wfn.org | LIBERIA: LUTHERAN WOMEN'S LEADER KILLED IN AIR DISASTER

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Liberia: Lutheran women's leader killed in air disaster 
Bishop Harris says her death is a big loss for church, family 
 
MONROVIA, Liberia/GENEVA, 16 February 2000 (lwi) - It has been confirmed that
Mrs. Amelia Mulbah Allison, the Women's Desk Coordinator for the Lutheran
Church in Liberia (LCL), was among the 169 people who perished in a Kenya
Airways plane that crashed off the coast of Cote d'Ivoire on 30 January 2000. 
 
There were only 10 survivors out of the total 179 aboard the KQ Flight 431,
which was en route to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi via Lagos, when it plunged
into the Atlantic Ocean moments after take off from Abidjan's coastal airport.

 
Allison, appointed Women's desk Coordinator of the Liberian church in
September 1998, was on her way to the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation in Kitwe,
Zambia, where she was scheduled to begin a nine-month 'Leadership Development
for Women' course sponsored by the Geneva-based World Council of Churches
(WCC). 
 
A nurse by profession, she was the first Liberian national to occupy the
position of women' desk coordinator in the church. Her predecessor, a
missionary, left in 1990 as the now ended civil war began. 
 
The head of the Liberian church, Bishop Sumoward E. Harris, on a recent visit
to the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation (LWF) to which this church
belongs, expressed deep sorrow at Allison's death, and underlined the
enthusiasm she had for her work with the women's desk and at her local
Barnersville parish. Similar feelings, underlining the great loss for the
church and her family were shared by Rev. Joseph Kpanie II, General Secretary
of the LCL who accompanied the bishop on the early February visit to the
Geneva secretariat. 
 
Upon the completion of the specialized training, Allison would have returned
to her position in the church, through which she would have helped train women
in issues that equip them for development. As the LCL places much emphasis on
women empowerment, the church has a great need for skilled women who in turn
can instruct their sisters. The Liberian church, with a membership of 35,000
people joined the LWF in 1966. 
 
Born in 1963, Allison had a Bachelor of Arts degree in Nursing from Monrovia's
Cuttington University College. Before joining the LCL as women's coordinator,
she had worked in her country as a nursing supervisor with Mdicins Sans
Fronti
res (MSF)-Belgium and as nutritionist supervisor with
MSF-International. Allison had also served as an assistant director of the
School of Nursing in Liberia. 
 
Most recently, Allison was among participants from LWF member churches
attending the third Conference of International Black Lutherans (CIBL) in
Wittenberg, Germany.  
 
She is survived by her husband, Rev. Eric Mollay Allison, a pastor of the LCL,
and three children.  
 
 
(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries
representing nearly 59.5 million of the world's 63.1 million Lutherans. Its
highest decision-making body is the Assembly held every six or seven years.
Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council, which meets
annually, and by its Executive Committee. The LWF secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.) 
 
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