As Liberia enters a new era of economic recovery after the Ebola devastation, the World Bank has facilitated funding for the provision of jobs for 10,000 vulnerable young people across the country. These funds were made available to the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE), and resulted in the recruitment of thousands from all 15 counties to engage in the scale of farming that will stimulate income and provide food for their communities.

World Bank-Liberia Country Manager, Ms. Inguna Dobraja, said the project will help poor and vulnerable youth to begin rebuilding Liberia’s economy and people’s livelihoods following the negative effect of the Ebola crisis. According to her, recovery efforts were in order and all hands have to remain on deck in order to unleash a full recovery.

“This project aims to expand access of poor and young Liberians to temporary employment programs across Liberia targeting 10,000 youth. These youth will be identified through a participatory process largely relying on community involvement to ensure transparency,” Dobraja said.

She added that LACE has helped to build schools, clinics, bridges, markets and other structures directly benefiting Liberians. It is expected that the next round of activities will focus on productive public works which, Ms Dobraja noted, will include opening roadways, particularly if they link to markets.

This is particularly refreshing news because the World Bank had previously published information on its website suggesting that the employment situation had not improved despite a steady improvement in health. Women were particularly vulnerable to the Ebola threat as some 60 percent of the females who were working at the start of the epidemic no longer have jobs today. Farm harvests have drastically reduced as a result.

The project would target 700 youth from each of the country’s 15 counties who will be paid $3 per day. According to Julius Sele, LACE Executive Director, the total earning for an individual is US$150.

By Emmanuel Iruobe