Liberia: programs & priorities

During 14 years of civil war, children as young as eight years have been drawn into fighting for the warring factions within Liberia. Since then in a tenuous brokered cease-fire, UN peacekeeping forces have been involved in the process of re-establishing a security framework in Liberia to ensure that peace accords are followed.

A major factor in establishing peace is the reintegration of ex-combatants back into their home communities. In partnership with UNICEF, ChildFund Australia's affiliate organisation in Liberia manages Interim Care Centres for ex-child soldiers and children associated with fighting forces in Liberia. ChildFund in Liberia currently assists around 45,000 children and their family members.

The Interim Care Centres accommodate about 200 youth every seven weeks. In the centres, ChildFund in Liberia provides literacy training, sport, recreation and psychosocial interventions to help youth adjust to civilian life in preparation for returning home. In addition, ChildFund in Liberia helps to locate the relatives of ex-combatants, many of whom have been separated from their families for many years. For children who are orphans and have no relatives, ChildFund in Liberia is establishing alternate group care homes.

ChildFund in Liberia is also implementing new water and sanitation facilities in the country.

Development in progress

Over 150,000 Liberian refugees still reside outside of their homeland, but are continuing to return at an average of 250 a day from Guinea, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast and other countries. Many of these returnees are unaccompanied minors, or children who become separated from their families along the way. With support from UNHCR, ChildFund in Liberia has targeted this population for special attention.

The work begins at the four UNHCR transit centres, where ChildFund in Liberia maintains a constant presence to receive children and to assure that protection cases are monitored. ChildFund provides basic needs to returnees at the transit centers, as well as recreation activities for youth.

Once received, the children benefit from a host of ChildFund in Liberia services, including family tracing, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross; transport, family reunification, family mediation, follow-up and case management; and advocacy and legal support for children in conflict with the law.

Ideally, every child would be returned to their family. But that is not always possible. In collaboration with other Child Protection agencies, ChildFund in Liberia has identified and trained 205 foster families for otherwise homeless youth, offers them twice monthly follow-up visits by social workers, and continuous family tracing assistance.