This month’s Kuwaa Mission Prayer Letter comes from Mr. Roland Yarsiah, Chairperson of the Kuwaa Parish Council. Mr. Yarsiah is a junior high school teacher in Kalata, one of the district’s larger towns. As a district leader, he has seen firsthand how the Kuwaa Mission has served and supported the Kuwaa people over the years. In this letter, Mr. Yarsiah expresses particular appreciation for the recently revived Kuwaa literacy program and its importance for preserving the Kuwaa language for future generations. ______________________________________________________________________________

My name is Roland Yarsiah, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Kuwaa Mission for the valuable work you are doing among the Kuwaa people. My community and I greatly appreciate the clean water made possible by the wells you dug and fitted in our towns, the support provided through the clinic and medicines, the training opportunities offered to our girls, and the many other activities that help improve our people’s lives. I especially want to thank you for introducing the Kuwaa literacy program. The reports we hear and read about the condition of African languages are concerning. Many African languages are disappearing because they have too few remaining speakers. In some cases, no living speakers remain. Even more troubling is that many of these languages were never properly documented or preserved. Although we often hear of this happening in distant countries, we understand that the same danger faces the Kuwaa language. We recognize that our own experiences reflect many of the conditions that have caused other languages to decline or disappear. Because there are limited opportunities in our region, many Kuwaa people must leave their homes and travel hundreds of miles to larger towns and cities in search of work, education, and a better future. As we travel, we often begin using English, the official language, more frequently, along with other languages spoken where we live and work. Kuwaa people are often known for speaking several languages. Others consider us intelligent because we can learn and speak those languages fluently, often sounding like native speakers. We are proud of this ability. However, this strength can also place our own language at risk. Because we no longer speak Kuwaa regularly at home, we are failing to teach it to our children. As a result, each generation has fewer people who can speak and understand Kuwaa. We understand the effect this neglect is having on our mother tongue. This is why there is such strong interest in the literacy program. Our students, teachers, and district leaders welcome this initiative because we recognize its importance and the benefits it can bring to our people. Thank you, Kuwaa Mission, for helping us preserve our language, strengthen our identity, and invest in the future of the Kuwaa people.  

Prayer: God, we thank you for people like Roland and all those who have embraced this literacy program. We pray that the men and women being trained to teach gain knowledge and understanding from You so they may be effective in their calling. Amen!  

Your contributions to the Kuwaa Mission are tax-deductible.  We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.  Our tax ID number is 27-5458111. Donations can be given in two ways:  A Check to the mission address or PayPal on our Website.

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We are happy to introduce you to Mr. Desmond David, the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Kondesu Clinic. Mr. David heads a team of 7 employees, 5 of whom are trained nurses assigned to the Kondesu Clinic by the Ministry of Health, the Government of Liberia. He has volunteered to write the December Prayer Letter in gratitude for the gifts that he and his people received in mid-November this year.

Christmas came early for us this year! On the night of November 20, 2025, the residents of the Belle (Kandasu) and Fassama catchment received the Kuwaa Mission team with a truck full of supplies and special gifts for our communities. What an exciting time! We have received Bishop Seyenkulo and his team before. The Kuwaa Mission team made the trip despite the risky road conditions. Veteran staff at the Kondesu Clinic said the Kuwaa Mission team once brought a team from the Christian Health Association of Liberia (CHAL) and its Executive Director, Mrs. Patrecia Kamara, with truckloads of hospital supplies for our two clinics.

