From Outcast to Businessman

In a perfect world Alfred Kamara would spend his mornings studying at school and his afternoons playing soccer. But life for a teenager in Balotahun, a small village in northwestern Liberia, is determined by a legacy of years of civil war and the stigma of the ‘forbidden disease’. Like many villagers Alfred’s parents are disabled by leprosy which, if untreated, destroys skin, nerves, and muscles and leaves sufferers irreversibly disfigured. Alfred’s mother and father were not allowed to marry a healthy partner and never had the right to own property. People in this ‘leper colony’ depend on someone loaning them land for farming, but in most cases they are destined to live in poverty. Alfred, a smart and healthy 16-year-old, is now the main breadwinner in his family and looks after his sick parents, three siblings, and his 17-year-old sister’s two baby boys.

PHOTO: IMC Soap making has enabled many to earn an income and support their families.

Alfred is one of 1,000 people in 10 villages participating in an IMC livelihood program that aims to enhance the income of some of the most vulnerable households in rural Liberia: teenage mothers, unemployed youth, subsistence farmers, and, as in Alfred’s case, the members of ostracized families. In April 2006, IMC started to train participants in soap making, tie dying, weaving, and vegetable gardening. Alfred joined the soap makers and also learned about the basics of running a small business and keeping records. Almost a year later he and 80 percent of the other participants produce and sell their products successfully with a small profit margin. “I have to support my family and I am grateful that I was included in this program. I am now able to make my own soaps and sell them in the local market,” a beaming Alfred told IMC. “I have learned a new skill and I want to make the most of it.”

Growing Up Fast
Teenagers in the area around Alfred’s village are forced to grow up fast. Lack of employment and development makes both boys and girls shoulder huge family responsibilities. The number of teenage pregnancies is high and the options for improving their lives are limited. Liberia’s young government has neither the capacity nor the money to offer people in these areas the assistance they need. “The IMC program enables whole communities to improve their standard of living and it will also motivate others to take charge of their development,” says Morlay Foday, a member of the village health committee in Bolahun. “We are very pleased that IMC has embarked on livelihood initiatives in our village.”

PHOTO: IMC Livelihood coordinator speaks with program participants.

Empowering the Poorest
Training the poorest to be in charge of their own lives by acquiring new skills is the key to the IMC livelihood program in Liberia. But this strategy also brings many challenges. Kpengbalahun for example is a place so remote and isolated that during the rainy season villagers can reach the closest market town only by crossing a rope bridge more than 60 feet long. IMC staff had to use the fragile construction to get to the participants.

Another obstacle emerged while explaining the concept of income, expenditure, and profit; 95 percent of the participants could not read or write and 80 percent could distinguish the value of Liberian notes only by color. IMC trainers had to adapt the curriculum and develop simple ways of teaching, counting and handling money. The trainers used pictures, interactive exercises and case studies to simplify the course work.

The results were impressive. The vast majority of trainees might be illiterate but now understand how supply and demand affect their business. They have learned how to manage an income and balance expenditure and profit through basic methods of record keeping.

IMC staff were pleasantly surprised that many young men were keen to learn skills like weaving and soap making, jobs usually done by women. But the lack of jobs and education helped many overcome the strict gender-based division of labor. Alfred does not mind earning money doing a ‘woman’s job’. He is proud of his 10 USD profit from selling 50 bars of soap for 20 cents a piece. He used only a fraction of the ingredients - palm oil and caustic soda - that IMC initially provided to him. Now Alfred plans to make his own palm oil to increase the profit for the second batch of soap. His entrepreneurial skills now contribute to a long-term goal of his family – to have three meals a day for everybody.