Liberia
COUNTRY OVERVIEW
Liberia is located on the west coast of Africa, made up of coastal plains, a rolling plateau, central hills, and low mountains. Its rainforests, rivers, mangroves, and swampland create a lush, green landscape throughout most of the country, which is also rich in diamonds, gold, and iron ore. Despite its beauty and resources, however, Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world. It ranks 162 out of 169 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI), which measures human development by health, education, and income. The average Liberian adult has had only about four years of education. Infectious diseases such as malaria, Hepatitis A, Typhoid, and Yellow Fever are very common—often killing those afflicted due to lack of adequate medical facilities.
One of the many causes of Liberia’s poverty was its 14-year civil war that was one of the bloodiest on the continent. Lasting from 1989 to 1996, the rebel fighting among different groups caused more than 200,000 deaths and forced a million Liberians to flee to neighboring countries to live in refugee camps. Even after the main war stopped, a corrupt government and rebellion uprisings continued until 2005 when presidential and legislative elections were fair and peaceful—allowing the current and first democratically elected female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, to take office. Liberia is still recovering from its civil war, which destroyed its economy and infrastructure, causing its people to be some of the poorest in the world.
The People
In 1820, free African Americans and freed slaves from the United States returned to Africa, creating current-day Liberia, or “land of the free.” The initial group and their descendants were called Americo-Liberians and they established what is now the capital of Liberia—Monrovia, named after U.S. President James Monroe. As thousands more freed slaves settled in the area, which also included indigenous Africans, Liberia eventually gained its independence as the Commonwealth of Liberia in 1847. There are many ethnic groups that currently make up the country (now known as the Republic of Liberia), Kpelle being the largest, comprising 20% of the population. Americo-Liberian descendants now make up less than 5%.
While English is the official language of Liberia, only about 20% of Liberians speak it. More than 16 ethnic group languages exist; however, few are written languages.
The majority of Liberians—about 85%—are followers of Christianity. About 12% are of Muslim faith with the remaining population believing in indigenous religions and practices, or nothing at all.
The Way of Life
About two-thirds of Liberia’s population lives off of subsistence farming for survival—usually with a small plot of land near their home. In cities, some sell goods like imported used clothing or shoes, though neither farming nor selling goods usually provides enough money to feed their families adequately. A typical family dwelling is a mud hut with a dirt floor and a thatched roof. Cooking is done outdoors, over a fire. Laundry, washing, and bathing are done in the nearest river or with water hauled from the closest water source. A typical family’s diet consists of rice, cassava root, and leafy greens with occasional fish or chicken.
Running water and electricity are non-existent for the majority of the population.
Polygamy, the practice of one man marrying multiple wives, is still common in Liberia, resulting in some families having many children.
It is normal for many extended relatives to share one or two homes and to rely on one another for food and money to survive. There is great respect in this culture for elders (and wisdom) in the family and community.
The Challenges
Still recovering from the long civil war, economic growth is overwhelmingly difficult with inadequate roads, water, sewage, and electricity. About 68% of Liberians live below the poverty line—most struggling to farm enough to simply feed their families, let alone make a profit on their harvest. This is one of the many factors that result in 35% of the population being malnourished. Children are especially affected.
According to UNICEF, there are more than 250,000 Liberian orphans who lost their parents in the war to illness or other causes. The majority of these children are taken in by an extended family member—usually an aunt or grandmother—even if they aren’t able to provide for their own families. This results in an undue burden on extended families, and increased malnutrition. This causes orphans to be taken advantage of, abandoned, rejected, and sometimes left to fend for themselves.
Access to health care in Liberia is very limited and often non-existent, especially in rural communities. Even if it were available, however, most people wouldn’t be able to afford it. This problem, combined with malnutrition and lack of a proper sewer system, causes common, treatable, and preventable diseases to turn fatal.
Liberia’s education system was greatly affected during the war, which destroyed about 20% of the schools and drove many qualified teachers out of the country. Though education is improving, only about half of the Liberian population is considered literate. Often, if children are able to attend school (which means it is nearby their village and their families are able to afford school fees), the quality isn’t as high as it should be. Though females in Liberia attend school, child marriages still take place in villages, causing the girls to stop their education at an early age. Some families keep their children out of school simply because they need the help on their farms and don’t value education enough to sacrifice the help. All these factors continue the cycle of poverty in Liberia.
Children of the Nations (COTN) Involvement: Raising children who transform nations
COTN Founder Chris Clark spent some of his childhood in Liberia, a child of missionary parents. As an adult, Chris and his wife Debbie took a trip to minister to Liberian war refugees who had fled to Sierra Leone. They discovered countless children not being cared for, and no existing organization available to help. It was then that they began to feel God calling them to start COTN. COTN began caring for children in Sierra Leone just a few years later, in 1995. Since then, Chris and Debbie have continued to hope that God would give COTN an opportunity to serve in Liberia as well. That door was opened in 2010 when our Board of Directors voted to officially begin ministry in Liberia.
Children of the Nations has a unique approach to the problems facing the population of Liberia—a country and culture that COTN’s founder knows so well. It is a vision that acts now to affect the future. Children of the Nations recognizes the future of any country is in the hands, minds, and souls of its children. Through a Village Partnership Program, Children of the Nations hopes to establish a daily presence in Liberian communities, providing resources (including schools, medical clinics, feeding centers, health initiatives, etc.) that empower Liberian nationals to raise their own children. In partnership with the people of Liberia, Children of the Nations’ vision is to develop a generation of future leaders and secure for Liberia a future and a hope.
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