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  • 2nd Annual Concert, Auction and Raffle Fundraiser Coming in Early October!

    2nd Annual Concert, Auction and Raffle Fundraiser Coming in Early October!

    by Marian Lee

    Yes, it’s here again! Love Lights the Way’s (LLTW) second annual fundraiser concert, silent auction and raffle event will take place in Providence​ on the first Friday of October​. There will be both new entertainers and some familiar ones taking to the stage. Headlining the show will be Sam Ticker, a renowned Liberian gospel singer. He will be entertaining the audience with his soul-stirring music. He is already well known among the Liberian community as a megastar. Also scheduled to appear at this event is Providence Church of Christ’s dancing group, Unstoppable Dance Stars, led by Patience Kweh.

    Equally ​exciting as the show is the raffle and silent auction, which will take place before and during the show​, with winners announced at the end of the concert​. Businesses with a commitment to community projects have generously donated gifts and services to this year’s auction and raffle. Many are return sponsors such as: Seastreak offering 2 round-trip tickets to Martha’s Vineyard​, Elizabeth Anthony Salon​ ​offering gift cards​ to ​India Restaurant​ and Bayside Resort in West Yarmouth, MA offering a 2-night stay. ​This year has​ also​ brought in new sponsors from Northern RI business establishments such as Reviva Spa and Beauty Boutique​ with​ facial service, Cinema World​ with​ free movie passes and North Bowl Lanes​ with​ hours of bowling entertainment​,​ to name a few.

    All money raised from this event will go to fund Love Lights the Way (LLTW)​, a 501(c)(3) public charity​ and the construction of their school and church in Liberia, West Africa​. LLTW’s mission is “to provide housing, health care, education, spiritual fulfillment, employment opportunities and hope to the children and adults of Liberia in the Fendell Region.” Liberia, one of the poorest countries in West Africa, is still recovering from many years of civil war and the recent 2014 Ebola outbreak.

    This year’s event, scheduled for Friday, October 2nd, will take place at Renaissance Church, 184 Broad Street, Providence. Doors will open at 6:00pm. The show will start at 7pm. Tickets are $10.00/person. Free admission for kids 6 yrs. and younger. Check out this event on our Facebook page and invite your friends!

  • Coin Competition and the LLTW Concert and Auction of 2014

    Coin Competition and the LLTW Concert and Auction of 2014

    by Marian Lee

    The third place winners bringing in $ 105.00 are Esther, Ciata and Marian Tengbeh.
    The second place winners collecting $130.00 are Grace, Micah and William Soe.
    Coming in first place, bringing in $158.00 is Helena Horace.



    Helena and William Horace. Helena filled two coin cans!

    Does this sound like a new money game show or some new reality show? No! These are the winners of the coin collection contest that the Providence Church of Christ held to raise funds for the Love Lights the Way (LLTW) building projects for their Lighthouse Village in Liberia. Back in late March of this year, the congregations of Providence Church of Christ in Providence, RI and Blackstone Valley Church of Christ in Cumberland, RI were collecting money to raise funds for LLTW’s projects— to raise a building that will function as both a K-6 school & church for their Lighthouse Village. A portion of all funds raised will also go to start a cassava farm in Lighthouse Village. LLTW estimates a need of $300K to complete this school/church structure.

    Love Lights the Way is a non-profit organization, created to develop a Mission compound in the Fendell community, 30 minutes outside of Monrovia, Liberia in West Africa. Since Liberia is still rebuilding from nearly two decades of a horrific civil war, the organization’s goal is to provide shelter, education, employment, spiritual fulfillment and hope for the people of Liberia. “We desire to see a wonderful, positive future for Liberia and her people.” (LLTW Mission Statement)

      

    On the left: Grace, William and Micah Soe. On the right: Marian Tengbeh.

    This coin collection contest, which brought in over $1500.00 from the Providence Church of Christ and Blackstone Valley Church, is only one of the many fundraising events that LLTW is doing to raise money for this non-profit group. According to John Kar, LLTW’s president and the director of the fundraising committee, the group plans on having many other entertaining and motivating fundraising events to raise the money they need.

    The next major event is a musical concert/auction raffle, which LLTW is planning to hold at the Elmwood Avenue Church of God at 297 Elmwood Avenue in Providence. This musical concert will take place on Sunday, September 28th from 6pm-9:30pm.

    This concert is an event not to be missed. It will bring in Tonia Makor-Peters who is a famous Liberian gospel singer. In addition to this special guest singer/musician, there will be other gospel singers as well as a dance troupe led by choreographer, Patience Kweh. In conjunction with this musical event, there will be a silent auction and a sale of raffle tickets to get one of the many prizes that vendors have donated to help out this cause. Some of the prizes being auctioned off include a trip for 4 people to Disney World (a $496.00 value), tickets to Canobie Lake, tickets to the NE Revolution soccer game, a $75 gift certificate to Alex & Ani and many others.

