This post is part of a series called 2014 Liberia Earthquake Journals MONROVIA, Liberia–It’s 2:30 pm and the hot African sun bears down on us. Our plane is scheduled later today, but for now I face the blowing sea smell of the wind from the Atlantic Ocean. The beach is desolate, but absolutely wild and beautiful. It’s a pure honey brown sand beach in Buchanan in the county of Grand Bassa. My bare feet are in the sand with my business pants rolled up. I removed my tie hours ago.  These things make sense in northern European weather. Not here.…

This post is part of a series called 2014 Liberia Earthquake Journals MONROVIA, Liberia–It’s 9:30 am on a Monday and our second day in Liberia. We are here on a week-long mission to advise the Government of Liberia on low-income housing construction. Cojolo, our tall guide/guard and the Protocol Officer at the Ministry of Finance, waited for us for more than 30 minutes now in the lobby. I was concerned about his mood. He greeted me with a straight face and pointed at his watch. I swiftly ran into the breakfast room to fetch a cup of coffee. We were…

This post is part of a series called 2014 Liberia Earthquake Journals MONROVIA, Liberia–The African heat and humidity mingling with the smell of burning gas bombarded me as I stepped off the plane. The lush green jungle that framed the airport and the insect noises vibrating through the air overwhelmed me. After a hellish 27 hour flight from California, it was a vivid welcome to Liberia. This West African country is home to 4 million people. In November 2013, we received a letter from Liberia’s Minister of Finance, Mr. Amara Konneh, of the Republic of Liberia. Its purpose was to…