MAXINE GORDON meets the North Yorkshire artist who was orphaned in Liberia as a baby - and is returning home for the first time in 45 years

"Liberia so mighty, your energy is strong,

You've never been forgotten, I've loved you all along."

THESE are the lyrics to a song, Forgotten, penned by York artist Sarah Güsten-Marr ahead of an emotional homecoming.

Sarah was born in Liberia in January 1970 - but her life was almost over before it could begin.

Her natural mother died in childbirth, and her father was unprepared to cope with taking on a newborn.

Her plight was discovered by a German couple living in Liberia, Rolf and Michaela Güsten who already had two daughters, but insisted taking the baby in - and adopting her.

Speaking today, Sarah's eyes widen in wonder at her adopted mother's generosity. "When my mother heard the story, she said: 'bring her to me'. I had cholera and malaria and they had to take me to hospital in Monrovia [the Liberian capital]. It was touch and go."

But Sarah was a survivor, and grew up to have a happy, charmed life, travelling the world with her new family and living in a succession of foreign locations including Germany, Ivory Coast, USA and Italy.

Sarah was a creative child and always loved painting. She studied fashion at university, married, had two children, and settled in York. Following her divorce three years ago, she started painting again - with critical and financial success. She runs Gallery GM from her new base in the Vale of York.

This week, she has returned to Liberia for the first time since her birth, on a charitable mission to support health education and art in the country.

She is travelling with Eugenia Shaw, founder of HIV and AIDS Action for Liberia (HAAL). Sarah is patron of the charitable organisation, which will carry out health promotion activities.

York Press:

Liberia is still rebuilding itself after decades of civil war and its recent fight to stamp out Ebola, the last case of which was recorded in May. It remains an incredibly impoverished country with eight in ten citizens living below the international poverty line.

Sarah's trip is dual pronged - besides the focus on health education, she will help launch the Liberian Arts and Crafts Society, aiming to promote indigenous talent.

She says some of the best art comes from the most disadvantaged places. "Everywhere there is poverty, you will find some of the best music. Art is a great healer."

She will personally fund art prizes in an effort to unearth the best Liberian talent, she added.

To tie in with her visit, she has released a song, Forgotten, which is already receiving airplay in Liberia.

She said: "I felt it would be an honour to remember in a song, the lives that have been lost and the lives that are still struggling in Liberia. I want to make sure they are never forgotten."

She hopes the trip will be the first of many and that publicity surrounding her visits will help promote Liberia to the wider world, and show a side not often seen.

"Over the years, Liberia has received a serious amount of negative press and it is time for Liberia to change this view. Liberia's legacy is truly humbling considering why the country was established in the first place."

A former American colony, Liberia was founded and established as a homeland for freed African-American and ex-Caribbean slaves who came from the Caribbean islands and the United States.

One of the most poignant dates on her itinerary this week will be a visit to an orphanage. "There are lots of orphans in Liberia. I was one - and one of the lucky ones. It's my duty to make a difference for them."

Sarah says she has no anxiety about the return. "I am not going back to discover who I am - I am going back to make a difference, to encourage and to educate."

She believes her story will inspire others, especially artists. "If someone comes from a small village and their art gets admired or acknowledged in the new Liberian arts centre, and they win a prize, that brings hope."

Follow Sarah's story via twitter: @GMGustenmarr