Liberia is Africa’s first republic, lying on the Atlantic in the southern part of West Africa. It was established in 1822 by Americans to settle freed American slaves in Africa. Liberia is comparable in size with the state of Tennessee in the United States. The population is approximately 3 million with 40% Christian, 20% Muslim and 40% holding indigenous beliefs. Most of the country is a plateau covered by dense tropical forests which thrive under an annual rainfall of about 160 inches a year. English is the official language and is spoken by 20% of the population. There are 20 ethnic group languages.

 

Liberia has been ravaged by a 14-year civil war in which more than 300,000 Liberians have been killed and more than three million displaced. A cease-fire was signed in August 2003 which put an end to the decade-long civil conflict and a new democratically-elected government took power in 2005. There are 15,000 UN peacekeepers now in the country as Liberians try to rebuild their lives.

 

In the midst of this tragedy, James Davis, Agnes Tali, Rancy Barsaye and their team of volunteers (all Liberian nationals) are reaching out to lost young people through Young Life Liberia. They began Young Life in the capital city of Monrovia in 2004. In addition to traditional work in schools, they have begun neighborhood ministries, ministry to homeless teenagers and even ministry in former soldier re-entry camps (where young boys and girls who fought in the war—ages 9 to 19—were brought for months of counseling and job training).

 

VIEW the Young Life Liberia photo album.