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Liberia: Care Wants to Return
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The Analyst (Monrovia)
2 April 2008
Posted to the web 2 April 2008
CARE is craving to return to Liberia to contribute to the ongoing efforts of development and reform. Two executives of the organization, CARE-USA Director, Dr. Helene Gayle and CARE-Netherlands Director, Guss Eskens held a meeting with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at the Foreign Ministry.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008 meeting between PresidentJohnson- Sirleaf and the visiting CARE Executives was termed productive with the two parties expressing interest in working with one another.
The meeting gave CARE officials the chance to inform the Liberian leader of their desire to return to Liberia to do business.
CARE is one of many international humanitarian institutions that folded up during the advent of conflict even before the 1989 so-called "Popular People's Uprising launched by Charles Taylor who later become president in 1997.
CARE has been out of Liberia for about 25 years having packed off in 1983, two years into the miserable rule of slain President Samuel Kanyon Doe.
At yesterday meeting, President Sirleaf welcomed CARE Nederland National Director Mr. Guus Eskens and CARE USA Chief Executive Director, Dr. Helene Gayle who announced the return of the humanitarian organization following a 25-year absence.
The Liberian leader h hailed the announcement of CARE's return to Liberia and discussed possible partnerships in a wide range of areas.
"We are coming back with total enthusiasm," said Dr. Gayle. "This is an important time to make critical contributions to the development of Liberia under the new democratic leadership.
" We'ave tremendous experience in many of the areas of need in Liberia, including assistance in agriculture, health and education. And of course, our focus is empowering women and girls. Experience has confirmed this is the best way to leverage positive change in communities."
CARE-USA boss thanked President Johnson-Sirleaf and stated that: "Liberia is moving away from humanitarian to developmental assistance."
They're the leading humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting poverty and social injustice that works in about 70 countries worldwide. The group places special emphasis on investing in women and girls because experience shows that their empowerment benefits whole communities.
CARE undertook programs in Liberia from 1961 through 1983, providing school lunches, child nutrition, classroom supply kits, road construction, water systems, health education and others.
Following the meeting with President Johnson-Sirleaf, the team held a press conference to further elucidate their intention. "Well, it was a chance to talk to the President about CARE's intention to return to Liberia. I had a discussion with her in Washington D.C..
"So it was an opportunity with my colleague from CARE Netherlands to talk to about our intention and work we had done in the meantime to do assessment and to do a little more in-depth of what we might be able to do here," Dr. Gayle stated when she was asked to talk about the meeting with the Liberian leader.
According to her, they are coming to focus on areas where the government and others say critical to the development of Liberia.
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She said they have not chosen a specific area to do business, but are looking at background paper, like poverty reduction strategy (PRS) among others. She also noted that there is a window of opportunity her organization wants to take advantage of.
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