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Sponsorship in Liberia

In the capital of Liberia, the Monrovia project's main focus is providing education assistance for the sponsored children and nutritional assistance for the sponsored aging.

Even though most families in Liberia place a high value on education, the cost of sending children to school can be prohibitive. CFCA assists sponsored children with benefits such as school fees, supplies, uniforms and exam fees. They also receive assistance with medical care, clothing and recreational activities. However, tuition and school supplies make up the biggest portion of benefit funding.

The sponsored aging at the Monrovia project receive assistance in the form of nutritional benefits, medical care, and assistance with house rent, renovation or construction. At Christmas time, the sponsored aging receive an extra disbursement of food items for the holidays.

Sponsor a child in Liberia

Read a letter from Musu K. Dikenah, Monrovia project coordinator

About Liberia

Freed slaves from the Americas founded the Republic of Liberia, meaning “free land,” in 1822.

The western African country is made up of flat to rugged coastal plains rising to rolling, forested plateaus and low mountains. Large game animals such as zebras, elephants and giraffes live in the east and northwest, but many have been killed off.

Liberia was mainly peaceful until the political upheavals of the 1980s and seven years of brutal civil war ending in 1996. The war resulted in some 200,000 Liberian deaths,

Civil war broke out again in 2003, during which time many businesses left the country and the infrastructure in and around Monrovia was destroyed. More than half of all Liberians who remained were driven from their homes, and many rural dwellers fled to the capital city. The unsettled state of domestic security has slowed the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure.

Since October 2003 the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has supported peacekeeping efforts.

Liberia is now in a period of renewed stability, hope and development with the 2005 election of Africa’s first woman president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. After taking office, President Sirleaf began working to improve the infrastructure in the country by bringing electricity back to Monrovia and seeking assistance to upgrade roads. She also signed an executive order declaring primary education free and compulsory.

The people

Almost the entire population of Liberia falls into two catagories: the indigenous Africans who have lived there for hundreds of years and make up most of the population, and the Americo-Liberians, who are descendants from American slaves. The indigenous group is made up of many different ethnic groups, each with its own language, customs and territory. The Americo-Liberians typically live in coastal cities and towns.

Seventy-five percent of workers are engaged in agriculture; however, many Liberian families produce only enough food to feed their families. Crops such as cassava, rice, sugar cane and tropical fruits are grown on small plots of land owned by the community.

Many young men work on large rubber plantations owned by foreign companies, or in iron mines.

Indigenous people live in small villages in the interior, where everyone is expected to do their share of work. Even young children carry water, tend goats, and drive monkeys, baboons and birds away from the banana plants. The country has been without running water and electricity for more than 20 years, even in the capital, Monrovia. It was only recently that electricity came to major institutions such as hospitals and schools, but the majority of families still lack water and electrical services. Liberians place great importance on strong family ties, and extended families usually live together.

Education

By law, Liberian children must attend six years of elementary school and six years of secondary school, but only about 60 percent of the children have the opportunity. School attendance is lower for girls than boys. In rural areas, there are shortages of teachers, materials and schools. Although the literacy rate is low, the government is working to increase school enrollment. Children in the Monrovia project attend school from September to June.

There is only one university, one college and one technical school in the entire country, and less than 1 percent of secondary school graduates attend.

Sponsor a child in Liberia

Sources:

World Factbook