Monrovia, Liberia
New Community Clinic
The New Community Clinic in Monrovia, Liberia, doesn’t back down from a challenge – even when the odds seem stacked against it.
Frustration mounts from a lack of upward opportunity in the country. Severe poverty is the norm and high unemployment rates force many to live in the slums. That’s where nurse Denise Maxwell began her ministry in 2007, following God’s calling to serve the underserved.
Today, her clinic has grown to 30 staff members and recently completed a large building addition. The clinic assists the health-care needs of about 1,000 patients per month.
Maxwell and her staff have a heart for humanity. When the Ebola crisis of 2014 ravaged Liberia and several other western African countries, the New Community Clinic stayed true to its commitment of offering quality health care by remaining open in the face of danger.
About the ministry:
Name: New Community Clinic
Location: Monrovia, Liberia
Director: Denise Maxwell
Partnership: 2007-present
Staff: 34
Our mission:
“Our mission is for people to have their physical and spiritual needs met. Physically, they are sick and we want them to get better. Spiritually, they may not believe in Christ.”
Why I love being a director:
“The greatest joy for me is caring for someone and seeing them recover. It’s a mission work and I’m there to serve. You should be a leader that is a servant.”
About Liberia:
Population: 5.2 million
Size: 111,369 sq. km, or slightly larger than Tennessee.
Capital: Monrovia
Borders: Atlantic Ocean to the west and south; Sierra Leone to the northwest; Guinea to the north; Côte D’Ivoire to the east.
Religious groups: Christian, 85.6%; Muslim, 12.2%
Primary language: English
Literacy (age 15+): 48.3%
Physician density: 0.04 doctors per 1,000 people.
Population below international poverty line: 50.9%
Life expectancy: 65.1 years
Infant mortality rate: 45.9 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Major exports: Rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee.
Climate: Tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool nights; cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers.
Terrain: Mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast.