Help Reintegrate Former Child Soldiers in Liberia

Background

The world watched as Liberian kids as young as 10 years old were exploited as armed combatants. Under threat of death, they committed terrible acts of violence against the Liberian society. Many turned to substance abuse to cope with their experiences. In partnership with IDEFOC, our program named Botanical Reintegration Village aims to provide groups of former child soldiers a three-month program to help them recover from their trauma and obtain the skills necessary for social reintegration.

The HR&S RISE agency support package

With the new year we have introduced a new concept, called RISEagency, to enable us to work proactively with the challenges we face and will identify in the future. This will hopefully serve as a tool to improve the outcome of Action10's, HR&S' and our partners' efforts in Africa.

RISEagency is here defined as the capacity of individuals to have the power and resources to fulfill their potential in research, innovation and social enterprising in areas with fragile infrastructure.

The aim with the HR&S RISEagency support package is to address the challenges related to that our operations are implemented in aid prone areas where receivers of aid, the population and its governments, have become aid dependent and donor driven but the givers of aid lack evidence for sustainable impact, where truth and trust has become fragile, and corruption has become a social norm.

We use the ROPE management strategy and thus continuously improve and strengthen the RISEagency support package as we learn lessons and take informed decisions. The RISEagency support package is composed of inputs to activities that have been identified as outcome challenges to the ambition RISEagency. The sustainable impact is establishing institutions with the capacity to ensure RISEagency.

Links:

• Action10 - Project Link
• Human Rights & Science - Project Link

Backgound

The world watched as Liberian kids as young as 10 years old were exploited as armed combatants. Under threat of death, they committed terrible acts of violence against the Liberian society. Many turned to substance abuse to cope with their experiences. In partnership with IDEFOC, our program named Botanical Reintegration Village aims to provide groups of former child soldiers a three-month program to help them recover from their trauma and obtain the skills necessary for social reintegration.

Project update

Our programme management partner in Liberia was recently interviewed by BBC on his time as a child soldier and on his work with providing education for other former child soldiers, giving back to the community. Morris describes how his dreams and his future was left behind when he was recruited as a child soldier from the age of 11 to the age of 20. He further explains how former child soldiers have difficulties in the upbringing of their children and how some are involved in crime and drugs. Hence, Morris wants to contribute to the community and help these people by offering school training to almost 300 children.

To see the whole interview, please navigate to the link below.

Once again, thank you for your support!

Links:

• Liberian former child soldier: 'I'm giving back'
• Human Rights & Science - Project link
• Action10 - Project link