our program
THE CHALLENGES – AND WHAT WE'RE DOING ABOUT THEM.
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THE CHALLENGES WE FACE
We have had positive impact on Kolahun since 2014. RESTORE HOPE: LIBERIA developed its innovative and unique approach – integrating health care, education, and opportunity to better lives. But it's only the beginning. Now we tackle the challenges that remain: |
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Lack of sanitary facilities.
93% of the program's households do not have a toilet. None of the area’s communities have a public toilet. The result: 85% of the residents of Kolahun defecate in the bush. That’s 85% of 49,500 people. Without saying, this has serious health repercussions. |
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Lack of safe water.
No child enrolled in our school lives in a household with easy access to safe drinking water. The Kolahun District has a total population of 49,500 inhabitants but there are only 56 hand water pumps. And with such heavy use, there are frequent breakdowns. Most often, only about 23 are operational. 76% of the region’s households must rely on an unsafe source of drinking water. 
Poor access to health care.
The average Liberian must walk three hours to reach a health facility. 90% of communities have no health facility. Even where a facility exists, often there is a lack of skilled staff and basic supplies. Liberia's health indicators lag those of virtually every other nation. The country's maternal mortality rate is nearly 1,000 women per 100,000 live births. The rate in the United States is 25 per 100,000. 
Substandard housing.
65% of our enrolled children live in homes that are in deplorable condition. Use your imagination for what deplorable in one of the poorest regions in Africa means. None of the children have a mattress or sleeping pad, much less a bed. THE SOLUTIONS WE PROVIDE Educational support
Health support
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Scarcity of food.
Less than 9% of the Liberian population overall has enough to eat, and the statistics for Kolahun are even worse. 27% of the children under age 5 are underweight, 39% suffer stunted growth due to chronic malnutrition, and 7% are severely malnourished. 
Lack of educational opportunities. Many villages in the Kolahun District have no schools. Where schools do exist, many families cannot afford the school fees. Water, sanitation, and housing support
Nutritional support
Livelihood improvement
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OUR NEWEST INITIATIVE:
Integrating Women’s Empowerment, Economic Development & Mental Health
A debilitating mental health crisis persists in a context of extreme poverty, where more than 40% of Liberians suffer from post-traumatic stress and/or a major depressive disorder.
RESTORE HOPE: LIBERIA will implement a combined mental health and women’s economic and social empowerment project to address this problem. Interpersonal Group Therapy (IPT), an evidence-based mental health intervention, will be integrated into the Women’s Weaving Cooperative (WWC) and Kolahun Crescendo (KC). This integrated approach provides a sustainable and scalable program for on-going mental health support while advancing women’s economic and social empowerment.
Business skills and microfinance training, savings and loan workshops, and cooperative governance workshops will be held annually to ensure the participants are gaining the necessary skills to grow and lead a successful business and to manage their personal finances.
The goals of the project are (1) to improve women and girls’ mental health and wellbeing; (2) to strengthen women’s economic and social empowerment; (3) to support the WWC to become a self-sustaining, expanding cooperative in which the domains of women’s economic empowerment are woven into the cooperative’s culture; (4) to support the Kolahun Crescendo, which addresses several necessary domains of women’s empowerment through art (photo) therapy and storytelling.
Integrating Women’s Empowerment, Economic Development & Mental Health
A debilitating mental health crisis persists in a context of extreme poverty, where more than 40% of Liberians suffer from post-traumatic stress and/or a major depressive disorder.
RESTORE HOPE: LIBERIA will implement a combined mental health and women’s economic and social empowerment project to address this problem. Interpersonal Group Therapy (IPT), an evidence-based mental health intervention, will be integrated into the Women’s Weaving Cooperative (WWC) and Kolahun Crescendo (KC). This integrated approach provides a sustainable and scalable program for on-going mental health support while advancing women’s economic and social empowerment.
Business skills and microfinance training, savings and loan workshops, and cooperative governance workshops will be held annually to ensure the participants are gaining the necessary skills to grow and lead a successful business and to manage their personal finances.
The goals of the project are (1) to improve women and girls’ mental health and wellbeing; (2) to strengthen women’s economic and social empowerment; (3) to support the WWC to become a self-sustaining, expanding cooperative in which the domains of women’s economic empowerment are woven into the cooperative’s culture; (4) to support the Kolahun Crescendo, which addresses several necessary domains of women’s empowerment through art (photo) therapy and storytelling.
THE PROGRESS WE’VE MADE
Today, RESTORE HOPE: LIBERIA’s 100+ children are enrolled in good schools, both public and private, often faith-based schools.
Both public and private schools in Liberia impose fees, so there is no economic disadvantage attending private schools.
All the RHL children and their households have been provided with hygiene kits to help stop the spread of Ebola and other infectious diseases. Kits include hand sanitizer, bath soap, washing soap, chlorine, and bath buckets. Mosquito bed-nets have been provided to all beneficiary households to help prevent malaria.
Home and school visits are made regularly to all the beneficiaries. These visits monitor progress and assess needs for tutoring or additional support. Regular food supplementation is provided to all enrollee households. Efforts have begun to construct public toilets, repair broken water pumps and install new ones, distribute water purification tablets,and undertake housing repairs.
But all this is just the start. RESTORE HOPE: LIBERIA needs your help to continue its progress.
You can read more about our program and annual budget in our recent 2017 Annual Report - click on link.
Today, RESTORE HOPE: LIBERIA’s 100+ children are enrolled in good schools, both public and private, often faith-based schools.
Both public and private schools in Liberia impose fees, so there is no economic disadvantage attending private schools.
All the RHL children and their households have been provided with hygiene kits to help stop the spread of Ebola and other infectious diseases. Kits include hand sanitizer, bath soap, washing soap, chlorine, and bath buckets. Mosquito bed-nets have been provided to all beneficiary households to help prevent malaria.
Home and school visits are made regularly to all the beneficiaries. These visits monitor progress and assess needs for tutoring or additional support. Regular food supplementation is provided to all enrollee households. Efforts have begun to construct public toilets, repair broken water pumps and install new ones, distribute water purification tablets,and undertake housing repairs.
But all this is just the start. RESTORE HOPE: LIBERIA needs your help to continue its progress.
You can read more about our program and annual budget in our recent 2017 Annual Report - click on link.