Today was a perfect day in beautiful Harbel, Liberia with the CSI team and our Firestone hosts. Over a delicious lunch, we were visited by the U.S. ambassador to Liberia, Christine Elder, and her leadership team.  

Afternoon activities included visiting an orphanage, where we gave the children beanie babies, donated by Irene Davidson and Rachel Leaf, and new backpacks provided by the Blaine National Sports Center.  We spent time playing and dancing with the precious children. And, of course, we also gave them deworming tablets followed by a sweet lollipop.  

Another unique opportunity was a tour of the Firestone Farm which included demonstrations of latex tapping and the grafting of rubber trees for optimal production at the Firestone nursery.

Late in the afternoon the CSI team was honored with the opportunity to visit Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue & Protection (LCRP), a sanctuary for orphaned chimps.  There are 54 chimps at this sanctuary, all of which were full of life and very active. LCRP co-founder Jimmy Desmond gave us a great tour of the facilities and a history of the site and organization.

In the evening, the Firestone guesthouse staff served us a delicious BBQ dinner while we had a very informative presentation by Don Darden, General Manager of Firestone Liberia, Inc.  We learned about the history of the Firestone Farm and its contribution to Liberia and their people. 

It was indeed a great day!

–Cindy Markham, CSI volunteer RN

View more photos on CSI’s Flickr site.