11 March 2008

Bong County, Liberia: The first volunteers in Liberia’s new National Youth Volunteer Service (NYVS) programme have started duties in Bong County under the supervision of national UNV volunteer Ms Charlotte Berrian. The 21 volunteers in Bong County are among up to 100 volunteers who will support local development in four counties across Liberia in the first implementation of the programme. Ms Berrian has spent the past 3 months sensitizing communities about the programme and its objectives.  

The new volunteers have been in training since January to prepare them for their duties and to ensure their awareness and sensitivity to the local and national issues that the programme will address. They are teaching in elementary schools and sharing skills with local teachers, carrying out health awareness campaigns in clinics and communities against Malaria, Cholera, STDS, HIV/AIDS and TB, and developing peace-building campaigns to reduce the divisions and polarization after 15 years of civil conflict.

Among their activities, the volunteers will organize cleaning campaigns with the local populace to raise awareness of environmental issues including sanitation and the importance of volunteering for development. They will also organize sporting activities such as football matches to strengthen relationships among people and build peaceful relations.  

The volunteers will also help to raise awareness about the National Youth Policy Framework, which the Government of Liberia hopes to use to engage young people in the development and reconstruction of the country. The Framework relies on consultation with communities to develop micro-projects that suit the needs of the communities. The NYVS will provide funding for some of these projects at the end of the volunteers’ field assignment, and some of the volunteers will have the opportunity to implement these development projects within the communities where they were engaged.
 
The programme will benefit local communities, elementary schools and health clinics by providing skills, enhancing the capacity of teachers and medical personnel, growing the capacity of communities to resolve conflict and build peace, strengthening relationships through sporting activities and raising awareness of the dangers of diseases and how they can prevent these. The programme aims to promote awareness among the youth and the communities about the role of volunteerism in development and in peacebuilding, and to explain the Millennium Development Goals and major government policies.

In a country with an 85% unemployment rate, the programme is also providing much-needed work experience and job opportunities that will enable the volunteers to contribute to the economic development of Liberia. A database of the volunteers’ achievements will be made accessible to potential employers, and career days and job fairs will be organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The programme is jointly funded by UNV’s Special Voluntary Fund, UNDP and the Government of Liberia.