Bishop Seyenkulo and his team have made many deliveries in the past. But this time, it was different. Bishop, the representative of the Kuwaa Mission, came ready to address more than the clinics’ essential needs; they brought quilts and baby blankets for the two clinics. During a meeting with the elders, clinic staff, and community members, Bishop informed us that Lutheran World Service had partnered with Global Health Ministries (GHM) to equip the Kuwaa Mission to deliver quilts and blankets to the clinics. These gifts were designated for patients, the elderly folks, those living with disabilities, and the least fortunate in our communities. Since Bishop had shared this information with the two clinics in advance, we prepared two lists, one for each clinic, with the intention of making the distribution orderly.  The distributions went according to plan! We cannot thank the Kuwaa Mission enough! We thank God for Bishop Seyenkulo, who God is using to do great things among his people. Our many thanks also go to Global Health Ministries and Lutheran World Service for their support of the work the Kuwaa Mission does among us. We thank God that, among other things, your gifts of quilts and baby blankets are doing many things among us:

1) They serve as incentives for the clinic staff

2) They provide warmth for our elderly and disadvantaged folks

3) The baby blankets encourage the expectant mothers to prioritize clinic delivery, something the government of Liberia is trying to encourage to reduce risky home deliveries

Thank you!

Prayer: Loving God, we thank you for the partnership that enables your laborers to go farther than they could alone. Strengthen the hands of those who partner with the Kuwaa Mission so that your mission will yield greater results than we can imagine. We pray in Jesus’ name: Amen!  

Your contributions to the Kuwaa Mission are tax-deductible.  We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.  Our tax ID number is 27-5458111. Donations can be given in two ways:  A Check to the mission address or PayPal on our Website.

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Kuwaa Mission – PO Box 90513.  Anchorage, AK 99509

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October – November 2025

The Prayer of Thanksgiving continues for friends of the Kuwaa Mission. The Kuwaa Mission family offers special prayers of thanks this month for those who have supported the mission in addressing the health needs of the Kuwaa people. This time, the Mission is particularly grateful for the support of the clinics we collaborate with in the Kuwaa region.   Thanks to the Kuwaa Mission and its partners, the Kuwaa region, also known as the Belle District, now has two clinics, one in Fassama and one in Kondesu. Most supporters of the Mission are familiar with the Kondesu Clinic, a healthcare facility built and supported by the Kuwaa Mission for many years. The older health facility in Fassama was built by the Government of Liberia in 1974. Although the Kuwaa Mission did not construct the Fassama clinic, it has supported that center since it started working among the Kuwaa people.   One of the Kuwaa Mission partners that has made that support possible for both the Kondesu and Fassama clinics is Global Health Ministries (GHM), based in Minnesota. About four times a year, Global Health Ministries supplies the two Kuwaa health facilities with medical supplies. These supplies help the clinics operate as caregiving centers. Many of the Kuwaa Mission followers will remember that the Mission built the Kondesu clinic and handed it over to the Government of Liberia at its dedication in 2014. The Government’s management of administrative duties was a sign of real progress. But when the Government cannot provide even the basics that the clinic needs, the facility exists only on paper. Still, with support from Global Health Ministries, the Mission has supplied some of the clinic’s essential needs, helping it address some of the health concerns of the Kuwaa people. Not only have they helped with the clinic that the Kuwaa Mission built, but they have also supported the Fassama Clinic, a government facility, with some of the same aid they provide to the Kondesu clinic that the Kuwaa Mission built. We highlight Global Health Ministries as the focus of our Thanksgiving prayers this month because GHM surpassed its usual donations in past years by providing more than the regular essential clinic supplies. In early September this year, the Mission received health supplies for the clinics in the Belle District, Kuwaa region. This action by GHM is not unusual; their consistent support over the years has led the Mission to expect it. However, since early September, we have noticed GHM increasing its involvement with the Mission. In partnership with Lutheran World Relief, GHM sent supplies, including quilts, baby care kits, and other essential materials for use at the Kondesu and Fassama Clinics. The Kuwaa Mission staff has received these materials and is waiting for the dry season to make the final deliveries to the two facilities. We thank God for this partnership that enables the Mission to expand its support to more communities and families. Prayer: God, you never fail to meet our needs. We thank you for Global Health Ministries, Lutheran World Relief, and all the Kuwaa Mission friends around the world who make ministry to the Kuwaa people possible. Oh Lord, grant these your servants good health and joy so they may continue your Mission. To you be all the glory and honor! We ask all this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Amen!

