As classes end and the holidays begin, it's nice to take a moment and think of those in need. Members of the TC Community are definitely doing that. Walking around the college, there are boxes for a book drive and bins for clothing. This year, the Office of Diversity and Community is sponsoring a clothing drive for people in Liberia through December 19th.

"The Liberian clothing drive is just another way in which the TC community does it's good work. The response has been terrific. Liberia is just ending 14 years of conflict. People are displaced," said Janice Robinson, Special Counsel to the President for Diversity and Community. "The clothes will go to a church and an organization with a reputation for providing them to the Liberians directly. This effort is really the result of Maudeline Swaray's leadership."

The clothes that will be collected from bins in Main Hall and Whittier Hall will go to TC staff member Maudeline Swaray's church, The Liberian Christian Fellowship Church in Newark, New Jersey. The church will distribute the items to The Aurora Foundation and the the James E. Cooper Orphanage in Liberia.

The Aurora Foundation's mission is to find and apply resources to further economic empowerment of Liberia.

The James E. Cooper Orphanage helps orphans get an education, healthcare, food and parental care. The orphanage runs a children's ministry, an orphanage for girls and co-educational school located in the town of White Plains in the rural Liberian county of Montserrado. It is the only basic education facility within in 10 miles and accommodates more than 400 students from surrounding townships.

"There are more than 150,000 people in Liberia who are displaced. They are living in football stadiums, schools, and marketplaces. They have become refugees in their own country," said Swaray, Information Processing Assistant in Development and External Affairs. "These are people who have lost everything as a result of 14 years of a senseless war. These clothes will help to give them cover from being exposed to the open elements, mosquitoes, and other unhealthy conditions."

"We are working with The Aurora Foundation and The James E. Cooper Orphanage to help to uplift the condition of the people, especially children who have lost their parents and women who have suffered trauma from being raped-in some cases many times. There are also people who have been used by the rebels to transport things on their heads from place to place," added Swaray. "Lastly, the plight of more than 40,000 child soldiers-some as young as 7 years old-who need to be rehabilitated in order to return to a normal life, and pursue an education like normal children would."

Right now, the country is struggling with many issues. On December 10th, at least 9 people were killed in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, in the worst violence since United Nations Peacekeepers arrived in August. Monrovia had been calm since UN troops were put in place to end a 14-year civil war, and other areas are still not stable.

Published Friday, Dec. 19, 2003