Support Traumatized Child Soldiers in Liberia!

Dear Donor,

I'm happy to report to you the progress made on the Reintegration project.  Clearing the land has been the hardest part of getting the farm ready! 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Hired work force of 20 men from neighboring towns in little Bassa, these men were paid per day to brush the 2 acres farm land. The brushing and felling of trees started Jan 6 and ended on the 11, 2015. After 14 days, the brushed bush was ready to be burned, on Jan 28.
• Hired 10 men to burn the farm and after 5 days the land was ready for de-stumping and clearing.
• The planting started on Feb 18 and ended on 27, 2015. We hired 8 women of Little Bassa, who planted the cassava and corn on the 2 acres of Land for7 days.

CHALLENGES

• Power Saw Chain- The lack of power saw chain caused us to spent more money as it was not stipulated in the budget. We had to rent power saw chain to cut bigger stumps for total clearing of the site.
• Dwelling Place – the lack of dwelling place during our stay in Little Bassa, makes our stay uncomfortable until we return to our individual homes.
• Work Force – It was extremely difficult to organize a committed workforce in Little Bassa, because majority of the youth focus on fishing, we have to go into surrounding villages to organize a dedicated workforce.

CONCLUSION

The beginning of the BRV project was really a lesson and a success. We are happy that we were able to prepare the land for farming which of course we have already planted cassava and corn as start-up crops on the BRV. We are also grateful to Action10 for her continuous support in helping IDEFOCS achieve some of her many goals. As we move forward with the BRV, we anticipate more support to help manage the farm regularly as stated in the BRV Work plan.

GREATEST NEEDS

• Funding to hire work force to weed the field
• Funding to put fence around the crops to protect from wildlife

Thank you for your support.

• Full IDEFOCS update report on BRV (PDF)