Medical Mission Trip Becomes Life-Saving Expedition for 'Mr. Boo'
| By Jennifer Bailey
Staff Writer | Clifton Forge, VA (Aug. 7, 2025)— Just a few short years ago — in the fall of 2022 — the owner of Highlands Realty, Garland "Boo" Humphries, was invited on a Medical Missions Trip with Word of Life Ministries. The location? A medical clinic at Life Christian Academy — a school in Disco Hill, which is a town in Liberia.
"Boo" Humphries, or Mr. Boo as he's known now by the children in Africa, was brought in as a non-medical person to provide assistance. Immediately, he felt a special bond with the people. "I, of course, fell in love with the kids and people. Kids would come and knock on the door every evening after the clinic and ask for 'Mr. Boo.' That's my nickname. They wanted me to come out and play..."
While playing with the children, they often would tell Mr. Boo how hungry they were. Then, when it came time for them to do their eye exams, Mr. Boo noticed how excited the younger children were to read the eye chart. However, the 11, 12, and 13-year-olds were far less enthusiastic. It became apparent to Humphries the reason for their lack of interest was due, in part, to their struggle to read the chart. "They would lean in, they would cheat, they would squint. And of course I was over there with 15 nurses, and the nurses informed me that this was a nutrition problem; that their eyesight would start leaving them at that time."
Upon returning home, Garland "Boo" Humphries sprung into action. In less than a year, he'd created "Fishes and Loaves," a nonprofit organization dedicated to feeding those hungry children in Liberia at Life Christian Academy. At first, the children were being fed three times a week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The school quickly noticed — and reported — that there were no absentees on those days. This information made it abundantly clear to Mr. Boo that more work should be done to expand the program.
One more year later, in the Fall of 2024, the program had expanded to five days a week. Upon returning to the Medical Mission Trip in '24, Humphries noticed something that perhaps he hadn't before. "The school [Life Christian Academy] is fenced, and there were a lot of kids watching what was going on from the outside. We know several of them. One of our favorites, her name is Favor. She would grab our hand every time and walk back to the house with us, and we became aware that those kids were not participating in the meals because they weren't part of the school because their parents couldn't afford to send them there."
The current cost of tuition for the school is $50 per semester or $100 a year. Watching the hungry children observe other children eating — and knowing they couldn't partake — must have been a heavy weight for Garland "Mr. Boo" Humphries, as he then decided to try and help the children outside the fence get in.
"We decided that we would start supporting children to attend the school. The ones who wanted to attend but whose families couldn't afford the tuition." Therefore, they opened the gates and fed the children outside the fence. As a result, the school jumped from 305 staff and students to 350. "We're pretty sure that that's soon going to be 400 as long as we continue to raise support for kids to come to school."
Not only are the children learning about math and grammar, but they are learning about Christ, and they're being fed. One of Humphries' short-term goals is to also offer the children breakfast.
As far as finances go, the nonprofit is fully funded by donors. Mr. Boo was excited to show the Journal a photo of the good people at Trinity Church in Indiana who sent a $3,600 donation to "Fishes and Loaves." However, most of the donations come from the folks in Alleghany County. In fact, Humphries said that the Ulmer family essentially donated their house and downsized for the "Fishes and Loaves" mission. "They're just super nice folks," Humphries said of his dear friends, the Ulmers. "They are local. They donated the house to me which we sold. They essentially donated it. I bought it at the same price they paid for four or five years ago, and they really kicked off this charity. I love them dearly."
Humphries also accepts donations in the form of metal. If one calls him up at Highlands Realty with metal, arrangements will be made to collect it, sell it at the scrapyard, and then all proceeds go to help feed the children in Liberia. He also sells bracelets made by the children for $5 each.
To ensure that every penny goes to the nonprofit, Humphries even absorbs all the administrative costs of every donation. For any who wish to make a donation, you can go to the website: fishesandloaves.info, call Garland "Boo" Humphries at Highlands Realty at 540-862-4414, or stop by the office at 433 E. Ridgeway Street in Clifton Forge. All checks should be made payable to Fishes and Loaves.
Additional information about the nonprofit can be obtained from their website or by visiting their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071049172406.
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