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This story will appear in tomorrow’s CL.

Liberia is a small African republic just south of Sierra Leone still recuperating from nearly 16 years of sporadic civil war and government corruption. It’s recently made progress under President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the U.N. official and African “Iron Lady” sworn in two years ago to repair her native land’s fractured psyche. Former war criminal Charles Taylor has since been extradited for trial, hundreds of displaced civilians are finally finding a way home and democracy is spreading where once there was only bloodshed.
The road to recovery has already been shorter than expected. But some of Johnson-Sirleaf’s longer-term relief efforts — particularly her call for new schools and enhanced women’s rights — may require a bit more help. The U.N. Association has perked up its ears, spurring its 177 regional American chapters toward fundraising campaigns.
Last week, the Sarasota-Manatee branch went public with its own role in the operation: By early 2009, local members hope to erect a “Sarasota-Manatee School for Girls” in Liberia. Though the specific location and building dates have yet to be determined, proponents say the initiative, though still nascent, is long overdue.
“Women and girls were brutally abused during all those wars,” says local chapter president Dorothy Watson. “The average woman who survived has never been inside a school.”
For 40-odd years, the former US foreign-service diplomat says, Sarasota’s UNA branch has strived to get the community to “get out of America and look at what’s happening in the world.” They’ve raised awareness through documentary film screenings and visiting singing groups, but getting locals to assume an active role in raising the $100,000 it will take to build the school hasn’t been easy.
Watson recalls some initial reluctance even from local UNA board members.
When she first proposed a “fact-finding trip” to Liberia at the start of their campaign, she says many were afraid to visit the place, one even stating that her husband forbade her from participating. “That’s just typical,” says Watson. “I’m saying to myself, ‘I can’t believe this!’”
Soon, however, they were all on board — “I guess they just got tired of me talking” — and a group will reportedly visit the country next year.
“Everybody thinks this is the most exciting thing,” Watson says with a laugh. “Somebody just has to push them to do more.”

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