When the world stood still, AKAA stepped up.
In September 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, AKAA mobilised a relief mission to deliver food supplies and aid to vulnerable communities in Tojallah Town, Grand Gedeh County, Liberia — the homeland of our Krahn people. From Adelaide to Liberia, we answered the call.
All Krahn Settlements
Reached across multiple villages in Grand Gedeh County
10+
Mission videos documenting the relief journey
~2 weeks
From 17 to 27 September 2020
The Journey
A pandemic, a homeland, and a promise kept.
When COVID-19 swept the globe in 2020, our hearts turned home. As Krahn people living in Australia, we knew our families and elders in Liberia were facing impossible odds. AKAA could not stand by and watch.
In the early months of 2020, as the world locked down and supply chains collapsed, news from home grew increasingly grave. The vulnerable, the elderly, and the families in remote Krahn settlements across Grand Gedeh County were struggling to access basic food and supplies. Borders were closed, markets were empty, and fear was everywhere.
AKAA members across South Australia and beyond came together. Through donations, fundraising, and the tireless work of volunteers, we pooled our resources to launch the AKAA COVID-19 Relief Distribution Mission. By September 2020, supplies were on the ground in Tojallah Town and surrounding Krahn settlements in Grand Gedeh County, Liberia.
"AKAA COVID-19 relief distribution is near completion in all Krahn settlements."
— AKAA, 27 September 2020
— AKAA, 27 September 2020
Food parcels were distributed to vulnerable families — elders who could no longer farm, mothers caring for young children, and households cut off from income. Members of our community on the ground in Liberia coordinated delivery, while members in Australia provided the financial backbone of the entire mission.
The videos and footage from those weeks tell the story better than words ever could. Faces of gratitude. Hands reaching for food. Elders praying. Children smiling. An entire community lifted by the love and generosity of their Krahn family abroad. This was AKAA at its best — proof that even thousands of kilometres from home, we never forget where we come from.
Today, we share these moments with the world so that every Liberian in Australia, and across the global diaspora, can see what is possible when we come together. The COVID-19 Relief Mission was a defining chapter for AKAA — and it set the foundation for the kind of organisation we strive to be every single day.
Timeline
Key moments of the mission.
Early 2020
The world locks down. AKAA acts.
As COVID-19 reaches Liberia, AKAA members in South Australia and across the diaspora begin organising. We resolve to support our families and elders back home in Grand Gedeh.
Mid 2020
Fundraising & planning.
Members across Australia contribute donations. AKAA coordinates with partners on the ground in Liberia to identify vulnerable households and plan distribution logistics.
17 September 2020
Distribution begins in Tojallah Town, Grand Gedeh.
AKAA's COVID-19 food supplies reach vulnerable families in Tojallah Town — the first community served by our relief mission in Grand Gedeh County.
17–27 September 2020
Supplies reach Krahn settlements across Grand Gedeh.
Over the following weeks, the relief effort expands. Food and aid are distributed across multiple Krahn settlements throughout the county.
27 September 2020
Mission near completion.
AKAA announces that the relief distribution is nearing completion in all Krahn settlements. The mission is celebrated by the community on the ground and members back home in Australia.
From the Ground
Watch the mission unfold.
Footage captured during the AKAA COVID-19 Relief Distribution in Grand Gedeh County — shared from our Facebook page.