In Stricken Liberia:: We Made a Difference (mosaic@seventy press Book 7)

When Margaret Mead said never to doubt the power of a small group changing the world, she spoke directly to the author of In Stricken Liberia: We Made a Difference. Nancy J Vorkink Machin, a former teacher in Liberia, West Africa, for two years, in the 1970s, met Daniel F Poawalio, one of her students, a 30-year friendship developed. Both made a difference, at home and abroad. Even during the deadly
Ebola outbreak of 2014-015.

Through Liberia's fourteen year civil war, to a refugee camp, and the return back home, American Mom/Nancy and Daniel kept connected. Soon the Friends of Daniel inspired community prayers, educational supplies, and medical advice to the extended family in Africa. No reunion took place, yet the birth of Nancy Kumba with
her older sister Siah kept hope alive in the refugee life. Back in Monrovia, the capital, both Daniel and his wife worked in professional downtown jobs. Daniel even attended a Master's program in Peace Studies at night.

Then Ebola struck in 2014. Hand washing was the new normal for an intense eight months, never knowing what the endgame would be. Everything turned upside-down, as the dying littered the streets and the villagers faced the health care workers in space suits. Today, the country is Ebola-free, and in a state of healing.

A must read! This compelling story will inspire you to do good works today, not
tomorrow. What makes a difference in the world are small active groups committed to one another and to changing the world: here is just one story, on village, one family committed to overcoming any obstacles over thirty-plus years to believe in
the living, and a spiritual force, and a real connection to never give in.

Cross-cultural connections engage acts of courage, speaking up, and respect
plus miraculous saving graces of love-hope-faith, and humor, to reach and touch
the reader. By extending out to reach one another, especially internationally,
benefits both sides.

The senior author, Nancy Vorkink Machin, in her 70s, developed a direct link to a Liberian named Daniel as her student in the 1970s over many years ---it is their unique connection that helps heal current life's struggles in the Ebola outbreak as well as in the war, refugee life, and poverty of the past. Possibilities are endless
when international connections of love, family, justice are united in years.

This extraordinary story of friendship between an American Peace Corps volunteer, Nancy Vorkink MACHIN, and her Liberian student Daniel Poawalio, confirms the insight of Margaret Mead, “a small group of committed citizens can change the world.”

Nancy Vorkink’s new book, In Stricken Liberia: We Made a Difference weaves together narratives, photos, news items, poems, and letters, as Daniel Poawalio’s family confronts Ebola. The courage of Daniel, his wife Jemina and their two daughters shines through on each page, as does the fidelity of Nancy Vorkink Machin and her Friends of Daniel.

Their friendship blossomed into a family spanning continents and offering a stunning tribute to faith hope and love even in the grips of Ebola.
-Susan Tiberghien, mentor, of the International Women's Writing Guild, author of One Year to a Writing Life.