MONROVIA, Liberia, March 18, 2004 -
Samaritan's Purse (SP) is managing two rehabilitation facilities for
demobilized girl soldiers and military wives in the Liberian capital of
Monrovia. After years of armed civil conflict, Liberia is working to bring
about peace and freedom for its citizens. As rebel forces are being dismantled,
thousands of forced female combatants (girl soldiers) and military wives
are being demobilized into a society for which they do not have the needed
skills to survive. In response to this need, Samaritan's Purse is coordinating
two separate facilities to equip these women with counseling and training
as they reintegrate back into civilian life.
THINK Rehabilitation Home:
Samaritan's Purse is partnering with Liberian aid organization THINK (Touching Humanity In Need of Kindness) to house and rehabilitate women for a 9-month program of counseling and skills training. Ranging in age between 14 and 22, participants receive instruction in basic hygiene, sanitation, and interpersonal skills. Micro-enterprise training in tailoring, sewing, and tie-dye production is also part of this rehabilitation program. Twenty-five women are currently enrolled at this location.
Interim Care Center:
Samaritan's Purse and UNICEF are co-funding a women's interim care center that leads female ex-combatants through a 12-week program of counseling, community reintegration, and family tracing. The 27 current participants range in age from 9 to 20 years old.
According to Gene Brooks, Samaritan's Purse country director for Liberia, the two rehabilitation centers are seeing positive results. "I believe we're having a positive impact on these girls," Brooks says. "They receive three meals a day, medical care, and a safe, nurturing home to live in. This kind of life is a reality they've never known before. We're also seeing them respond well to the counseling and training they're receiving."
"The stories the girls are telling us about their life on the battlefront are shocking," Brooks reports. "It's easy to understand how they might struggle to cope with life beyond that. This is really the first taste of peace and freedom they've ever had and what we're offering them here can only be the beginning of their healing process."
Staff at both the THINK Rehabilitation Home and the Interim Care Center attempt to reintegrate the women and girls upon completion of their rehabilitation program. Family members are traced and encouraged to receive their daughters back home again. Samaritan's Purse is planning to open a third rehabilitation facility in the nearby city of Buchanan once the United Nations Disarmament Demobilization Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR) process resumes.
For more information, please contact:
Ivan Giesbrecht, Communications Liaison, Samaritan's Purse, 1-828-262-1980