Wheelchairs provide freedom for 50 Liberians

“This wheelchair is my Mercedes-Benz,” said 55-year-old Alice M. Nyankolor.

She said her movement is no longer restricted, adding, “All I have to do is go to the bus station check-in and upload my wheelchair and off I go.”

Nyankolor was among 50 people who received a new wheelchair shipped by Asbury United Methodist Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, through its Barrels of Love ministry. The program provides semiannual shipments of clothing, medical supplies, textbooks and more.

To distribute the goods, the church collaborates with Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia — a United Methodist Global Ministries Advance program — founded by former Global Ministries missionary Dr. Christiana Hena, who returned to her native Liberia in 2012.

Nyankolor said the gift of the wheelchair is a blessing to her and other individuals in her situation.

Residing in the hilly community of Kakata, in Margibi County, she said it is a painful experience not to be able go where she wants.

Dr. Chris Hena, founder of Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia, is director of the Waterfield Primary Healthcare Center in Kakata, Liberia. Photo by E Julu Swen, UM News. 

Dr. Chris Hena, founder of Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia, is director of the Waterfield Primary Healthcare Center in Kakata, Liberia. Photo by E Julu Swen, UM News.

“This wheelchair is a release and an added sense of independence when it comes to my movement,” she said.

Dick McCreight, a member of Asbury United Methodist Church who oversees Barrels of Love, said the church also works with Through These Hands, a medical mission in Slatington, Pennsylvania, to ship hundreds of boxes of medical supplies twice a year.

“We firmly believe that God connected Asbury Church, Through These Hands and Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia to help us improve the lives of our friends in Liberia,” said McCreight, adding that the church has been shipping Barrels of Love to Liberia for nearly 20 years. 

Recipient Victor Barlay said the wheelchair helps him feel more like an equal in society.

“I go to the physically challenged meeting without begging people to take me along or dragging me to the meeting,” he said. “I can now go to some of the places (others) can go without being hindered because of my condition.”

At 45, Barlay makes hats and baskets from local materials that he sells around Kakata using his wheelchair. He said the wheelchair enables him to make more money.

Victor Barlay is all smiles after receiving a new wheelchair from Asbury United Methodist Church in Allentown, Pa., through its Barrels of Love ministry and a partnership with Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia. The 45-year-old basket maker used to get around by wearing flip-flops on his hands. Photo courtesy of Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia. 

Victor Barlay is all smiles after receiving a new wheelchair from Asbury United Methodist Church in Allentown, Pa., through its Barrels of Love ministry and a partnership with Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia. The 45-year-old basket maker used to get around by wearing flip-flops on his hands. Photo courtesy of Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia.

“Taking my baskets to the market to sell was not possible, but with the wheelchair, I am a competitor in the basket market,” he said.

Hena, medical director of Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia’s Waterfield Primary Healthcare Center in Kakata, said Asbury United Methodist Church has been instrumental in its intervention in the lives of the people of Margibi County, especially the physically challenged.

How to help

Donations can be made to Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia through United Methodist Global Ministries Advance #3022266 and to Barrels of Love through https://pushpay.com/g/asburylv?src=hpp.

For more information, visit Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia, http://asburylv.org or the Barrels of Love Facebook page.

“We (have) received annual shipments of wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, stools, toilet seats, Pampers/pads and protective covers for those who are bedridden through the church’s Barrels of Love ministry,” she said.

She said the church also is helping to provide safe drinking water to villages in Lofa and Bong counties and helps support 15 students at various levels of their education through scholarships.

McCreight said Asbury United Methodist is planning to help build another well in 2021 in Bonogelekeh town in Bong County, which currently doesn’t have a source of clean water.

The church’s most recent Barrels of Love shipment will be distributed soon in Kakata, and another delivery is expected to be made in May or June, he said, adding that there also has been some discussion of an additional shipment of children’s books in the next month or two.

McCreight said he is grateful for the many partnerships that allow church members to fulfill this ministry.

“We are living the joy of mission. When we answer God’s call, he guides us, connects us and opens doors for us, and in the process, we find our congregation energized and excited about being Christ’s hands and feet in service to his people.”

Swen is a communicator in Liberia.

News media contact: Julie Dwyer
at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free Daily or Weekly Digests.


Like what you're reading? Support the ministry of UM News! Your support ensures the latest denominational news, dynamic stories and informative articles will continue to connect our global community. Make a tax-deductible donation at ResourceUMC.org/GiveUMCom.

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now
Mission and Ministry
Alice Samuel (second from left), Northern Nigeria Conference women’s coordinator, distributes food during an outreach event in Yapilo Village in the Chonge District of the Shongom Local Government Area of Gombe State on March 29. In addition to providing relief supplies and free medical services, the women preached the Gospel and led prayer sessions in the community. Photo by Ibrahim Babangida, UM News.

Women’s group in Nigeria offers free medical care

More than 100 people received health care, medicine, food and other supplies during a day of outreach in the Northern Nigeria Conference.
Global Health
The Iliff School of Theology in Denver is offering a Foundations of Death Care course that is the beginning of a new certificate program to help caretakers better comfort dying people and their loved ones. It’s billed as the first such offering at a seminary. Iliff is one of the 13 United Methodist theological schools in the U.S. Photo by truthseeker08, courtesy of Pixabay.

Death doula helps navigate end-of-life care

A new Iliff School of Theology course aims to “change the narrative around death” by giving pastors and others the foundation they need to support the dying and their families.
Church Leadership
Participants sing during opening worship at the 2023 special session of the National Association of Korean American United Methodists at Korean First United Methodist Church in Wheeling, Ill., on Oct. 2. The Southeastern Jurisdiction has scheduled its first Asian American Ministers Gathering in May to bring clergy together for fellowship, resources and ministerial support. Pictured from left are Bishops Dottie Escobedo-Frank and Hee-Soo Jung, Dana Lyles and the Revs. MiRhang Baek, Prumeh Lee and Ju-Yeon Julie Jeon. File photo by the Rev. Thomas E. Kim, UM News.

Gathering aims to help Asian American clergy thrive

Southeastern Jurisdiction brings Asian American ministers together for fellowship, resources and ministerial support.

United Methodist Communications is an agency of The United Methodist Church

©2025 United Methodist Communications. All Rights Reserved