….. Call For UN Peacebuilding Support In Gbarpolu
Women in Gbarpolu County have been alarmed over the increasing wave of domestic violence in the county.
The women named rape and non-persistent support among other things as constant incidents of violence that are being meted out against them, particularly girls who according to them are often the victims of these abuses by their male counterparts.
The women’s concern comes following a weeklong engagement and community awareness campaign about women’s access to land, sustainable livelihood skills training, and educating them about the sustainability of peace.
Though the women appreciated the Community Sustainable Organization COSDO, Action Aid, and Partners for the support given to them by creating awareness about the benefits of women’s access to land, they said there is still the need for more vocational and economic empowerment programs for women in that part of Liberia.
According to them, there is no vocational program for the people of Gbarpolu County to help increase their sustainability.
This training was held under the theme “Strengthening the agency of young women and land tenure in Liberia” to educate women in conflict resolution, capacity building, and their rights to land ownership as being implemented by the Community Sustainable Development Organization.
Speaking at the project engagements recently held in the county, Community Sustainable Development Organization Executive Director Bleh Gbeintor thanked the people of the project focus communities for exerting efforts in ensuring the success of the project.
Madam Gbeintor noted that the testimonies from the beneficiaries have been an inspiration and one that has made COSDO to desire work more with the Community dialogue and Digital engagements.
“Our goal is to ensure that we mitigate the challenges you are faced with in the rural areas and in Liberia in general,” the Community Sustainable Development Organization executive director added.
Madam Gbeintor further informed the communities that the project seeks to promote women in diverse areas of conflict and mitigate the risks they face whether they live with their spouses or not.
For her part, Community Sustainable Development Organization Program Officer, Florence Nakerwon Zor Leamah, told the citizens of the county that COSDO’s selection of communities benefiting from the program was never a mistake, adding that community acceptance and participation have been very productive.
According to her, through the community dialogue and digital engagements, they were excited to hear success stories from the project beneficiaries, most of whom are women.
“What is most interesting and we think requires the efforts of everyone, including our donors, is the concern raised by our project beneficiaries, who underscored the need for more vocational programs and the extension of the project to the rest of the other towns across Gbarpolu for greater impacts.”
Making an appearance on the Voice of Gbarpolu recently in Gbarpolu County, Musu Saliah of Madina, Hawa N. Barker of Bopolu, and Lydia V. Ballah, heads of civil society groups and founders of the Kukatornor Community Base Organization in the county, championed calls for more training for the women in the areas of catering, tailoring, and tie and die, among other skills.
“We also want our male counterparts to be given the opportunity to benefit from skills training if we are not to be more embarrassed by them.”
The UNPBF project beneficiaries have also raised concern over the involvement of young men in Gbarpolu County in consuming narcotic substances.
Meanwhile, over seven hundred women of Gbarpolu County from various community-based organizations and civil society organizations have expressed satisfaction over the impact of the UN peacebuilding project.
Strengthening the agency of young women in peace-building processes and land tenure in Liberia is an 18-month initiative that seeks to educate women in conflict resolution, capacity building, and their rights to land ownership. It is implemented by the Community Sustainable Development Organization.
In their testimonies, Fata B. Mawolo of Kukatunue Organization, Eva Jallah of Gbarpolu Development Matters, and Martha Varmah of the Young Legend Peace Club noted that due to the training, they have been able to settle disputes among various communities members ranging from domestic violence to land conflict, among others.
According to them, since the introduction of the program by COSDO through Action Aid with funding from the UN Peacebuilding Fund, conflict, and conflict-related matters have been settled at home instead of going to court, which was said to be their usual way of handling issues.
They further boasted of what they termed increased earnings as a result of the training they acquired in soap-making, which now puts money in their hands to cater to their family’s needs.
Zogbo Sumo of Gbarpolu Development Matters, Miatta Gbarto of the Farwhenta Peace Club, Satta Kanneh, and Krulbah Yarsiah, including other women in Farwenta, lauded COSDO, Action Aid, and the United Nations Peacebuilding Funds for helping rural women in Gbarpolu get empowered.
“We will be glad to see this program cover the entire county because we want the women of the county to be more productive so that they cannot be overlooked by their spouses.”
The project’s beneficiary communities include Farwhenta, Madina, Bopolu, Zuo, and Gbarma.
