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Diamonds to Fund Development, Not Wars - September 2007
In 2001 the international community banned the export of diamonds from Liberia, seeking to stifle the illegal trade that had fueled regional armed conflicts for decades. Six years later, the Liberian Government’s persistent efforts to meet the criteria for removal of the ban were successful, and the United Nations lifted the diamond sanctions. On May 4, 2007, Liberia was admitted to the Kimberley Process (KP), which is the system designed to prevent diamonds from being used to fund wars. To facilitate the country’s emergence as an exporter of legal diamonds, USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), at the request of the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy, engaged a consultant to provide training, advice, and support to the Ministry and the KP Certificate Scheme Working Group.
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| Liberia exported its first shipment of Kimberley Process-certified diamonds in September. |
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Mano River Youth: The Future Has Arrived - August 2007
The Mano River Union Youth Parliament (MRUYP) is a subregional network of young people
within the Mano River Basin (which comprises areas of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea) that advocates for peace, human rights, and the development of young people and their communities. Since last spring, USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) has provided support to the MRUYP in three phases. In August 2007, OTI’s third phase of support helped host the five-day MRUYP Second Regional Session at the University of Liberia. The theme of the session was "Youth: Strategic Partners for Peace, Security and Poverty Reduction in the MRU,” and it brought together 36 youth participants from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea (12 per country). President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf served as keynote speaker at the opening program and Vice President Joseph Boakai closed the session.
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| President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf arrives to officially open the MRU Youth Parliament in Monrovia. |
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Star Radio's Move Attracts Liberia's Top Politicians - July 2007
Star Radio is considered one of Liberia’s most credible independent radio stations; its programs are widely broadcast and popular. To reduce Star Radio’s operational costs and enhance its financial viability, USAID/OTI sponsored the station’s relocation to a new studio, a move that cuts overhead costs by half. On July 16, 2007, Star Radio and its board of directors held a dedication ceremony for the new site. U.S. Ambassador Donald Booth joined Vice President Joseph Boakai, the heads of several of the country’s major political parties, and representatives of other radio stations at the event to inaugurate the new studio.
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| U.S. Ambassador Donald Booth (right) and station manager James Morlu cut the ribbon at the Star Radio dedication ceremony. |
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Empowering Women To Establish Independent Markets - June 2007
In response to the lack of services and support provided by the Liberia Marketing Association (LMA), the market women of Keymah Town collectively purchased an acre of land so they could establish their own marketplace. The newly organized market and the Community Empowerment Program partnered with OTI to strengthen the market's internal management and oversight structures and provide the women with a viable alternative to LMA membership.
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| The superintendent of the Keymah Town Market addresses participants at a marketing training session. |
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The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Practices What It Preaches - June 2007
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established pursuant to the 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that formally ended the civil war in Liberia. During its short existence, however, the TRC’s work has been hampered by challenging administrative and fiscal constraints. In order to devise a roadmap for ensuring that the TRC serves as a mechanism for national healing, a joint International Contact Group for Liberia/TRC Working Group was established. One of the group’s first actions was to call for a review of the TRC’s funding and internal control procedures.
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| Signs explain the purpose of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at its headquarters in Sinkor in Monrovia. |
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Liberian Children Enhance Their Identity through Song - May 2007
The complicated issue of Liberian identity has been a divisive factor in Liberia's development since the first settlers arrived 200 years ago and is seen as a major contributor to the country’s ongoing political turmoil. In the past two decades, identity has been used by political parties and warring leaders to claim injustice as well as to encourage fighting among neighbors. OTI’s BRDG-Liberia program is simultaneously working with several partners to jump-start the national discussion about identity through the eyes of children.
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| The Central Monrovia Children's Choir sings a song in the Bassa dialect at the Unification Day concert.
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Football League Restores Amputee Dignity in Liberia - May 2007
Capitalizing on the success of the Liberian National Amputee Football Team, which captured the second-place trophy at the international tournament in Sierra Leone in February 2007, OTI partnered with the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration, and Recovery to organize an amputee football (soccer) league in Monrovia. The award-winning team mobilized amputees by conducting outreach via peer contact and radio programs and succeeded in organizing six teams in the neighborhoods of greater Monrovia.
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| Amputee football teams in action at Fish Market Field, Monrovia. |
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Meet the Candidates: Liberian Politicians Engage in a Public Debate - April 2007
Providing citizens with access to candidates running for public office is an important aspect of democracy. This access yields information on voting records, personal and professional alliances, employment history, and experiences that define the candidate's character. In Liberia, while such information is often discussed in private, it has rarely been part of the public discourse with political candidates. The election for a new Speaker of the House, following Edwin Snowe's resignation, provided an excellent opportunity for Liberians to interact with members of the legislature.
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| Candidates for the vacant Speaker of the House position answer questions from the public during the 2-hour program. |
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Heritage Connects Tribes Across Borders - March 2007
The ethnic dimensions of the recent conflict in Liberia have exacerbated tensions, not just within Liberia, but also with its Mano River Union neighbors as displaced people have taken refuge across borders. Liberians and their neighbors share a rich cultural heritage replete with music, dance, poetry, and theatre, which offers unique opportunities for promoting unity and peace. As such, BRDG-Liberia partnered with International Alert to organize a 3-day Peace and Cultural Festival from March 8-10 in Ganta, Nimba County.
