After surviving a court case against it and conceding to an arson attack on its broadcast facilities, donations have started pouring in to ELWA Ministries in Liberia to change the topography of the 137 acres of land it occupies.
Rev Kedrick L White, Executive Director ELWA Ministries, on Thursday 28 December, 2011 began a very brief press statement about the master plan. “As you may recall, on 8 November 2011, the ELWA radio building was burned to the ground. It was a major lost to our radio ministry; except for about 30% of our recordings everything was total lost - radio equipment, furniture and the building structure. We estimate a loss of US$250,000 and a replacement cost of about US$400,000.”
Rev White explained that many supporters in and out of the country have expressed a willingness to help ELWA rebuild its broken-down infrastructure. He said the construction of the new studio building begins in early 2012 and that the entire broadcast facility will be fully operational by next year.
According to the ELWA Ministries Director other construction related developments include a new high school, an amphitheatre, a guest house, the refurbishing of the ELWA housing stock and a new hospital. Money for the construction of the hospital to the tune of US$3.5 million is made available by the Charity Group Samaritan Purse in fulfillment of earlier promise made by its founder and president the world Evangelist Franklin Graham, son of the legendary world evangelist Billy Graham when he visited Liberia in March 2011.
ELWA Ministries had a tough time last year when its legitimate ownership of the 137 acres of land it occupies was challenged by the Government of Liberia in court. The government, after acrimonious confrontation with ELWA Ministries, took the matter to court in an attempt to retrieve the land which it considered as its property. But facts surrounding the land revealed that the said property was duly given to ELWA as an eleemosynary grant, by an act of the national legislature, a tribal certificate and a well probated deed by the late President Tubman Administration.
(Source: The Analyst/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)