Your contributions to the Kuwaa Mission are tax-deductible.  We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.  Our tax ID number is 27-5458111. Donations can be given in two ways:  A Check to the mission address or PayPal on our Website.

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Kuwaa Mission – 6620 E. 11th Ave.  Anchorage, AK  99504

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Kuwaa Mission Prayer Letter

July & August 2025

Prayers ascending for the students and staff of the Dick and Doris Thompson Memorial Day Care Center and Elementary School!  This month, we give thanks to God for the Day Care Center and elementary school in the Fassama Township, Belle District, Gbapolu County.

The Dick and Doris Thompson Memorial Day Care Center and Elementary School is named in honor of the Thompsons, whose ministry and Liberian home were located near Fassama in the 1970s.  Reports from the community are that the school is one of the leading schools in Fassama in the Kuwaa Region of Liberia.  The school began in 2023.  In the first year, there were 29 students.  We are so pleased to report that the student body of the school has grown from 29 students to 90 students this school year.  The student body is currently made up of 58 girls and 32 boys. 

The Kuwaa mission, with the support of your prayers and financial contributions, makes a difference in the lives of the people of Fassama.  The children are learning to read, to do mathematics, and other things which will help them and their community as they grow up. Reading and writing in English are good things. But the unique thing about this Fassama school is that it addresses one of the most difficult challenges we face today in Liberia and the rest of Africa – we are forgetting our mother tongue.

The English language, the official, commercial, and social language of Liberia, is slowly and effectively forcing the Liberian languages into extinction. The disappearance of African languages has become alarming enough to claim the attention of reputable international media like the BBC and American Public Radio. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates that about 40% of the world’s languages are endangered. Most of these are African languages. Sadly, the Kuwaa or Belle language is among those heading toward extinction. All the factors leading to this extinction fit the Kuwaa situation. One factor that has had the most impactful negative effect on the heart language was the prohibition of the use of indigenous languages in school. While that had its plus side in making all Liberians be able to communicate with each other in a shared language, it helped immensely in relegating the heart language with all of its cultural values. Today, most of our children and grandchildren do not speak the Kuwaa language, even children in the villages.

Dick and Doris, after whom the Fassama school is named, were one of the two couples that the Lutheran Bible Translators assigned to the Kuwaa region in the 1970s to help translate the Bible into the Kuwaa language and produce Kuwaa literature that would help preserve the Kuwaa language. The good news is that there is now a Kuwaa version of the New Testament, and progress is being made on the Old Testament translation. Despite this progress, however, we cannot be content with this accomplishment; we need people who can read the language.  

This is why a class in the Kuwaa language at the Dick and Doris Thompson Memorial Elementary School is a thing that calls for celebration!

This move is so impactful that actions are being taken to extend the system across the district, even in public schools. The district and county education officers have shown their support for the idea by selecting pilot sites and including Kuwaa teacher training in the upcoming September 2025 educational training workshop. Please keep the Dick and Doris Thompson Memorial Day Care Center and Elementary School in your prayers.  Financial Contributions can be sent to The Kuwaa Mission at the address below, with Dick and Doris Thompson School in the memo line of your check.        

  Prayer: Most gracious God, we thank you for the many gifts you bestow upon your people. We thank you especially for the gift of language. You attached value to every language. We have not followed your lead. Forgive us and bless our effort to recover what we have lost. Bless those who work with us to make this happen. We have prayed in Jesus’ name, Amen!

Your contributions to the Kuwaa Mission are tax-deductible.  We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.  Our tax ID number is 27-5458111. Donations can be given in two ways:  A Check to the mission address or PayPal on our Website.

Donate

Kuwaa Mission – 6620 E. 11th Ave.  Anchorage, AK  99504

www.kuwaamission.org                          Facebook: Kuwaa-Mission

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