Storm Damage at Bethany House Orphanage - 9 - April 2025.jpg

Major Storm Catastrophe in Saclepea, Liberia!

As you probably know by now, the "Bethany House Orphanage in Saclepea, Liberia was hit hard by a major storm that came through and caused major damage to six (6) of the buildings on the compound.

Our Praise is that none of the children or adult caregivers were hurt, however please pray that we can quickly recover from this dire situation.

We now know the full extent of the damage and have a cost estimate for the highest priority repairs needed (discussed below), so please consider giving a monetary gift (donate button is below) to help with the restoration effort.

More Details & Pics

As you know, there are still many structures on the orphanage compound that are made of mud and coated with a thin layer of concrete. They were constructed during the late 1990's just after the Liberia civil war and are no longer able to withstand the ferocious storms that sometimes pass through the country. Some good news is that the new school building and boy's dormitory (built with strong concrete blocks and mortared in place) have withstood the effects of the storm, however there were six (6) other buildings that didn't fare so well.

Buildings that were affected are the girls dormitory, Mother Rebekah Dargbeh's residence, Pastor Dennis and Ms. Theresa's residence, the cafeteria and kitchen, a storage building and a portion of the church roof. Most of the damage appears to be with portions or sometimes entire roof panels and trusses being blown down from their buildings. In addition, there was interior damage due to excessive rain that entered from the damaged roofs.

We now know the full extent of the damage and are prioritizing work and repair efforts, placing the girl's dormitory as the most important recovery need. This building is no longer repairable, and so the workers have already begun to tear the walls and remaining structure. We have enlisted the help of a reliable engineering and contractor firm from Monrovia that has evaluated the condition of the building and has provided a cost estimate to rebuild the dormitory over the existing site and with approximately the same living area. The cost was initially quoted at $35,000 for the structure alone, however the estimate omitted the windows, doors, plastering of walls and tiling of floors. Our estimate to complete the work is now at $41,500.

WEO would like to thank those who quickly responded to the Holy Spirit's call as we have raised over $27,000 already ( as of the end of May 2025)!! Thank you all for your generous contributions. The good Lord will in some way provide you a blessing that can't be imagined. Please continue to pray for this rebuild effort as we complete this building and begin repairs on the next highest priority structure.