Monrovia — In the densely populated community of Paynesville on the outskirts of Liberia's capital, scores of women are doing hard labor.
"I am here crushing rocks to feed my children and send them to school," said Annie Wheayee, a 60-year-old mother of eight. She and the other women here crush large rocks to sell to the construction industry. As Liberia continues to recover from decades of conflict, building projects have increased, more and more women are joining the rock crushing brigades.
" You see the hole that's behind you right here," Wheayee said, pointing to a pit that looks about nine feet deep. "I get in the hole, dig the rock and then burst it."
She said the rocks are then bought and carried away in pickup trucks. "At the end of the day I make 200 Liberian dollars [about U.S.$3.00]," which she said she uses to feed her family. Her husband is unemployed.
Another rock crusher, Fatu Gboyah, 40, said she sends her children to school with the money she earns. "I have been doing it for nine years now," she said. "Some of us want to do different business because this rock work is very hard."
Gboyah said her husband is sick and attributed it to rock crushing. She described the work as a family business and said her children sometimes come to help after school.
Schooling that gives girls more options is a core aim of Liberia's economic development policy. Despite the lack of basic infrastructure in the country, using advanced technology is part of the plan.
Princeton University Professor Ann Marie Slaughter this month led a delegation to Liberia of eight American technology experts. The purpose of the all-woman group, which traveled under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State, was to explore how mobile technology can be used to improve the lives of women.
Slaughter, who was director of policy planning at the State Department and a key aide to Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, said Liberia was chosen as a destination because many women are playing key leadership roles in the country, and the United States has close relations with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The delegation also visited Sierra Leone.
The group included entrepreneurs and innovators from Google, Twitter and other private sector and civil society organizations. They visited teacher-training institutes in Liberia to further explore how technology can be used to build literacy.
In an interview with AllAfrica, Slaughter said that the delegation was examining how people can use the Internet to connect with job opportunities, such as projects that large companies can do with employees based in remote locations. Although mobile phone technology is widely used in Liberia, she said more work needed to be done to build infrastructure for the Internet.
Liberia is still struggling to cope with the fast moving online trends and has yet to establish a basic platform for the provision of high-speed connectivity. The government last year signed an agreement with France Telecom for a submarine cable to improve Liberia's communications network.
Slaughter said once that happens – it is expected next year - Internet access will be easier and cheaper. "For now, obviously, it's very difficult because power is very expensive, which means running computers is expensive," she said.
The University of Liberia in January launched an ICT program – the first of its kind in the country. The dean of student affairs, Sawolo Nelson, said the university has also incorporated an E-learning program connecting Liberian students with students in India through Harvard University in the United States.
He lamented the small number of women enrolled in the program.
"Some women take it to be a difficult thing," said Florence Kolou, a 30-year-old software engineer who was educated in Ghana during her stay as a refugee there.
She said although she has not yet found work since returning home a few months ago she is confident about her future. "Everywhere you go in this world nowadays it's all about computer," she said. "So I know I will make my living."
In a statement welcoming the technology delegation last week, Johnson Sirleaf noted that information and communications technology has transformed the world. She expressed her strong interest in working with Liberia's market women through technology-based literacy programs to improve their skills and lives.
Under Johnson Sirleaf, who was elected in 2005, many more Liberian women have assumed leadership roles in both the public and private sectors. The high level of illiteracy among women, however, has posed a serious challenge to the many groups working to improve their status.
Johnson Sirleaf presidency's is widely regarded as having given a confidence boost to Liberian women and girls, with many now venturing further afield to bridge the gender gap. But unemployment remains a problem, regardless of gender.
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Liberia's recovery from 14 years of civil war has attracted multi-national companies, and their presence is expected to somewhat offset the unemployment crisis. In the meantime, women like rock-crusher Annie Wheayee are working to make ends meet – and more. Her determination to send her eight children, including the girls, to school is evidence of her faith that new opportunities will be available for them.
According to the State Department, delegation participants included: Anne Marie Slaughter, Women's Tech Del chair, Princeton University, professor and former State Department director of policy planning 2009-11; Francoise Brougher, vice president of Global Advertising and Product Operations, Google; Shannon Cazeau, deputy director for Office of Economic Policy for the Bureau of African Affairs, State Department; Ann Mei Chang, senior engineer director for emerging markets, Google; Trina DasGupta, mWomen program director, GSMA; Katie Dowd, senior adviser for innovation, State Department; Leila Chirayath Janah, CEO & founder, Samasource; Henriette Kolb, CEO, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women; Marisa McAuliffe, chief of staff for policy planning, State Department; Susan McCue, CEO, Message Global, LLC; Maria Thomas, former CEO, Etsy, Inc.; and Jessica Verrilli, corporate Development & Strategic Initiatives, Twitter.
