PHOTO: Jim Wright, USAID Mission Director
Monrovia—The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), today formally closed out its Community Dialogue for Conflict Mitigation and Reconciliation Project (CDRP), which was successfully implemented by YMCA, a US Embassy press release said here on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
Since 2018, CDRP has helped communities in the six counties most affected by the Liberian civil war to resolve conflicts and their underlying causes without resorting to violence. CDRP helped 11,643 Liberians in Bomi, Bong, Grand Gedeh, Lofa, Montserrado, and Nimba Counties to participate in community-based social therapy sessions that trained participants on how to spot and avoid or mitigate conflict triggers. CDRP also actively involved 4,800 students in school-based peace clubs that worked in their communities to spread messages against violence and trafficking in persons.
Additionally, CDRP worked with traditional leaders to peacefully resolve land disputes and long-standing boundary conflicts between neighboring communities.
Speaking during the close-out event, USAID/Liberia Mission Director Jim Wright congratulated CDRP on working to ensure that its gains are sustained over the long term. Director Wright noted that “people in various communities are now using the skills they acquired from working with CDRP to establish their own peace clubs and are engaging youth in wholesome activities like debate competitions and spreading antiviolence messages.”
Wright said the successful implementation of CDRP by the YMCA “makes the case for USAID to expand its work with local partners to implement programs and activities in Liberia.” He thanked the Ministry of Internal Affairs for being strong partners in the implementation of the CDRP and urged the people of Liberia to work even harder to find peaceful ways of resolving conflicts as they prepare for legislative and presidential elections next year. “Ensuring peaceful elections in 2023 will not only allow Liberia to maintain its proud record of peaceful, stable, and democratic governance, it will also create the space for the country to pursue a development agenda that improves the lives of all Liberians,’ Wright added.
The YMCA Secretary General Timotheus Kamboakai said the YMCA gained tremendous experience from implementing CDRP and looks forward to partnering with USAID again to serve the people of Liberia.
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