Liberia
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Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps
Our strategy
Accelerate Liberia’s economic development by addressing youth employment and local capacity-building.
The context
Although Liberia's economy is growing at an impressive rate — mainly because of price increases in extractive commodities such as rubber, palm oil and minerals — the current GDP is only one-eighth of what it was before the 1986-1996 and 1999-2003 civil wars. Corruption remains widespread, and social-welfare indicators are worse than most other countries. Three-quarters of the population lives below the poverty line of a U.S. dollar a day.
Our work
- Children & Youth: Increasing access to basic alternative education for out-of-school adolescents and young adults
- Economic opportunity: Connecting youth with apprenticeships and financial training and services to secure productive employment
- Emergency response: Meeting water and sanitation needs of refugees from Cote d’Ivoire
All stories about Liberia
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Liberia: Changing her life with goats March 17, 2010
Victoria Dannies, 33, is divorced, with three daughters and two sons. Thanks to the training she received in Mercy Corps’ Youth Education for Life Skills (YES) program, she’s able to take good care of herself and her children.
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Liberia: From war survivor to community leader March 17, 2010
Ellen Joe is 36 and divorced, with two daughters and two sons. She’s the chairwoman of the Gbarpaywhea Community Development Committee, which oversees the village peace, education, agriculture and health working groups.
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Liberia: Tiny and tough March 17, 2010
Annie Garfree is 42, with five daughters and one son. She’s soft-spoken, with smart eyes and a steely determination.
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Liberia: Dish racks lead to healthier children March 17, 2010
Of the 12 children that 50-year-old Annie Dolo gave birth to, seven are living. The other five died of malaria and measles.
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Liberia: Mama na come November 19, 2009
Liberians have lots of great expressions, and I've enjoyed learning some of them as we traveled the country. I've shared a few of them here on my blog — how da body, tryin' small, a fish cup of rice.
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Liberia: A fish cup of rice November 18, 2009
Rice is a staple food in Liberia. But it's not easy for Liberians to fill their bowls or their bellies these days. Like poor people the world over, they've been slammed by the steep increases in food prices of the past couple of years.
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Liberia: What the heck is infrastructure, anyway? November 17, 2009
When Mercy Corps talks about rebuilding infrastructure in a country ravaged by war, the words can sound abstract. What the heck is infrastructure?
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Liberia: Every child should be in the picture November 16, 2009
In Parker Town, Gbarpolu County, in the north of Liberia where Mercy Corps has a number of agriculture programs, I rounded up these children for a group portrait.
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Liberia: Grow what you eat, eat what you grow November 15, 2009
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Liberia: These children play with nothing, anything, everything November 14, 2009