Volunteer Liberia

International Development

International Development

This is a very interesting area of our internship projects in Liberia. This field will provide you the opportunity for you to gain valuable experience while impacting local communities. Liberia is a country that have numerous social and economic challenges that continue to undermine its development. As an intern, you will work with both local and international NGOs to help communities overcome these concerns. You can participate as a volunteer, intern or part of a gap year, career break, vacation or gap semester.

You will have the opportunity to work with numeral local and international NGOs engaged with sustainable development in Liberia. We have longstanding partnered with several of these organizations in Liberia, and they are all in need of help of interns with a strong interest in international development to support the many programs and initiatives being run.

Role of intern:

Interns will be placed at one of several NGOs. These organizations focus on a numeral issues including:

  • Women Economy Empowerment
  • Business Entrepreneurship Training
  • Human Rights
  •  Community base Initiatives (awareness campaign, education, environment, organizing field activities an various training sessions about youth development, fundraising campaign, and HIV/AIDS projects)
  •  Wash and Sanitation project
  •  Governance project
  •  Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) project
  •  Child Trafficking
  •  Child Protection project
  •  Agriculture

Intern should expect to get engaged with a variety of tasks during your internship placement, such as: Writing reports

  •  Project planning
  •  Creating training materials
  •  Fundraising and marketing
  •  General administrative work
  •  Coordinating local volunteers

Our internship encourage interns/volunteers to make the most of your experience, we inspire you to be proactive and actively seek out ways you can contribute to the NGO’s work.

Your working hours will depend on the field of work chosen and you will need to flexible, but all International Development interns can expect to work around 30-35 hours per week.

Volunteers who wish to specialize in the community outreach aspect of our Liberia Medicine & Healthcare programs can join a full time Public Health project. Whether you are on a gap year hoping to study medicine at university, a summer placement, or you already have some medical experience, you can make a big difference to local children and adults who would often struggle to access healthcare or afford the treatments without our outreach program

The Public Health project is based on the outskirts of Monrovia and rural areas in Liberia. Volunteers live with a local Liberian host family, who will welcome you into their home and introduce you to the Liberian culture.

Volunteers work alongside a local healthcare professional who will train you in the various screening and testing procedures where possible. Volunteers are involved in the following types of work:

  • General health testing (e.g. blood sugar levels, body mass index, blood pressure)
  • Eye screening
  •  Screening for worms
  •  Minor wound and skin treatments
  •  Malaria testing and treatment
  •  Educational talks on general health issues (e.g. hygiene and first aid)

The public health outreach programme takes place in orphanages, schools, churches, villages and community markets or centres. Some days will be spent accompanying the team on outreaches to nearby villages, and others will be spent in the public health department at the main hospital. Volunteers usually work from Monday to Friday and have the weekends free to relax or travel.

Liberia is faced with a lack of infrastructure and low secondary school attendance; Liberia’s literacy rate is estimated as one the highest in the world. The aim of the Street Library project is to help more children in Liberia, particularly those in rural areas, discover the culture of reading.

The Street Library works with communities to improve literacy rates in Liberia by facilitating access to information, books and technological devices while spreading the joy of reading across disadvantaged rural communities who would otherwise have little or no access to these resources.

The library is set outdoors, inviting children and the youth to meet under a tent, open covered areas, or other structures to read individually or to listen to a reading. A collection of books covering different topics and book recommendations for all age groups is available on display. A manned stand is established to promote the library and provide information concerning learning and reading courses, as well as schooling possibilities. Additionally, the Street Library proposes creative writing competitions and similar activities.

Due to the community of people targeted by this program, a “street” library is considered to be the best approach. When set in a building, a library often seems intimidating for less educated people. A mobile library set outdoors, in a friendly and informal atmosphere, makes books more accessible and visible to the whole community, and facilitates interpersonal exchanges and relationship building. This helps to swerve the barrier imposed by “genuine” libraries while
keeping the same impact.

Through the use of our Street Library, the volunteers/interns move from community to community, set up tent libraries and welcome children to help them improve their literacy. 

Volunteer role:

  • Run literacy clinics for children at the library
  • Evaluate when a student has graduated to the next level of literacy according to the Street Library guidelines
  • Administer initial evaluations on children wishing to participate in the library to determine their level of literacy according to the
  • Street Library guidelines
  • Organize story time reading circles for children while they are at the library
  • Help children when they are reading independently.
  • Assist with the set-up of the library (mounting tents, unpacking books, etc.)

