Liberia was declared a republic in 1847 by Americans, freed African-American slaves, who were sent by the American Colonization Society, starting in 1822. These Americo-Liberians, as they were called, established the capitol on the coast and named it Monrovia, after a U.S. president. They gradually established control of the interior with its many ethnic groups. They remained in control of the country until 1980, when the first of a series of coups were started by factions of ethnic groups. In the late 1980’s the devastating civil war began.

Phebe Hospital and School of Nursing is in Suakoko, Bong County, with a population of 500,000 residents and more than 100,000 displaced persons. It was once one of the largest hospitals in the country. Twice, the hospital had to move out of the path of war violence, most recently in March 2003, when they evacuated and moved to Salala where a  temporary hospital was set up with tents to provide emergency surgery, including c-sections, and transfusions and intravenous quinine for the children suffering from malaria. Last December a clean-up effort was begun.  Everything had been ransacked, and although many beds remained, window glass, surgical instruments, books were taken away and contents of all the closets and warehouses were scattered over the floors and ground. Wires had been cut down out of ceilings and transformers taken from power poles.