Heads of state from
all around the world were in attendance in January 2006 as the
Republic of Liberia inaugurated Africa’s first female
president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. A Harvard-educated mother
and grandmother, Liberia’s twenty-third president is an
economist whose résumé includes positions at the
United Nations and the World Bank.
Liberia is still reeling in the aftermath of its long-running
civil war in which almost 250,000 people were killed. The fighting
left the country in ruins. “Let us praise almighty God,
whose omnipotent hand guides and steers our nation,” Johnson
Sirleaf said in her inaugural address. “No one can deny
the destruction caused by the war,” she continued, “the
individual sense of deprivation is immense, but we are a strong
and resilient people.” The challenge now, she added, is
to “transform adversity into opportunity.” Presbyterian
News Service quoted Liberian resident Wadei Powell, who was
there to see her president inaugurated. “I really feel
hopeful about the new government,” she said, expressing
a belief that Johnson Sirleaf is going to make a difference.
Wadei said, “I’d like to be part of that difference.”
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone emerged from a decade of civil war in 2002. The
country continues to face the long-term challenge of recovery
from the trauma and devastation of the war. Self-Development
of People (SDOP), supported by contributions to One Great Hour
of Sharing, has actively contributed to the redevelopment of
Sierra Leone. SDOP provides grants to groups of people who are
actively engaged in developing solutions to the causes of their
own poverty and oppression. One such grant was provided in 2005
to a group of war widows who were left with no honorable way
to support themselves and their dependent children. These 150
women sought funding so they could provide loans as seed capital
to each other in order to establish small businesses, support
their families, pay back the loans, and expand the circle to
other war widows. |
