Liberian CSOs Get Capacity Building Training

By: Kerper M. Soclor

Ninety participants from thirty Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) across Liberia have benefited from a five-day capacity building training from Actionaid Liberia.

Held in Buchanan City, Grand Bassa County, the weeklong intensive training enhanced the capacity of these civil society actors in crucial organizational development areas including Leadership and Governance, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), Program Management and Safe Guiding Principles.

Madam Elizabeth Gbah Johnson, Country Director of ActionAid Liberia told the gathering that the training the training was important in order to enhance the skills of the CSOs, especially relaing health-related programs from human rights-based approach perspectives.

She said before the training is an outcome of a need assessment conducted by Actionaid and its partners to determine where these CSOs need assistance development.

The Actionaid boss urged participants to make maximum use of the knowledge acquired to strengthen and sustain their institutions, noting that Actionaid will continue to monitor progress and support implementation efforts.

The CSOs expressed gratitude to Actionaid Liberia and its partners for organizing the training and enhancing their institutional capacity.

Mr. Solomon McIntosh, Coordinator of the Liberia Health and Rights Journalists Network, described the training as “an indelible milestone which impact will go a long way in strengthening our institution.”

Also speaking, Madam Oretha K. Tenwai, Team Lead at Action for Girls Empowerment (AGE), said, “the impact of this training is worth millions. Lack of capacity building has long been one of the major barriers preventing local CSOs from accessing larger international grants. I’m grateful to Actionaid Liberia, Plan International, and the Global Fund for thinking in this direction.”

Sheikh Swaray, Vice Chair for Monitoring at the Liberia Coordinating Mechanism (LCM), described the initiative as “a major breakthrough for CSOs in Liberia.”

He emphasized that LCM, as the principal body responsible for applying for grants from the Global Fund, has consistently advocated for greater CSO participation in the implementation of Global Fund activities. He said the presence of LCM at the training was to observe, monitor, and gather feedback from participating institutions to inform future engagements.