wfn.org | Swedish aid agency supports reconciliation/reconstruction in Liberia

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

Two-thirds of population displaced internally or fled abroad

UPPSALA, Sweden/GENEVA, Feb.19, 1998 (lwi) - The Swedish church aid agency
"Lutherhj„lpen" will make available eleven million Swedish crowns, some two
million Swiss francs, for reconciliation and reconstruction efforts in
Liberia. The funds are to be used in the coming year, among other things,
to train at least 1,000 persons in the fields of peace work and trauma
therapy. Agricultural projects, schools, a hospital and an
income-generating project also are to be supported.

The major part of the funds, some nine million Swedish crowns, come from
SIDA the Swedish government's development budget. The remaining two million
Swedish crowns were collected last fall through fund-raising campaigns
conducted by several Swedish aid agencies.

The programs for reconciliation and trauma counseling, aimed mainly at
leaders in churches, in society and at hospital staff, also are intended
for persons directly affected by the war, such as soldiers and child
soldiers. Target groups in the rehabilitation projects are women and girls
suffering from the physical and mental effects of the civil war, single
mothers, orphans and child soldiers.

Local partners of Lutherhj„lpen are primarily, the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) and the some 25,650-member Lutheran Church in Liberia.
About 180 staff currently work for the LWF in Liberia, placing the
federation among the country's most important aid agencies.

Approximately 200,000 persons died in the civil war within seven years.
Two-thirds of the country's 2.5-million population is displaced within
Liberia or fled abroad.

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Lutheran World Information
Editorial Assistant: Janet Bond-Nash
E-mail: jbn@wcc-coe.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/