“We must deliberately go into the field and lavish love on those incapable of loving. That’s the magic.”
Samuel G. Doe, Liberian peacebuilder
Future Guardians of Peace, our pilot program for former child soldiers, includes a small group living at our compound in Voinjama. In exchange for work they receive schooling, a loving home, and photography training enabling them to document their own and each other’s healing and to appreciate nature by seeing deeply. They often mediate disputes in the streets and at school, and they are helping everyday gandhis staff to organize the community to accept and care for other ex-combatants in need.
Community Mentoring for New Nation-Builders: With input from community leaders and ex-combatants, everyday gandhis is working with local elders and leaders to organize a community mentoring network. Preliminary objectives include increased acceptance by the community and ‘adoption’ of marginalized ex-combatants in need of guidance and care. in active collaboration with Vice President Boakai and the NCDDR. It is anticipated that this program can become a model for the rest of Liberia and beyond. A Summit for Providers of services to Ex-combatants is in the planning stages, along with a national survey of ex-combatant strengths and needs (to be conducted by fighters-turned-peacebuilders).
