Monrovia, LIBERIA 01 Aug 2006 - Thirteen-year-old Habibu wants to be the first Liberian to walk on the moon. Benetta, 12, hopes to follow in Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's footsteps and become president of her country. So does friend and classmate, 11-year-old Mercy. As for Moses, a 17-year-old former child soldier captured by rebels during the war, he dreams of opening his own carpentry shop. "I will build tables, chairs, doors," he says, sanding a plank at his workbench. "I will be doing this on my own."
Mere months ago, these children's aspirations were impossible dreams. Young citizens in a country crippled by 14 years of civil war, they were breaking rocks, digging sand to make bricks or selling junk on the streets of Monrovia. Often the sole breadwinners in their families, they seemed destined for a life marred by drugs, prostitution or in Moses' case, violence.
Seeking to break this pattern of decay, the International Rescue Committee instituted CYCLE, or Countering Youth and Child Labor through Education. The program attempts to better the lives of Liberian children whose education was deterred or cut short by war and economic necessity.
‘I Learn So I Can Teach’
IRC staffers initially targeted the poorest communities in Monrovia and surrounding counties last September. Since everyone in Liberia was affected by war, it wasn't difficult identifying candidates for the program. Convincing their confused and war-traumatized parents about the long-term economic benefits of an IRC-financed education was another story.
"In the beginning, it was very challenging," recalls social worker Annie S'Urah. "But now they see it's best for children to learn, to go to school, to fit into society. They see that education is the key to success, to be able to support themselves tomorrow and build Liberia as a nation."
It wasn't only parents' mindsets that needed changing. Children, long absent from the classroom, had to learn to appreciate the importance of education. “Now that they're in school, mingling with friends, they are gaining assurance,” explains IRC education officer Christine Harmon. “As they see others who are educated, they feel they can be like that, too. They don't want to go back into what they used to do before. They want to go forward and accomplish their aims."
For some students that aim is to serve others. Seventeen-year-old Surface once burned charcoal in the bush so he and his family could eat, but now he's training to be a mechanic in Monrovia. "I learn so I can teach others to learn,” he says,”to fix engines, repair cars, everything. Because we have to help each other."
Fourteen-year-old Tonieh, who until recently sold cheap plastic knickknacks in the streets, smiles as she shows off her school uniform. She wants to be a nurse. "I tell my friends to go to school to learn for Liberia,” she says.
‘Making Education Number One’
The CYCLE program is young, but its benefits are already apparent. After all, CYCLE children aren't just getting an education; they're getting a chance to be children again. "They are, like, wow, it's good to be in school!” says IRC’s Harmon. “They are making education number one in their lives."
That education depends on sustainable funding. "We have a window in which to change the cycle of youth falling prey to destructive and violent practices,” says Liberia country director Nathan Richardson. “We have to use this window to make a major step forward. We have to help Habibu reach the moon."
