progress that is happening there at Tenegar. The walls are painted, the ceilings are wooden, and the furniture has been varnished. The floors have also been tiled and it is looking pretty impressive. It made me extremely proud to be able to see what our Community Development Services (now more correctly termed Health Care Development… but you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!) guys and the local community have been doing. And to be honest it is not about us, as Mercy Ships, but it is more about the dedicated hard-working community. They are the ones who have done most of the work. They have taken ownership of this project, which is great.

This clinic was left in ruins after the civil war. All that was there were the foundations. And to now see it coming to life is a wonderful thing. It could be said that Tenegar in some ways represents Liberia. It has had a troubled past, in that the clinic was razed to the ground, but is now rising on its solid foundations to a brighter future. Let’s hope Liberia goes from strength to strength! And let’s hope that the Tenegar clinic will be a blessing to all who enter its doors for treatment.

The clinic is due to be officially opened later next month. I will be there as part of the Communications team to cover the event, so I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes!

But for now here are some then (July) and now (October) shots.