Women around the world face tremendous hardships, especially in developing countries due to many social and economic factors. Liberia is still largely male dominated, upholding gender norms which support the supremacy of men over and above women, thereby creating space for the gender disparities which continue to exist in many key facets of national life. Enhancing social and economic empowerment of women in Liberia still remains visible among the numerous post conflict recovery challenges in Liberia. Women constitute more than half of the national population and yet find themselves among the poorest segment of the population. Owing to existing customary laws, beliefs and practices in Liberia, a vast majority of women roles is being limited to household care and other domestic responsibilities. There is great disparity that favours the male when it comes to access to education or other opportunities for individual development and growth. As a consequence of this phenomena, abject poverty, illiteracy continue to ensue particularly among women. A situation which continue to erode their capacity to make decision as were protect themselves and increase
their vulnerability to Gender Based and other forms of Violence. Our women’s empowerment volunteer abroad programs aim to help women achieve a level of independence, opportunity to learn and live a dignified life equal to men in society. On the volunteer program intends to achieve this by providing computer skills training for 100 target participants for wage/self-employment and income generating activities that will result in sustainable returns for the participants. For this reason the project will deliver a short range training course (2 months) in computer applications integrated with basic management and lifeskills, job seeking skills and entrepreneurial skills to effectively equip the trainees with the requisite skills and disposition to enable them secure employment or engage in self-employment schemes. Our women’s empowerment programs contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal that aims to reduce poverty and gender inequalities while increasing the quality of education and economic growth.

Our project will, according to the limits of our resources, create or assist training programs, leagues, tournaments, camps, and other youth-related projects. The central target area of Youth Crime Watch of Liberia Sports program missions will be places where youth and children are at
a high risk of danger from drugs, violence and crime. Our philosophy is that kids can succeed in life no matter where they are raised, as long as they have positive outlets to oppose negative ones.

Despite our focus on sports, Youth Crime Watch of Liberia football Program is not meant to build up generations of sport superstars, even though this is not a bad idea. Our goal is to use sports, games of teamwork and fitness, to produce generations of strong young adults, successful community leaders and youth advocators who know that crime, drugs and violence are not solutions to any problem.

If one player in our sport programs can pursue his or her dreams at the highest levels of a particular sport, we will certainly be happy and further provide all support within our reach. But if our players can influence the next generations for the improvement of their neighborhoods, we will have achieved a step towards our goal.

Volunteer Role:

Volunteer will have the opportunities to coach soccer, basketball, and volleyball in communities and schools, youth community clubs and local sporting clubs.

Girls- In-Charge is a grassroots female empowerment activist movement that seeks to build the self-esteem and confidence of girls and young women in Liberia to be agents of change We empower females (primarily ages 15-35) by firstly building a foundation for female empowerment. Through our experiential learning style, participatory workshops, group sessions, role-modelling and inspirational speakers, we support young women and girls to transform the negative images society puts on them into positive ones. We design self-esteem and confidence building activities as well as Sexual Reproductive Health trainings that help young women and girls to realize their true abilities, power and critical thinking skills. We support them to discover what they can do and provide them with the space, skills and connections to do it. In the spirit of true equality and bridging the gap young men are very much encouraged to take part as we try to eradicate negative stereotypes in society especially about girls and women, we need to involve boys and men in the discussion. Once the women have begun to believe that they can be in charge of bringing change. They will form community groups. These groups will meet weekly and discussion issues they may face on a personal level up to a national level, and take charge of the decision making process. Girls in Charge are a judgment free zone with a platform of respect for each other. Girls can face stigmatization for many different things, having a place to share personal issue is a healing process. Then common threads will be identified, problems reviled, and Actions towards a solution

We also placed volunteers in schools to teach as way of contributing to the education system of Liberia. Youth Crime Watch of Liberia understand Liberian’s population is made up of mostly youths and about 65% of these youths are uneducated and girls form the bulk of that number. Government’s effort to expand educational activities to all and especially to the girl child through some education projects still have some gaps in strengthening the education system. There is an urgent need of trained and qualified teachers/ lecturers in the educational sector to meet with present needs of the education curricular. Conclusively it could be realistically judged that children who form the bulk of the population in this country are seriously deprived of quality educational services. You can help these young and unfortunate people in Liberia by volunteering in schools in Liberia.
Volunteer Role:
Successfully recruited volunteers will fill up vacancies or will support already existing teachers in schools (elementary to high schools). Liberia needs you and there are no specialties in the subject or course u can offer. We will also appreciate volunteers who are also interested in teaching universities or colleges in Liberia.

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