LAUNCH Liberia

Hi, I'm Angelique, founder of Heart In Heaven. I was born and grew up in the West African country of Liberia. At 15, I was young, happy, and carefree. But life as I knew it abruptly changed when a coup d'etat forced my family to flee. To leave behind the home, farm, vehicles, and everything my parents had sacrificed and spent their entire lives working to provide for our family was traumatic. By God's grace, my family settled in the US. God later blessed me with an amazing husband and three terrific children who fill my heart with joy.

While I'm most grateful for my life here, my heart has never stopped yearning to go back "home"—to reconnect with my heritage. I've also deeply longed for the children, now young adults, to connect with their West African roots, and for my husband to see where I was born. However, due to political unrest or financial constraints, we have not been able to return to my birthplace together as a family. It finally happened in March 2022!

What a fantastic experience! A dream come true!! But what I saw and experienced shattered my heart, like my cherished childhood home, utterly ruined. Now that I am back stateside, I can never again be the same. Neither do I want to! I am saddened and heartbroken over Liberia's terrible plight. With an 80% unemployment rate, it is now one of the poorest countries in the world. Each day, it's as if I'm seeing the once beautiful garden of Liberia overgrown with the weeds of poverty, hopelessness, and joblessness. How can I return to life as usual when over 70% of Liberians consume only one meal a day, two-thirds of school-aged children are not in school, and people die from curable diseases?

It only takes a spark to get a fire going. I'm passionate about being a spark that ignites and sets ablaze a fire of support. Support that's necessary to cultivate the garden and uproot as many weeds as possible. To do so, Liberians must have access to much-needed resources to lift themselves out of poverty.

That's why I've started this 501(c)(3), Heart In Heaven. One of its two primary initiatives is raising the financial capital to provide these resources and fund pathways to discipleship, education, and employment opportunities. In my mind's eye, I see happy Liberian children able to go to school, learn, and prepare for their futures. I envisage a day when the young adults of Liberia have gained marketable skills to earn a sustainable livelihood. I imagine women of all ages actively involved in a program like a Savings and Credit Association (SCA), their lives so intertwined they become like family to one another—part of a thriving community that provides moral, financial, and spiritual support. And I long for the day when Liberian men experience the affirming joy and dignity of walking in their God-given roles as husbands, fathers, protectors, and providers. And I long to see healthy, thriving churches all across Liberia!

For the above reasons and so many more, Heart In Heaven aims to plant seeds of love, hope, and potential in the garden of Liberia—seeds that grow and blossom into flowers of promise and purpose. Resilient flowers that together produce a beautiful bouquet of multifaceted transformation, pointing to God's glory. With God's help, change that lasts!

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