Liberia

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Projects in Liberia

Education

To assist Liberia in rebuilding its primary and secondary education sectors in Literacy, Math and Science, Peace Corps Volunteers will teach in 4 counties upon return after COVID-19, and eventually teach in 15 counties across Liberia. Volunteers engage in capacity building and resource development through such activities as administration mentoring and support; counterpart teacher training; library, science lab, and computer lab development; and career counseling for students. The purpose of the project is to assist Liberia in building its next generation of leaders through teaching interventions, particularly focused on helping students gain access to personal, professional, and academic opportunities.

Through classroom teaching and strengthening the capacity of teachers, the Peace Corps provides support through its programming. Volunteers are placed at government primary, junior and senior secondary-level schools where they have an opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of Liberian youth, by providing them with educational instruction and opportunities for extracurricular activities. Volunteers collaborate with principals, teachers, and parent groups to improve school management, introduce innovative teaching techniques, facilitate the use of school libraries, encourage student organizations, promote career opportunities, and participate in summer academic programs.

Peace Corps Response Volunteers focus on education, but instead of being student-focused like the two-year Volunteers, they are teacher-focused. Response volunteers help prepare future teachers who will be placed in rural areas.

Health

To assist Liberia in rebuilding its public health sector, Peace Corps Volunteers collaborate with the Community Health Workers program in 4 counties. These volunteers worked to provide health education with a focus in child and maternal health, by promoting under-five nutrition, advocating and supporting pre- and post-natal well-woman check-ups, and developing capacity strengthening activities for community and health post coordination, among others.

In August 2017, Peace Corps Liberia began a Community Health project when they brought in a group of six Response Volunteers to pilot the program. In September 2018, Peace Corps Liberia will expand the program with a larger group of Response Volunteers placed in more counties across Liberia. The project is linked with the National Community Health Assistant Program which is undergoing a transition from being run by locally engaged NGOs to Liberia’s Ministry of Health. This program provides life-saving services and education to communities located more than 5km away from local clinics.

Peace Corps Response

Peace Corps Response volunteers are Returned Peace Corps Volunteers with prior experience in the country and/or mid to late career professionals with exceptional skills and expertise. Peace Corps Response Volunteers focus on activities that support post-secondary institutions such as medical colleges and teaching hospitals, the ministry of health, Catholic Diocese Educational Systems, and coordinate activities in the areas of Malaria, Gender Equity, and Science Labs.

Cross-Sector Program Priorities and Supplementary Activities.

In addition to the primary focal areas of Education and Community Health, all Volunteers are encouraged to supplement their primary activities in areas that support community needs and interests. These include 6 supplemental activity areas are: Gender Equity, Malaria Prevention, COVID-19 Prevention, Youth Leadership Development, School-Based Agricultural Education, and School-Based Nutrition Education.

Virtual Service Pilot Program

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Peace Corps Piloted a new Virtual Service Model, enabling Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to engage with host partners through digital venues. Through the use of Zoom, WhatsApp, email, and other digital platforms, PC Liberia Virtual Service Participants engage with Liberian partners to support medical colleges, teaching hospitals, schools, and local NGOs with capacity strengthening.