The history of Liberia, West Africa, is a country whose very founding as a nation was inextricably linked to the United States. In the early decades of the 19th century, free men of color opting to leave the shores of the U.S to live free, settled and brought independence to the land that is now known as Liberia. These people brought with them the American way of life, a fact that distinguished Liberia as having a very strong cultural link to the U.S. English is the official language of Liberia, a name derived from liberty. Monrovia, the capital of Liberia is derived from President James Monroe, so is the dress code, food preference, Christian values of Liberians, etc. This trend has persisted since Liberia negotiated her independence in 1847, through U.S. support. Unsurprisingly therefore, Liberians unlike any other Africans, have always felt a stronger affinity to the U.S. and coming to the U.S. is regarded as ‘returning home.’ Even prior to the Liberian civil war that began on the Christmas Eve of 1990, many Liberians who came to the U.S. never returned to Liberia and even if they did, had nothing meaningful to offer to improve the socio-economic conditions of the ordinary indigenous impoverished population. For those who came to the U.S. and became successful by obtaining a university education, few were cajoled into returning only under the assumption that they would work at the very top of government leadership either through the system of nepotism that prevailed – an admittedly Americo-Liberia legacy – or through the forced action of a coup or civil war. Generally speaking, this has been the story of the African intellectual class returning to their homeland. In fact such individuals were the driving force behind the colonial movement that swept across the continent in the 20th century.
As a result of the war narrative earlier mentioned, thousands of Liberians resettled into the U.S. over a period of more than a decade during which the civil war was fought. Owing to the level of neglect of the social structures and the lack of the ability to enforce good laws, the level of education in Liberia remained consistently low prior to the civil war. What this meant was that a significant number of those who were fortunate to resettle into the U.S. did not possess the skills to encounter the American dream. The historical notion of ‘returning home’ plus this lack of education has meant that over 90% of these refugees have had no plans to return home, whether on a permanent or temporary basis. What is sad about this observation is that even if they wanted to visit Liberia, the jobs most of them occupy are not ones that are adequate to save and sustain the sometimes ‘ostentatious’ lifestyles that most Liberians lead in the U.S. The irony here is that, back home, the ravages of war in a country saddled with double-digit unemployment and an evaporating healthcare sector, looks to the hope of rescue, unfortunately to a clearly incapable source – its refugee population in exile, especially those in the U.S. Impossible as this situation projects itself to be, the idea that someone would assume to take on the challenge, both in the U.S. and at home in Liberia, of transforming the future direction of a group of people deserves mention. This is especially true if such activities for action are being carried out within the confines of proper norms and through the reliance on Christian values, and also if such acts have not been heralded in a public manner all because the actor is unknown.
Consistent with the latter preceding backdrop, among the first generation of Liberian refugees living in Johnson City, Tennessee, less than 50% have made earning a college degree their goal. Within this number, about 25% of those who enroll at the local university eventually drop out of the academic program. Given these numbers it is laudable that Amos Gbah has put himself at the center of the crusade to transform the lives of Liberians by creating community based support structures. What is interesting is that he has not limited his activities to the U.S. but is even in Liberia building more such structures intended to bring communities together to give young people hope. Indeed, the story of Amos Gbah is the typical Liberian story. He was born into poverty and as one of the millions living as the underclass, he always had three major goals: achieve as much academically as possible, use God as his instrument to build bridges among people of different socio-economic backgrounds, and alleviate suffering and hardship anywhere he sees it. All of these goals require money – an essentially important piece of his puzzle that eluded him for decades. What exactly did Amos Gbah do and how did he do it?
First and foremost, using the gift of the opportunity provided by Providence, for him to come to the U.S., Amos Gbah saw the deep divisions within Liberian communities across the U.S. and sought to change it. His first approach was to avail his services to the community as a tailor. Through this means, he became popular with young people and their families. The proceeds from the minimum fees he charged, he used to buy musical equipment to establish a Liberian church within the community. The idea that there was a place that Liberians could worship with the feel of the nostalgia of being home encouraged the entire community to come to church. From then on, the church and the pastor became instruments of social conflicts resolution. Previous foes were encouraged to organize a choir in the church, and the melody of their voices not only lacked dissonance but is always too soothing to think that their unison was harnessed from social discord. The more young people and families met in church, the more people were encouraged to discuss their problems, and with time Liberians began helping each other with schoolwork, babysitting, fund raising in cases of individual emergencies and deaths, etc. The success of this experiment encouraged Amos Gbah, at the time a pastor, to return to Liberia to plant churches. Hundreds of them exist all across Liberia and his intention to use these structures as the focal point for health and education is beginning to bear fruits. The Liberian community that was once divided along ethnic lines, in part, as a vestige of the civil war, has now come together to contribute to the needs of those back home through the church in Johnson city, Tennessee. The last time there was an opportunity to discuss with him the future of the church, he informed that he had plans for extension and was looking for a land for such purpose. That was in the middle of last year. Towards the end of the year, an invitation was extended to me to witness his ordination. Apparently while searching for somewhere to use as a new church venue, away from the local community center building, he ran into a mega church pastor who availed the edifice of his church to be used for this purpose – instruments and all. After a number of services, and seeing the commitment of the pastor to the community, through the church, a decision was made to ordain him as a Bishop. The ordination took on a more impacting tone when he was also awarded an honorary Doctorate degree from a major university. Almost all members of his very large immediate family, including those of his extended – members of the church, wept with joy for this level of recognition. Interestingly, since his ordination he is still known by most as pastor Gbah and this new church has become part of a larger Christian fellowship. This however, has not stopped the dream of Amos Gbah. He mentioned at his ordination that he had plans to return to Liberia to continue his pious mission. For months, since the end of last year, he has been working to plant more churches in Liberia. Anyone who has tried to convert someone into Christianity knows how difficult this can be, needless to say planting churches. This complication becomes worse in an African, but more specifically, Liberian case. The perversion of Liberian Christianity has been rooted in the false ethnic acrimonious divisions that people like Amos Gbah is working to neutralize albeit he is unknown.
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