Program Details: Liberia

In the shade of Cinta's palava hut, women learn how to make soap they can sell in local markets. Photo: Dan Sadowsky/Mercy Corps

As Liberia gathers new strength from the inauguration of its first post-war president, Mercy Corps is bolstering civic organizations and empowering communities to take part in the nation's improving social, economic and political environment.

Liberia is one of West Africa's most impoverished nations. Even the country's beachfront capital, Monrovia, lacks basic services like water, electricity and sanitation. This is a nation still reeling from a 14-year civil war, which forced tens of thousands to flee their villages and left an entire generation of young people uneducated. Moreover, a longstanding tradition of corruption and thievery has turned Liberia's lucrative natural resources - timber, ore and diamonds, in particular - into personal piggy banks for well-placed bureaucrats, leaving most Liberians among the poorest people on earth.

But these days, hopes are high that with a newly installed president, Liberia can find jobs for ex-soldiers, repair deteriorated infrastructure, root out government corruption and increase its standard of living. With Mercy Corps' help, local community-based organizations and radio stations are helping Liberian communities to build schools and community buildings, to revive agricultural production, to increase public access to information and to inspire people's determination for development and self-reliance.

Programs in Focus

Youth Education for Life Skills (YES)
Mercy Corps continues to expand the Youth Education for Life Skills, or YES, which is aimed at assisting young people aged 18-30 whose lives have been defined by conflict and war. These young people, most of whom do not have stable jobs, a formal education or any land to their name, are critical to the future health of the country. The YES curriculum is designed to teach the skills needed to become productive members of the community. It covers a range of subjects, including health, leadership and governance; literacy and numeracy; work preparation; conflict management; and civic education. By mid-2005, young people in 163 communities were enrolled in the YES program. Three thousand youth are taking part in a pilot project with Grassroot Soccer and Nike to spread AIDS awareness through Liberia's most popular sport.

Community Peace Building & Development
Locally-known as Diompilor, meaning "oneness," this USAID-funded program works in 97 communities (with a combined population of 150,000) to achieve two key objectives: giving people in targeted communities more food security, and helping civil society play a greater role in governing the country. One way Mercy Corps helps strengthen civil society is by helping radio stations produce and disseminate information.

Community Empowerment Project
Mercy Corps, through funding from the World Bank, is helping Liberians build capacity to manage their own development projects by assisting a new local agency, the Liberian Agency for Community Empowerment. We're also piloting community-driven development projects - such as building and renovating schools, bridges, wells and latrines - in some of the 97 communities where we operate.