When Fr Blamoh Harris, the first Liberian SDB, paid a visit to Thornleigh Salesian House last week, it was an opportunity for those who had served in Liberia to recall their time there together, and also for Salesian Link to talk to Fr Blamoh about his experience.

Fr Blamoh's formation and training as a Salesian took place against the backdrop of the civil war in Liberia, and after eleven years in Ghana, where he was principal of Don Bosco Technical School Ashaiman, he is about to begin his new mission as Parish Priest in Ondo, Nigeria.

At high school, Blamoh was very much involved in youth work in his home parish, and Fr Michael O'Leary SMA suggested he and the Salesians may be right for each other. As a result, he moved to Monrovia and attended the Don Bosco Technical School, where he studied construction and carpentry, and first met British Salesians including Fr Joe Brown and Br Donald Macdonald.

In 1984, there was no English-speaking Salesian novitiate in Africa, so Blamoh went to study in the Philippines, making his first profession on 1st April 1986. After studying philosophy in Lesotho, he returned to Liberia for practical training in 1989, shortly before the war began. As the Salesians were expatriates, they all had to leave, and Blamoh was effectively cut off from them, so he decided to return to his own diocese. For some time, the Salesians did not even know where he was, and it was Sean Devereux, who was then working for the UN, who helped them to reconnect. Blamoh then spent two years with the Salesians in Tappita, Liberia.

Liberia is now part of the Anglophone West Africa Province, along with Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, and the novitiate in now based in the Province. In 2015, a second Liberian Salesian, Fr Albert Gibson, was ordained priest, and there are around five men in formation.

Fr Blamoh told us about the school in Ashaiman, Ghana, where he was Principal until recently. The area has many challenges and people live in significant poverty. In keeping with the Salesian charism to serve the poor and to be among them, Don Bosco Technical School was set up to provide education and vocational training to young men and women that equips them to find employment in local factories and businesses. The training offered includes auto-mechanics, accounts, secretarial and computing skills and electronics, and students can take qualifications to gain entry to higher education. The Salesians also operate 'Don Bosco Reach Out', a project supporting graduates of the school in setting up their own small businesses. During his time there, the school has grown from 350 students to 720.

In his new mission, Fr Blamoh will lead a parish of around 800 families in Ondo, Nigeria. The parish has a big youth centre and a variety of activities for young people. There is a team of catechists and liturgy groups who set the theme for each year in liturgy and spirituality.

We spoke about the challenges the people in the Province face. Fr Blamoh explained that in Liberia and Sierra Leone especially, people were just beginning to rebuild their lives after the war when Ebola came along. He said that as a priest, responding to people who have had their families wiped out can be challenging, 'trying to explain this in terms of a loving God' but he believes the most important factor has been that the people have seen the presence of the Church in their midst, in their suffering and their pain.

Many children were forced or tricked into taking up arms during the war, and as they grow up, the Salesians are supporting them in dealing with this aspect of their past. 'Reconciliation through sports' has proved a valuable approach in bringing together young people who have been badly affected by the conflict.

Things are now beginning to improve after the Ebola crisis, but poverty remains, and people sometimes find it difficult to balance their spiritual lives with meeting the very basic needs of existence.

It is heartening to see that the Salesians are thriving in Liberia, carrying out Don Bosco's mission to serve the young and the poor, and building on the foundations laid down by Salesians from our Province, and our prayers are with them and the people they serve throughout the Anglophone West Africa Province.