Árdís - 01.01.1956, Page 51

Ársrit Bandalags lúterskra kvenna
49
Liberia
By FLORA POLSON
I am very happy to be here this evening to tell you ladies from
so many Lutheran congregations of the wonderful work being done
in Liberia by the Lutheran Mission and Church.
The Lutheran Mission has been in Liberia for ninety-six years.
It has grown to be one of the largest missions in the country, with
most of its work among the Loma and Kpelle tribes which are
located in the Central and Western provinces.
I am sure that you all know that the main objective of any
mission is to organize a self-supporting Church and then cease to
function. Our Lutheran Church in Liberia has been organized
since 1947, but, of course, is very young and for many years will not
be able to stand by itself.
At present there are seven large mission stations, each with a
school and a dispensary; also two language centres where new mis-
sionaries learn to speak the Loma and Kpelle dialects, and the Bible
is being translated for the Loma and Kpelle tribes.
The Lutheran medical work is extensive. The hospital, at
present, is located among the Loma people at Zorzor. (Our baby,
Valdina, was born at the Phebe—Curran Memorial Hospital at
Zorzor in April, 1954.) Plans are near completition for the new
hospital to be built in the centre of the Lutheran work. This will
be a large hospital, and will have better facilities than are available
at present for nurses’ training. The science facilities of nearby
Episcopal Cuttington College will be available to the student nurses.
The Mission hopes to open this hospital during 1960, for its
Centennial. It will be called Phebe Hospital, to carry on the
Lutheran tradition of having a Phebe Hospital in Liberia. The
Curran Hospital will then become a maternity hospital; its size—
30 beds—and its location at Zorzor is ideal for this purpose.
A large dispensary, with obstetrical work, is being operated at
Sanoyea by Miss Esther Bacon.
Each station and some of the preaching points have a primary