Liberia Community Peace Building and Development (CPBD) Project

The CPBD works with civic organisations in 97 communities, implementing 243 community projects: 30 Agriculture Best Practice and Demonstration Sites (BDS), 29 community farms, 90 income generation projects, and 85 infrastructure projects, which include the construction/renovation of water wells, latrines, public schools, health clinics, and adult literacy learning halls.

CPBD launched 18 community radio stations out of its 25 planned stations. It prepares radio programmes for broadcast on both community and commercial stations, with the hope of increasing people's access to information. One of CPBD's projects, Diompilor (a community peace-building project), has been working since 2002 to help Liberian communities create peace by strengthening civil society and strengthening communities' access to and involvement in community radio.

AED has overall responsibility for Diompilor; its partner, Mercy Corps, leads the programme's field operations in Liberia. According to the organisers, some of the accomplishments include:

• In 97 communities with a total population of 126,000 in Montserrado, Margibi, and Grand Bassa counties, the project has supported community development through the establishment and capacity building of community development committees. In addition, its work with communities has employed REFLECT, a social mobilisation methodology that combines literacy training, awareness building, and social action. By 2007, the project was expected to have furthered peace building and development in 200 communities;
• With project support and cost-matching, over 100 community empowerment projects (including hand pump wells, latrines, agricultural activities, and small enterprises) and over 100 income generating activities have been completed. As a result of best practices training and demonstration sites, over 300 farmers have adopted improved practices on their private farms;
• The project's Community Communications Unit has rehabilitated 20 community radio stations in 13 of the 15 counties, reaching over 500,000 Liberians. In addition, Diompilor has produced radio programmes that have reached at least 750,000 inhabitants on topics ranging from health to human rights; and
• AED facilitated the formation of the Liberia Resource Mobilisation Committee (LRMC) to bring together Liberian-Americans, Liberians, and other friends of Liberia in the United States to mobilise material, in-kind, human, and financial resources for peace building and development activities in Liberia.

Conflict.