Liberia project change
A great opportunity for employment
Problem definition
The west African country of Liberia has faced multiple trials, including a civil war in 2003 and an Ebola epidemic in 2014. While the country is already in an unstable position, it has now also faced the COVID-19 pandemic. The country is engaged in an economic and social recovery plan to shape a democratic society after the 2017 elections.
The population consists largely of young people under the age of twenty-five who, due to factors such as limited food, access to education and culturally assigned gender roles, have a negative outlook of their future. As Liberia is currently recovering as a country, there are not many educational and professional opportunities available. The aim is to create own possibilities through innovation and entrepreneurship.
The project
In this project, Planet Inaba is developing a training/mentorship program with the aim of creating a positive and sustainable vision of the future together with the youth in Liberia. Within six training sessions, the youth participating are virtually taught basic business skills by people with different expertise that will help them stimulate the growth mindset regarding career and motivate them to look outside their current situation. We want to achieve this by providing them with a dedicated mentor who guides the youth in realizing dreams to ideas and from ideas to actions.
This project is an ongoing development in collaboration with several agencies: Liberian Youth foundation and Project change Liberia, both full time active in Liberia.
“One of the things we’re really facing here in Liberia is the old mentality. The change in mindsets of older people. Things have to always be the way they were.”
Article: There is no food for lazy men
Realization
Our workshops covered a range of paradigm-shifting topics, including personal and career development, youth empowerment, volunteerism, financial management, and more. We were fortunate to have guest speakers who shared their experiences and knowledge, providing valuable insights to the participants.
Our main objective was to instill in the youth a sense of responsibility towards society and help them understand their collective role in rebuilding a productive Liberia that sustains its people. By empowering students from 10 high schools throughout Liberia, we were able to directly impact the lives of 30 future leaders.
At the end of the intensive business workshops, training, networking, and competing, the students presented their business plans, offering practical solutions to problems in their schools and communities. G.W. Gibson High School won first place, followed by Christ the King Catholic School in second place and David Lombel Memorial High School in third place. The three winning schools of the competition were awarded microgrants to fund their initiatives. We followed up with the winners during their business set-up and kept track of their progress.
In 2020-2021, we realized similar projects with Project Change and the Liberian Youth Foundation. Two of our successful projects were:
1. Electrical Solutions
William Kei participated in our program in cooperation with Project Change and developed a great business pitch for Electrical Solution! His objective is to provide quality electrical materials to customers with instructions and technical support on the proper usage of electrical appliances. As he stated, electricity is an essential part of modern life and important to every country’s economy by increasing productivity. However, most Liberians are not knowledgeable about electrical fire safety and proper usage of electrical appliances, resulting in a 0.39% casualty rate in Liberia. William wants to make Liberia a better and safer place for everybody!
2. Safe Water
Joel G. Lankah from Liberia won the 2020-2021 contest with his Safe Water business. Currently, he is selling mineral water to the public community in Monrovia. Accessing safe and healthy drinking water in Liberia is difficult, as most of the water people use for drinking is not safe nor healthy. With his business, Joel is solving this problem by providing safe and healthy drinking water to the community. This is another reason why we love our work as volunteers at Planet Inaba.
In cooperation with the Liberian Youth Foundation, we created a program to support the youth in Liberia with an entrepreneurial mindset. During this program, we discussed different topics such as money management and social skills. At the end of this program, we organized the Shark Tank (contest), where every participant had the opportunity to create a business plan and present it to the jury of Inaba and the Liberian Youth Foundation.
Campaign
In addition to the development of the program, there are also several campaigns that are necessary to facilitate the program.
Training/Mentor volunteer: Do you have knowledge in the field of entrepreneurship, business or other fields? Would you like to help and/or provide training for our upcoming projects? Or are you the perfect person to be a mentor for someone else because of your talents / qualities? Sign up now as a volunteer, because your help is always welcome!