Memories of American Medical Personnel Working in Liberia: 1970-1972

By Bob Curry

The dedicated and dangerous work of Americans and others who are currently trying to contain the ebola outbreak and care for its victims reminds me of what other Americans did for West Africans during the early 1970s. Following the 1970 Spring Semester at CSUS I received a Fulbright grant to teach at Cuttington College of Liberia, a small 250 student campus located up-country in Bong County near the town of Gbarnga and the village of Sergeant Colley Town. Phoebe Hospital was located directly across from us along a dirt road that led from the capital city of Monrovia to a regional trading town in Sierra Leone called Koindu located close to where Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia share common borders.
Phoebe’s medical personnel were more than simply impressive—they were remarkable! They were almost all volunteers-- medical missionaries from the Lutheran Church, physician and nursing students from medical schools (mainly New York and Columbia Universities), a scattering of Peace Corps Volunteers who were supported by some U.S. Aid workers and Lutheran Church leaders. It was the only major medical facility in that part of the world and it remained open to all. It served the faculty of nearby Cuttington College, workers from Firestone’s plantations and the nearby mines and assorted Peace Corps and other volunteers who worked in the area. But its main calling was to serve Liberians who lived nearby as well as others who lived well outside of Bong County and who trekked a long way to get to Phoebe.
Phoebe was quite a sight! Early each morning lines began to form including numerous woman with infants and children. I can’t imagine this part of West Africa without Phoebe. Its role was essential because all day long the medical staff dealt with patients as a result of periodic outbreaks of cholera, endemic cases of malaria, river blindness, sickle cell anemia, snake, spider and insect bites, infections, broken limbs, nasty traffic accidents (a constant problem), alcohol related maladies, lightning strike victims and, of course, the “normal” array of health problems including serious colds. It also had a unit that focused on maternity and well-baby patients.
There was no ordinary work day, week or month at the hospital. The staff was on call when needed and that meant they were always “on duty” to some degree. They weren’t miracle workers and things didn’t always turn out well because of the type of medicine they practiced. Some cases needed attention beyond what Phoebe could deliver. When possible serious cancer, stroke and other patients in dire need were sent to more well equipped facilities.
There was nothing trivial about their work. For example, on one occasion I had a bit of a malaria problem so I went over to Phoebe and stood in line next to a Liberian woman carrying a desperately ill child. It was during a cholera scare so I thought I knew what was happening. The attending doctor (about 25-30 years old), examined the child, looked at the mother and shook his head and asked her how many children she had and how man lived and how many died. She told him! He wasn’t surprised by her answer and neither was she by his question—bit I was floored! (I later found out that the live-birth death rate was estimated at one-third by the year three). When the child died the doctor proceeded to comfort the mother and treat her for other complications. Without a break he then turned his attention to other patients.
Over the years I’ve often wondered whether the people who made up Phoebe’s staff fully understood just how much they meant to the Liberians they served. The Liberians certainly understood--and they responded! For example, one small but telling incident happened in Monrovia and many towns and villages when merchants doing business there gave a so-called “Peace Corps” discounts to people who spoke with an American accent and who looked as though they might be PC Volunteers. It was a small gesture directed at the people like the remarkable Americans who brought health and even life to Liberians via their service at Phoebe!

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