Liberian Health Clinic Receives Major Renovation from the Church of Jesus Christ

On December 27, 2025, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially handed over a newly renovated and fully equipped Health Center to the people of Soniwein in the Central Monrovia District of Liberia. The project, completed in collaboration with the Liberian Ministry of Health and Ni-Kweeta Contractors, and funded entirely by the Church, is set to bless the lives of over 18,000 residents in the district.

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Established in 1982, the Soniwein Health Center provides general services to nearby residents and plays a pivotal role in maternal and child healthcare, including facilitating 35–50 births monthly. In recent years, due to population growth and the aging of the facility, the Health Center struggled to meet the needs of the community. The aging infrastructure, along with a lack of medicines, supplies, and equipment, created an urgent need for revitalization. Upon learning of this need, The Church stepped in to fund the entire project.

The renovation transformed the facility from a dilapidated structure into a "sacred space of healing," capable of serving over 35,000 residents in Soniwein and surrounding communities. The project included the construction of a new borehole and water tower; a new secure roof, ceilings, windows, and doors; completely new electrical and plumbing systems; the installation of solar power; and the establishment of hygiene infrastructure to protect both patients and caregivers, including a new placenta pit, incinerator, and handwashing stations.

The clinic was also equipped with essential life-saving instruments, including an ultrasound machine; a fetal doppler; new delivery and hospital beds; an infant resuscitator and infant scales; a GeneXpert machine for tuberculosis detection; EKG, urinalysis, and hemoglobin analyzers; a glucometer and microscopes; blood pressure monitors with pediatric cuffs; and essential sterilizing equipment to prevent infections.

During the handover ceremony, Liberia's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Catherine T. Cooper, vividly recalled the facility’s former state, where staff performed critical duties like childbirth deliveries under extreme conditions, often by flashlight, in a broken facility with leaking roofs. She stated, "If you had seen this place before and now, you would understand that the transformation is remarkable."

She led the government's expressions of gratitude, offering profound thanks to The Church for its continued support to the Ministry of Health, emphasizing that the renovation of the Soniwein Health Center had restored dignity to the facility.

"We want to say thank you to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for their selfless act of love, service, and devotion to God and mankind. For thinking about others besides themselves—your continued love and support can never go unnoticed," she said she then admonished the health workers to match their professional service to the standards of their new environment. "Now that the environment is greatly improved, we expect you to look within yourselves with a new vigor to ensure that patients get better when they enter the walls of the Soniwein Health Center."

Madam Eleanor K. Sampson, Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Health Center, said that the renovation stands as a powerful symbol of partnership, compassion, and shared commitment to community health, noting that "this new facility strengthens our ability to deliver dignified, safe, and quality healthcare for generations to come."

Dr. Jewel Tarpeh Kollie, Montserrado County Health Officer, also praised the Church for its humanitarian actions continually displayed to the people of Liberia and to the world at large. Quoting Matthew 25:31 in the New Testament, she referred to the Church as "the Savior's own."

Elder Prince S. Nyanforh, an Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Liberia, offered concluding remarks. After praising the dedication of the Soniwein staff who provided exemplary service despite extreme circumstances, he reviewed the physical aspects of the project and declared, "This is more than a list of items; this is a covenant—a covenant that a mother in labor will be seen in a clean, well-lit room; a covenant that a sick child can be accurately diagnosed; a covenant that you, the caregivers, can do your jobs without fighting against your own facility."

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Elder Nyanforh then explained the spiritual foundation for the humanitarian project and described the event as more than just a ceremony, noting rather that it was "a dedication of a sacred space of healing and a profound acknowledgement of the human spirit's resilience."

He connected the Savior’s divinity to His mortal work as a carpenter and builder—a "restorer of broken bodies and wearying souls"—highlighting the Savior's declaration in Doctrine and Covenants 18:10  that "the worth of souls is great." He continued: "Every mother, every newborn, every father, every elderly person in this community possesses infinite worth. This is not charity from afar; it is an act of shared discipleship, an expression of our collective belief that every person deserves dignity, safety, and access to competent care."

He concluded his remarks by referencing the fast offerings and sacrifices of members abroad as well as in Liberia, and admonished the residents and patients: "When you see this renovated and well-equipped health facility, you will see also the faith and tangible love of thousands of your global neighbors who are trying to obey the Savior's commandment to love their neighbors. We place this trust in your hands, believing that you will honor the personal sacrifices of those people from far and near."

Projects such as this in Liberia and throughout the world bring the Light of Christ to communities and exemplify the commitment made by members, individually and as a Church body, to follow the Savior’s example to succor those in need of succor, to lift the hands of the weary, and to care for the sick and afflicted.