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Editor's Corner: FOL and
Liberia Transition
by Bill Faudree, FOL E-zine Editor
As the Liberian
National Elections approach, now less than four months to October
11, 2005, Friends of Liberia is actively positioning itself to
effectively work to positively affect Liberia and
Liberians through education, social and humanitarian programs and
through advocacy efforts. In this Summer 2005 e-zine we want to
communicate to the membership the changes in the organization that
we believe will position FOL to continue its mission after the
National Elections and into the future.
We have two Chair Reports in this e-zine because of a
leadership transition. Thanks to Frank Ardaiolo for three years at
the helm, guiding FOL through the end of civil war and the two years
of the Transitional Government. Good luck and “we support you” to
Joanna Carty, Chair of the Friends of Liberia Board of Trustees.
By this time all members of FOL have reviewed the new
bylaws for FOL. Peter Levitov’s committee did a great job, revising
the old bylaws to comport with the organization’s actual functioning
in 2005. All members have received a ballot, reviewed the new
bylaws, and voted on these revisions. In our continuing effort to
let members know what is happening within FOL, Jim Bowman has
prepared a financial report and Jim McGeorge, a membership report.
As in previous editions we report on initiatives that FOL
is working on. John Kucij presents an excellent overview of the
Gardnersville Central Academy project: background, FOL commitment,
and the future of the project. Stephanie Vickers, FOL President,
again updates the Liberian Educators for Action and Peace (LEAP)
project. On our Member Activities page we have an article from
Torli Krua on the difficult situation faced by Liberians in the US
under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Again, Stephanie Vickers
outlines a very successful fundraiser, held in Portland, Oregon, at
the end of April, to benefit the LEAP project.
We are planning another e-zine in September focusing the
October 11th National Elections in Liberia. A committee
has been set up to examine FOL’s options for participating in the
Elections. At this time FOL is not planning an observation team, as
we did in 1997, but we are looking into the possibility of
partnering with a larger organization. Any suggestions on
partners? Any offers of volunteer help? What do you think FOL’s
participation should be?
As you can see in several articles in this and past e-zines
FOL now functions more as a national organization because of the
electronic world we live in. The computer and email are great
communication tools, allowing us to work from all over the US (and
the world). As you can see there are plenty of email addresses
throughout this e-zine and on the Friends of Liberia website (www.fol.org)
for you to communicate with the organization. Feel free to
communicate your views to any one or all of us. Feel free to offer
your talents and time to help us continue to help rebuild Liberia:
working to positively affect Liberia and Liberians through
education, social and humanitarian programs and through advocacy
efforts.
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