ActionAid works with poor people in over 40 countries across the world. Our goal? To end poverty. We believe in doing things differently. We know that with the right opportunities, poor people will find their own solutions - and build new lives.
Liberia is recovering from more than two decades of civil war. More than 200,000 people were killed – or one person in every 20. Around a third of us were forced from our homes.
The war ended in 2003, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became Africa’s first female head of state in the free elections that followed. But it will take years for Liberia’s economic and psychological scars to heal.
ActionAid in Liberia
ActionAid started working in Liberia during the war in 1996. Our staff were forced to flee after our offices were looted, but we were back the next year. When rural areas became too dangerous, we concentrated our efforts on towns and cities.
After the war, we gave out seeds and tools so people could start growing food and earning a living again. We also helped women find way to make an income, and women’s rights remain central to our work.
Rehabilitating child soldiers
Some 15,000 child soldiers fought in the civil war. We’re helping them reintegrate into society.
We teach them skills like carpentry, building, growing vegetables or raising livestock so they can make a living and lead an ordinary life
