Lofa County has its fare share of women abandoned by men, leaving them with the burden of looking after the children on their own. Mothers, many of them young, are unable to support the children, who often end up on the streets and not able to pursue education. But these women, determined as they were to better their lives, decided to be vocal and they raised their concerns with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf when she visited Lofa. Even the UN Technical Assessment Mission (TAM), while visiting Lofa, heard the concerns raised by these single mothers.

It is against this background that UNMIL’s Quick Impact Project came to their help thanks to the Civil Affairs office that lobbied for support for the women. The support came in the form of training in vocational skills to enhance their ability to generate income and be able to support themselves. The training programme included agriculture, agro-processing, tie and dye, tailoring and adult literacy. The Lofa Women Agro-processing Group for Peace and Development (LOWAGPD) was selected by a consortium of Civil Society Organizations to implement the project.

The two-month project targeted 90 single mothers, selected from Voinjama City and its immediate environment while the trainers were hired from the various women groups in the county, many of them single mothers themselves. QIP contributions to the project came in the form of all the required materials as well as overhead costs.

During a formal closing and graduation programme held in Voinjama City in August, trainees received certificates in their respective disciplines. During the programme the Assistant Superintendent/Development, Klubo Jones advised the graduates to consider the opportunity as a beginning step to higher heights. She said the empowerment of women is “a recipe for sustainable development in Lofa”.

The acting Head of UN Field Office in Lofa, Istvan Lipniczki encouraged the beneficiaries to make the best of the skills learned. He lauded the Lofa Women Agro-processing Group for Peace and Development for implementing the project.