    When I asked Laurie Scharp, another fundraising team member and LLTW’s Communication Coordinator, how the group got such wonderful donations, she replied that many vendors in the Northeast and across the country who received requests have “generously donated to this event”. Even the singers and dancers who will be performing have agreed to participate for free.

    “Are tickets still available and how do I get them?,” you ask. Both John and Laurie confirmed that these tickets, though many have sold, are still available. A person can buy tickets, only $10 each, at the door on the night of the performance. If you wish to purchase tickets prior to the event, they are available from one of the following: John Kar, James Williams, (from Providence Church of Christ), Ron Burnett (Minister @ Fall River Church of Christ), Bruce Bates (Minister @ Blackstone Valley Church of Christ), or Laurie Scharp (LLTW Communication Coordinator). They can be contacted via LLTW’s website or in person.

    Good luck with your auction/raffle winnings! We hope to see many of you at Elmwood Avenue Church of God on September 28th. Read more about the Concert and Auction here.

    Contributing Writer: Marian Lee, LLTW AP Member  

  • Cassava

    Cassava

    by Jane Erickson

    A Cassava farm is planned to help fund the LLTW project as well as providing income and food for the residents of Lighthouse Village.

    Do you know what Cassava is? Cassava is the second most important food crop in Liberia. Cassava is a perennial shrub grown mostly for its tuberous root. The leaves are also edible and similar to collard greens with a stronger flavor. The roots contain starch and other nutrients but are also a good source of protein. Cassava can play an important role for small farmers. The plant is very hardy and does well in harsh conditions and poor soil. It is very cheap to grow and produces high yields.

    Cassava, also called yuca (not yucca, which is a different plant) is usually left in the ground until ready for cooking or processing into a more durable form. This starchy vegetable has nearly twice the calories as potatoes. Raw cassava contains 328 cal per cup. It is a gluten free staple which has some protein, more than potatoes, yams or plantains. However, it does not provide complete protein for a balanced diet.

    Cassava leaves are a better source of protein and younger leaves are the best. The leaves provide, per one large serving, about as much protein as one fresh egg. The leaves are also a good source of vitamin K, a moderate source of folates and B vitamins and other minerals. The leaves are high in fiber.

    Soon after harvesting, the cassava root is boiled or made into farina (also known as gari), tapioca starch, fufu, or dumboy. The leaves are often mixed with other vegetables if available, such as okra or beans and then boiled.

    Cassava leaves must be boiled and never eaten raw. Boiling reduces the amount of natural toxins such as cyanide to non-toxic levels. No part of the cassava plant should ever be eaten raw. Bitter varieties contain more cyanide than sweet varieties.

    Much work is being done with biofortification and coming up with better agricultural and processing methods to increase nutrient quality and reduce toxins. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has supported a global effort to develop cassava with enhanced nutrients. This is vitally important because cassava is a staple food source and source for animal feed in most of the developing countries in the world. In societies where the diet is critically lacking in protein ingestion of underprocessed cassava can result in poisoning.

    For sweet cassava, peeling the roots or tubers (the part of a plant that stores energy and plays a role in asexual reproduction, and in the case of the cassava is also the root) and boiling them eliminates toxicity. With the bitter varieties, grating or finely chopping, the number of soaking in water will allow fermentation to occur. Drying and boiling will further detoxify the tubers. Tapioca starch is used as a thickening agent and is non-toxic. Tapioca makes delicious puddings. Cassava flour is obtained from dried chips which are pounded or ground.

    Fufu is made from boiling and pounding the processed starchy cassava. Pounded into a dough-like consistency, the fufu is eaten by taking a small ball of it between the fingers and dipping it into soup or sauce. Dumboy is a traditional mash. The tuber is peeled, washed, cut into chunks and boiled in lightly salted water. This is drained and mashed some more, then transferred to a mortar and pestal. The mash is repeatedly ground until the perfect consistency is achieved, taking about 25 minutes.

    Fried cassava is peeled, washed, boiled in lightly salted water. Then it is drained and cut into slender pieces. Fried in cooking oil until golden, then drained off on paper and sprinkled with salt.

    Cassava flour has unlimited uses for cooking and baking. There are many recipes available for cassava breads, cakes, rolls and more. Recipes can be found for many types of soups and salads, biscuits and pastas.

    Cassava is the second most important food crop in Liberia and having a cassava farm at Lighthouse Village will be a valuable resource for agrictural education, food and extra income.

    Sources:

    en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/cassava

    http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/cassava.html

    http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/articles/533/cassava_factsheet.pdf

    http://www.fao.org/wairdocs/ilri/x5458e/x5458e0i.htm

    www.agroinc.com/Cassava.html

    http://www.ifdc.org/Nations/Liberia/

    http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/west-africa.php

    http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2011/04/Nutritious-Rice-and-Cassava-Aim-to-Help-Millions-Fight-Malnutrition

    http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-tuber.htm