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Friends of Liberia's New Chair
An Introduction
by Joanna Carty, Chair of FOL Board of Trustees
I am honored and humbled to serve as Chair of the Friends of Liberia
Board of Trustees. The mission of our organization and the
membership that supports it is to inspire and to influence positive
changes in Liberia. My association with Liberia started as a
Peace Corps Volunteer in Rivercess County from 1988 to 1990. As I
watched the country gradually succumb to the war, I did not realize
what a struggle, what devastation, and what turmoil would follow.
As an Election observer in 1997 with FOL, my return trip left
me with lasting impressions of the realities of war. The
destruction and lack of basic needs was overwhelming, but the
emotional scars and trauma of the people who lived through the war
will never be forgotten. Since joining the FOL board in 1998, I
have learned a great deal more about Liberia itself, but also about
the passion of the people who have developed and driven FOL to the
status it holds today. I believe as an organization one of Friends
of Liberia’s biggest challenges is that we operate solely with
volunteers. I see two factors that will assist us in fulfilling the
impact of our mission.
The first is our
membership. With the help of our members’ time and talents, we can
position FOL to contribute in meaningful ways to projects we believe
are worthwhile supporting. The executive committee consists of FOL
officers and three appointed board members. Our executive
committee: Stephanie Vickers, Pat Riley, Candace Eastman, Jim
Bowman, Jim McGeorge, Peter Levitov, and Torli Krua will manage the
organization and guide FOL forward in its development.
The second is our
advocacy efforts that identify policies and issues we need to address
and bring to the forefront for policy makers and stakeholders,
concerned about Liberia. Advocacy drives development resources and
program needs. Advocacy was the backbone of Friends of Liberia
during the most critical times of the war and is essential to
influence the rebuilding of the infrastructure of Liberia, assist
with basic needs of those in Liberia, and provide development with
the chance to be cultivated.
As everyday life in
Liberia has some semblance of settling down, there are many barriers
preventing it from taking root. The words “reconstruction and
development” encompass many elements for Liberian society. Making
them a reality will be a massive challenge to attain. I think we
must remember that as unique as Liberia and her people are, there
are lessons to learn in reconstruction and development from civil
conflicts throughout the world. We have an enormous opportunity to
assist Liberia; let us do so with vision, purpose and cooperation.
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