LIBERIAGlobal Communities, in partnership with the Goldman Sachs Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership Certificate Program, is working with women entreprenuers to ensure they gain access to credit in the short term, while building support networks to provide skills and training that will give them access to formal credit facilities over the long term. With sufficient training, certification and education, these women will be able to access the financing that will enable them to dramatically increase their business and stimulate the Liberian business environment overall.
Through the USAID-funded IWASH program, Global Communities is helping residents in six counties in Liberia and targeted neighborhoods in Monrovia to improve their overall health through better water supply systems, sanitation facilities and hygiene practices. Through the project, Global Communities is working with community members, local partners and municpal governments to develop sustainable, market-driven solutions to meet communities' water and sanitation needs. At the same time, the project promotes education and learning among individuals and communities about sanitary practices and water hygiene. Global Communities is also providing technical support to the Monrovia City Corporation to improve sanitation services in the capital. Through this partnership, Global Communities is providing capacity building and training to local enterprises to help them become successful businesses providing waste collection services to households and small establishments.
In conjunction with ongoing efforts to improve the sanitation situation in urban communities, Global Communities launched the Youth Engagement in Service Delivery (YES) program. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the YES program builds the capacity of local youth organizations and trains youth for employment in the solid waste sector. The program also focuses on building the capacity and life skills of youth with training in savings and financial literacy, basic business and employability skills. At the same time, with support from the World Bank, Global Communities is developing interventions to help vulnerable, urban youth. The interventions are designed to help prevent urban youth, including ex-combantants, from engaging in violence, crime and substance abuse by promoting viable economic opportunities and sustainable livelihoods.