Got a Job

Liberia's 85% unemployment rate just got a little bit lower. Starting today, I'm managing a program for the reintegration of war-affected women and children in 4 counties. During 14 years of civil war, women and children were drafted into the fighting forces as soldiers, laborers, sex slaves, and now they're in need of substantial assistance to get back into society successfully: job skills training, health and life skills training, literacy and numeracy, setting up child welfare groups, micro-loans to start businesses, etc. The work is funded by a grant from the US government.

Most of the work happens in small rural villages. I won't be working directly with the beneficiaries, mostly managing the people who do.

This should be a huge challenge; here's something from the handover notes left by the guy who had the job before me:

"On the whole it was a jolting experience that has stretched quite considerably my appreciation of post conflict emergency and development work. And now I have had enough of it and I am happy to go."

Woah. So there's nowhere to go but up!