Liberia

The YMCA of Liberia seeks to unite, develop and empower young people and others, thereby strengthening communities as an extension of the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The YMCA of Liberia was founded in 1881 by bishop Samuel D. Ferguson, an Episcopal Bishop to Liberia. Bishop Ferguson, while on assignment in Harper, Maryland County. The YMCA started in Harper and only came to Monrovia in 1926 by James McCritty.

The main programs of the YMCA of Liberia are divided into four categories: Membership Development Youth Development Youth Leadership Training/National Youth Council Peace Building and Civic Education Adolescent Reproductive Health Program Youth Entrepreneurship Program Capacity Building and Sustainability Human Resource Development Income Generation Programs Rental/Lease of assets Special Projects Education for Less Fortunate Children Emergency Response Program Psycho-Social Rehabilitation

Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendents of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel DOE ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles TAYLOR launched a rebellion against DOE’s regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which DOE himself was killed. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for elections that brought TAYLOR to power, but major fighting resumed in 2000. An August 2003 peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who faces war crimes charges in The Hague related to his involvement in Sierra Leone’s civil war. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) maintains a strong presence throughout the country, but the security situation is still fragile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country continues. Population: 3,441,790 (July 2009 est.) Age Structure: 0-14 years: 44.1% (male 760,989/female 758,554) 15-64 years: 53% (male 904,770/female 920,704) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 47,013/female 49,760) (2009 est.) Birth Rate: 42.25 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) Death Rate: 20.73 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) Infant mortality Rate: total: 138.24 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 3 male: 153.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 122.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.) Life Expectancy: total population: 41.84 years country comparison to the world: 220 male: 40.71 years female: 43 years (2009 est.) HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate: 1.7% (2007 est.) HIV/AIDS – people living with HIV/AIDS: 35,000 (2007 est.) HIV/AIDS – deaths: 2,300 (2007 est.) Ethnic Groups: indigenous African 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves) Religions: Christian 40%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 40% Languages: English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages few of which can be written or used in correspondence Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57.5% male: 73.3% female: 41.6% (2003 est.) Government Type: republic Capital: Monrovia Geographic coordinates: 6 18 N, 10 48 W Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) Independence: 26 July 1847 Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Currency: Liberian dollars Population below poverty line: 80% (2000 est.) Transnational Issues: Disputes – international: although civil unrest continues to abate with the assistance of 18,000 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers, as of January 2007, Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing turmoil in Cote d’Ivoire; despite the presence of over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d’Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict continues to spread into neighboring states who can no longer send their migrant workers to Ivorian cocoa plantations; UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber. Refugees and internally displaced persons: Refugees (country of origin): 12,600 (Cote d’Ivoire) IDPs: 13,000 (civil war from 1990-2004; IDP resettlement began in November 2004) (2007) Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption, criminal activity, arms-dealing, and diamond trade provide significant potential for money laundering, but the lack of well-developed financial system limits the country’s utility as a major money-laundering center. **Information retreived from CIA – The World Factbook: www.cia.gov

National General Secretary: Edward Emmanual Gboe, eegboe.ymcalr@gmail.com YMCA of Liberia P O Box 602-C-3 Monrovia LIBERIA Tel: 231 – 227451 Fax: 231 – 226 130 Cell: +231 6547249 Email: ymcalr@gmail.com