Ministry in Liberia plans for growth despite devastating fire

Liberia
(MNN) — An official cause has yet to be released for the fire that destroyed
Radio ELWA in Liberia last November.

While
the station was treated like a crime scene and an investigation was launched, there were few other developments until December 28, 2011.

Executive
Director of ELWA Ministries, Rev. Kedrick L. White, said construction of the new
studio building begins this year and that the entire broadcast facility will be
fully operational by 2013.

The
November 8 fire burned the ELWA radio building to the ground. The staff managed
to salvage roughly 30% of their recordings, but everything else was a total loss.
Damage estimates were slated around
$250,000.00 (USD), with replacement costs of about $400,000.00 (USD).

Despite the loss, the station was not silenced. Immediately after the fire, the team resumed
broadcasting from a standby studio located near the undamaged FM transmitter. Partner HCJB Global held a fundraiser and
sent Radio ELWA $27,000 for new equipment.

It's
time to build, according to White. Other
construction-related developments include a new high school, an amphitheater, a
guest house, the refurbishing of the ELWA housing stock, and a new hospital.

Samaritan's
Purse is bankrolling the hospital building project to the tune of $3.5 million
(USD). Construction begins in June 2012,
and when finished, it will be a 100-bed facility and include funding and space
for a residency program for training Liberian doctors.

ELWA
Ministry also faced a court challenge over the ownership of the 100+ acres of
land it occupies by the government of Liberia. The ministry successfully
defended its ownership through an act of the national legislature, a tribal
certificate and a well probated deed by the late President Tubman
Administration.

ELWA programming consists of several English-language Gospel broadcasts
per day, along with 1½ hours of programming in languages indigenous to the
area, including Grebo, Kru, Gola, Bassa, Kpelle, Kissi, Dan, Krahn and Loma.

Please
pray for the Liberian leaders and staff of the station, ELWA's executive
director Rev. Kedrick White, James Kesselly, and many others. Pray for wisdom
to recover and move forward.