Tearfund in Liberia

Tearfund has been working in Liberia since 1995. From 1996 to 2000 Tearfund’s Disaster Management Team (DMT) successfully completed a large-scale relief and rehabilitation programme in Lofa County and around the town of Greenville. Since that time Tearfund has been working with its main local partner in Liberia, the Association of Evangelicals of Liberia (AEL).

With the end of the 14-year civil war and the security conditions in place to permit larger-scale return after the war, since October 2004 DMT has been undertaking a full operational programme in partnership with AEL.

Current projects are based in Gbarpolu, Nimba and Sinoe Counties funded by ECHO, UN, Jersey Government, World Relief Canada/Canadian Food Grains Bank and DfID. Tearfund are working with war affected communities helping them to re-establish their lives. Tearfund’s current projects take integrated approach to community reconstruction in the following sectors: HIV/AIDS, food security, agricultural extension work, water and sanitation provision to communities and public health promotion. Tearfund encourages more intensive yet sustainable agricultural techniques, such as encouraging a change from shifting cultivation, use of composting, swamp rice cultivation and use of higher yielding varieties of seeds. Training in these techniques is complimented by building solidarity through the formation of farmers associations. Tearfund also works with the local administration and community leaders to address issues at policy level and at the practical level concerning the livelihoods and welfare of project beneficiaries.

See www.tearfund.org for more information about Tearfund’s disaster relief and development work.