Concord Times (Freetown)
Abdul Karim Koroma
21 August 2008
Freetown — German development agency, GTZ's project manager Tuesday told President Ernest Bai Koroma at State House that up to 3,000 young people have expressed willingness to be repatriated from Freetown to where they hailed from.
Lawrence Paul Myer said his organization embarked on a pilot programme of resettlement and reintegration of marginalized youth in Freetown and the mining areas back to their communities in four town and villages in Kono and Kailahun districts.
"There are between 100,000 and 200,000 youth in the country working in extremely difficult conditions and who were initially displaced by the war and scattered in urban areas," Myer said.
GTZ, he said, has so far succeeded in repatriating some 300 young people who were mainly taught skills that would get them engaged in agricultural activities. They would be managed by a 'food for work' programme that includes a $300 package for each family.
President Koroma applauded the efforts of GTZ saying it was a wonderful idea to repatriate displaced people in urban areas back to their villages of origin up-country.
Koroma recalled that a few weeks back he had called a meeting of development partners and donor community at State House on his government's identified priority areas which he would like them to co-opt into their projects.
The President said he was happy that the pilot scheme was started in Kailahun and Kono which are border districts with great agricultural potentials.
"My government is now turning its priorities on agriculture and this is an opportune time with a project like this to give young people skills to get involved in agriculture," he said adding that the project would combat some of the challenges associated with urbanization.
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