under the mango tree

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Many of you are seeing our new logo for the first time. Perhaps you’re wondering what inspired the image we chose.
 
With so many daily activities occurring under the mango tree in Liberia, it would scarcely be an exaggeration to call it the Tree of Life.  
 
The tree helps feed the village.  The fruit of the mango – Liberians call it a “plum” – is plentiful.
 
Its shade provides children a place to play or read a new book, while adults often gather there for literacy classes.  Or you might find the Kolahun Women’s Weaving Cooperative at work on beautiful Country Cloth or mentoring new weavers. 

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Meals are often cooked there, and the community gathers to share.  Or the sheltering branches sometimes serve as a morning clinic where parents bring children for check-ups.  Neighborhood chickens scratch out subsistence among its fallen leaves.

At daybreak, Action, the Yoga Dog, practices his morning routine, downward facing dog, ready to nap in the midday sun, replacing the ever-vigilant lion-dog who stood watch under the tree all night, keeping us safe from every terror, even the imagined ones.
 
Some nights, women gather there to mourn the death of a child, their wailing songs of grief filling the valley. Some terrors seem unavoidable.

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​Laughter, songs, dance, tears – the mango tree bears witness
​to the full cycle of life of the village.

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