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Introduction to Liberia and what I'm doing here
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Please note: The views expressed in this travelogue are personal views and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of USAID or the U.S. government.
so, Liberia.
i knew nothing about this country when i was asked to come here on a work trip (including where it was - i had to look on a map). i borrowed a few documentaries from our library, and was moved by the horrible history the country suffered. first established by freed american and caribbean slaves, followed by tensions between the settlers and the indiginous population (whom the freed american slaves treated as their own slaves - you'd think people wouldn't do such things to others after learning what its like!) corrupt ruler after corrupt ruler. years of fighting. boys of 8 years old being recruited as child soldiers. unimaginable things. then finally, some peace and a democratically elected president, ellen johnson-sirleaf, who seemed to be dedicated to ridding the government of corruption and reesetablishing the country. "liberia: a fragile peace" - the name of one documentary i saw - indeed.
since i'm awful at history, i figure i'll just copy/paste from the web:
a good overview from the CIA factbook:
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/li.html
Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendents of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel DOE assassinated President William TOLBERT (1971-80) and ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule followed by a prolonged civil war, in which DOE himself was killed. In August 2003, a comprehensive peace agreement ended 14 years of intermittent fighting and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who was exiled to Nigeria. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON-SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), which maintains a strong presence throughout the country, completed a disarmament program for former combatants in late 2004, but the security situation is still volatile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country remains sluggish.
a couple more links if you're interested:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/104 3500.stm
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/6618.htm
some striking statistics:
Per capita GDP (2005): $119.4 (this is ~30 cents/day!)
Education: Literacy (2003) - 20%.
Health: Life expectancy (2003) - 47 years.
Work force: Agriculture--70%; industry--15%; services--2%.
Unemployment is 80% in the formal sector.
now, what am i doing here?
as you probably know, i work for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) - the foreign assistance branch of the federal government. (www.usaid.gov) Our new Administrator, Randall Tobias, has been initiating some foreign assistance reform. (http://www.state.gov/f/releases/factsheets2006/68202.htm)
as part of that reform process, a number of USAID Missions around the world (including all of the Missions in Africa) have to put together Operational Plans for Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07). what i'm doing in Liberia is helping them put together their FY07 Operational Plan. this means collecting information on all the programs (people are filling them in out in Word templates - i'm supposed to review them and do quality control and work with people to get them up to par and ready for submission, and then upload them into the system). not the most glamourous of assignments, but it gives me a great overview of everything the U.S. Government is doing in this country in terms of foreign assistance... pretty interesting. here's a webpage on USAID's work in Liberia, though its probably a little outdated:
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/countries/ liberia/
While I'm out here, i'm hoping to get out and see some energy project sites. USAID is supporting two big energy projects in Liberia. One is the Emergency Power Program (EPP) which is providing electricity supply, on a full cost recovery basis, including network rehabilitation and maintenance, for emergency power supply in Monrovia. The objective is to provide electricity and especially streetlights to additional neighborhoods in Monrovia, affecting as many as 300,000 residents. The second program, the Liberian Energy Assistance Program, aims to increase access to affordable energy supplies, in order to foster economic, political, and social development in Liberia. The primary methods of doing this will be pilots of sustainable energy service delivery in urban poor neighborhoods; renewable electricity pilots in rural areas; and support of the energy sector reform process to attract private sector investment. While the first project is focused on emergency power supply for political stability, the second is trying to lay the groundwork for long-term development.
A note on the streetlights - Achievements of the first phase of the EPP project include provision of electricity service to businesses and social institutions in two areas of Monrovia, which contain about 25% (190,000) of the city's population, and provision of 272 streetlights. The streetlights hold political significance; during her inaugural address on January 16, 2006, President Johnson-Sirleaf promised to bring electricity to Monrovia within her first 150 days in office. The successful commencement of electricity supply on July 26, 2006, Liberia's Independence Day, symbolized her commitment to the Liberian people. The emergency electricity provision is an important part of the political stabilization process, as well as a step toward an economically more sustainable provision of electricity service. Although its a small step, its in the right direction. the message is "small light today, big light tomorrow."
anyway, thats plenty of background... now, onto my trip! :)
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| 1. | Introduction to Liberia and what I'm doing here - Monrovia, Liberia Jan 13, 2007 |
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