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| Dancers from the Grebo Tribe of Maryland County, Liberia, perform in Ganta, Nimba County. |
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Using Radio and Theater for Economic Reform - March 2007
In response to the mismanagement of public resources during Liberia's post-conflict transition, the Government of Liberia and the international community initiated the Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP) at the end of 2005. GEMAP is a mechanism to help Liberia improve governance, enhance transparency and accountability, and lay a solid foundation for sustainable peace. Many Liberians do not know what GEMAP is or are unfamiliar with what it seeks to do; others see GEMAP as a violation of Liberia's sovereignty. To complement the World Bank's GEMAP awareness campaign, BRDG-Liberia partnered with House of Freedom and Star Radio to amplify the message about the successful first year of the GEMAP process.
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| House of Freedom's drama troupe performs the GEMAP drama for a crowd in Monrovia. |
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Combating Corruption: Public Enemy Number One of a New Liberia - February 2007
Liberia is in the process of transitioning away from the corrupt practices of the past to a society built on democracy, transparency, and accountability. Within Liberia, however, there is a dominant perception that one of the easiest routes to self-enrichment is through public office. Therefore, OTI's BRDG-Liberia program is working with the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), a research-based anticorruption advocacy group, to bring the issue of assets disclosure and its relevance to the fight against corruption to the forefront of public opinion.
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| The director of CENTAL leads a discussion on assets disclosure at a community meeting in West Point, Monrovia. |
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Support to the Judiciary Is Expediting Justice for All in Liberia - February 2007
A number of factors disrupt case processing and delay the dispensation of justice. As a result, the public sees the judiciary as slow and inefficient. To address this ongoing problem, OTI's BRDG-Liberia program has provided Liberia's Supreme Court with an integrated electronic recording system. In addition, OTI provided criminal practice texts and "private wrongs"
and traffic law materials to 100 judges and public defenders who did not have access to these important legal resources.
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| The clerk of the court prepares to record court proceedings. |
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Twenty-Year-Old Trade Standards Modernized, Creating Employment Opportunities for Youth - January 2007
Liberia's Agricultural and Industrial Training Bureau (AITB) is responsible for developing trade standards and tests, supervising apprenticeships, and certifying tradespersons. However, 14 years of civil war have contributed to the neglect of government agencies, thus, preventing AITB from fulfilling its designated role. The current trade standards, which were last established 20 years ago, are out of date and do not support the modern skills necessary to reconstruct and repair the public infrastructure destroyed in the war. USAID/OTI through BRDG-Liberia, is providing critical in-kind grant support and short term technical assistance to AITB.
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| Auto mechanics carrying out pre-testing activities. |
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Giving Voice to Liberian Youth & Students - January 2007
Many young people in Liberia today lack the skills required to engage in political discussions in a peaceful and cooperative manner. Such encounters have often resulted in violent student protests with their classmates, university authorities, and national security forces. To address this compelling need, BRDG-Liberia awarded a small grant to the Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY) to organize a Debate Camp to teach students effective argumentation, critical thinking and analysis skills so that they can articulate their discourse in a sound, reasonable, and rational fashion.
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| A student from Cuttington University presents her arguments at the Public Debate. |
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Exploring Liberian Identity through the Eyes of Children - December 2006
Since the return to peace in 2003, Liberians have been working not only to rebuild the physical infrastructure that was damaged or destroyed during the conflict; they have been trying to construct a more socially cohesive society. However, due to the political nature of the national identity issue, it is often difficult for adults to discuss the topic in public venues. Children, on the other hand, are rarely regarded as political, and their thoughts are taken at face value rather than seen as promoting an agenda.
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| Boutini the Clown entertains children and leads a discussion on identity in Ganta, Nimba County. |
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Spreading the Word through Community Radio - November 2006
After years of media coverage characterized by inaccurate and unreliable information on local, national, and international issues and events, Liberia is once again beginning to reap the benefits of an independent media that can deliver accurate and reliable information to its people.
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| Journalists and radio producers from Radio Bomi in Tubmanburg enhance their reporting skills. |
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Mano River Union Youth on the Road to Employment - November 2006
During the past 15 years, social disruption, political instability, and economic turmoil have left the youth of Liberia uneducated, dispirited, and unemployed. Worse yet, Liberia has suffered as the talents of its youth have not been developed and enlisted to rebuild the country. USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), in partnership with the Government of Liberia, supported a three-day event to restore hope, build bridges, and promote an ongoing commitment to strengthen the skills of Liberia's youth.
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| Some of the 3,000 Liberian youth who attended the National Youth Day celebrations in Ganta, Liberia. |
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Soccer Program brings HIV Awareness to Liberia's Youth - April 2006
Since December 2004, the Youth Education for Life Skills (YES) program has been assisting young war-affected Liberians in becoming productive members of their communities through non-formal life skills education. A new sporting activity called Yes to Soccer has been infused into 51 communities in Grand Gedeh and Sinoe counties where YES is already active. Yes to Soccer utilizes this popular sport to carry messages about healthy behavior and the real risks of HIV/AIDS.
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| Participants in Zwedru navigate a "risk field" that demonstrates the consequences of unhealthy behavior for individuals, families and communities. |
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Renovated schools and specialized curriculum provide education for war-affected youth in Liberia - March 2006
As part of the USAID/Liberia focus on education tailored to overage students, OTI has developed the strategic framework for accelerated learning programs (ALP) and is coordinating ALP activities of Mission partners. ALP benefits 1,700 attending 24 faith-based schools throughout Liberia.
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| Participants in Zwedru navigate a "risk field" that demonstrates the consequences of unhealthy behavior. |
