The Ebola crisis in Liberia has claimed the attention of every Liberian and foreign partners residing in and across the country, nationally and internationally, that the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has taken lives of many people in and outside the country approximately 4000 victims, disrupting plans and ongoing activities of national and international concern. Liberia is a developing country recovering from fourteen years war devastation. Recently, after the war, there has been some improvement in the country in all sectors. The Liberia government is working in both urban and rural communities to encourage full participation of all citizens for economic empowerment, through capacity building for sustainable self help community initiatives. Liberia is divided into fifteen counties, which, in turn, are subdivided into districts and further subdivided into clans. English is the official language and over thirty indigenous languages are also spoken out sixteen tribes within the country, there are many townships and communities comprising of deferent ethnic groups with two well-known religions (Christian and Muslim). Some of these townships and communities do not have a well standardized governing structure; some do have but not empowered to carry on effective and efficient governance practices to fully control their precincts. The 2014 Ebola crisis in Liberia corroborates a weak or un-empowered/equip community governing body. From observation, it is proven that developments projects undertaking in communities have had less impact and sometimes not sustainable to reach optimal goals due to the lack of community interest/response. The Me & My Community project is to improve community administration that creates community independency as a whole, interdependency within communities and improve coordination and collaboration that leads to a sustainable development. It is also to ensure that communities have a vibrant administrative system that encourages development from partners and self-help community project or plans to improve their communities and its inhabitants for better living condition. The targeted community for this pilot project is Duwan Town Community that holds 460 households with 2300 inhabitants. The community is located center of Montserrado County in Liberia. It is sub-divide into three blocks (A, B, and C) and bordered by Dargbeh Town on the south, Two-side field on west, and by Nyanford Town on the north. The leadership structure lacks the following: no council of elders, no youth group/club, and no women and children division. As part of ILI’s effort to build a unique structure, we are to work on improving community members’ interest in their leaders. Therefore, the Me & My Community project is designed to improve and promote good governance practices by community governing body and dwellers through capacity building; address issues that are impeding community growth, unionism, encourage full participation in events, and trust in the administration by community dwellers within their precincts; create a well define community structure through which developments are easily verified and channel to reach positive decisions on behalf of the entire community, and how to participate in national events, and investment for its well being of its people. Major objective: To work with community groups (Council of elders, leadership team, youth group, and women and children unit) to create an attractive governing system by promoting, supporting, and empowering community leadership for good governance that allow community members bye-in higher interest through capacity building. The project is to accomplish the following: • Assist the community create a viable by-laws and constitutions that leads to development (i.e., construct palaver huts for peace building, name streets, develop playgrounds for children, carrying on hygiene promotion and others while promoting hygiene best practices) • Training of elected and selected community volunteers/officers in leadership and office management • Do planning, implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation, and reporting • Construct palaver hut with office space to allow the community improve on peace building
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 09:55:00 +0000
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