Challenges and Rewards

I’ve spent much of my time the last few weeks doing work in the field away from Ganta. Here, I’ve discovered some challenges which help illustrate how difficult peacebuilding and development work can be – especially in Liberia. First, as we are entering the heart of the rainy season the road conditions are getting very bad making what would be a short drive to a nearby town, a several hour affair. Since the roads are often so bumpy, it’s easy to arrive at the destination worn out, however it is important to push through the fatigue and soreness for the sake of the beneficiaries – after all they had to travel the same roads to get to the meeting place as well. Along some roads are also many bridges – some more sturdy than others. It is not a given that they bridge you drive over will hold the vehicle, so it is always important to proceed with caution.

Additionally, traveling at night is a challenge. Goats like to sleep in the middle of the road at night and this becomes a hazard. It’s also hard to see people, ditches, and other obstructions. You also wouldn’t want to get a flat tire at night – which would leave you swatting a flies and constantly shining your iPhone light into the bush to ensure that any animals or people partaking in witchcraft (which is a thing in Liberia) aren’t eyeing their next victims.

Mount Nimba

Another challenge which I did not expect is dealing with the low education level of many of our beneficiaries. During the civil war, many Liberians ceased their education and never had an opportunity to pick it up again. This left a sizable population with low reading levels. Thus, for me working on an exercise that requires much reading, writing and critical thinking proved very difficult to many of the participants. As such, I had to constantly revise the exercise to ensure that it was relevant to all participants.

My work in the field these past few weeks as also taken me to some of my favorite places in Liberia. For example, in Yekepa – the northernmost town in the panhandle of Liberia on the boarders of Guinea and Ivory Coast – lay many beautiful mountains including Mount Nimba. Another town called Zwedru has paved blocks, nice sidewalks, and some fantastic Liberian and international restaurants. Zwedru is also the home of the late President Samuel Doe. Here, you can even find his unfinished house before he was assassinated.

Unfinished house of Samuel Doe

These interesting towns as well as the success stories and the gratitude from the beneficiaries makes the work well worth the effort despite the challenges. It is hard to believe that I only have three weeks left in my internship.