Organization Description and History

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Focus On Liberia, a registered nonprofit organization in the state of Georgia was established to promote, elevate and educate on the culture, history, and values of Liberia as well as to fill the information gap on what the country and its people truly stand for. According to the history books, Liberia was founded in 1822 by the American Colonization Society as a settlement for freed slaves from the United States. The freed slaves and the indigenous they met make up the less than 5 million people of what we know today as Liberia. As a result of a civil war that lasted over a decade, a massive number of Liberian nationals scattered all over the world thus posing a major human capacity challenge to the point of the country being brain drained. In the United States, specifically in the Metro Atlanta, Georgia, a group of Liberians and friends while working as leaders in their community established Focus On Liberia in August 2017. Focus On Liberia’s first broadcast was on August 27, 2017, on the topic “Your Choice in Elections 2017” featuring two supporters representing the ruling Unity Party and one of the oldest opposition parties: the United People’s party. Focus On Liberia is operated by a producer, a guest relations manager and a host, three of whom run the day to day operations of the organization.

 

Background

Most of what is known about Liberia, outside of Liberia and even among Liberians themselves, is simply a minute portion of the true history and culture of Liberia. For example, beyond Liberia being established by freed slaves in 1821 and known for the civil war and Ebola or having the first female democratically elected president in Africa, little is known about our rich culture or impact on the rest of the continent. Focus On Liberia endeavors to excavate and popularize the rich history and culture of Liberia while highlighting the excellent accomplishments and work Liberians are doing across the globe.

A civil war that lasted over 10 years destroyed much of Liberia’s economy and infrastructure. The war also caused a major brain drain as an estimated over 250,000 lives were destroyed and half of the population internally displaced or exiled. As Liberians tried to put the pieces together after a devastating civil war and a return to democratic rule, a deadly Ebola epidemic sweeping through West Africa killed almost 5,000 Liberians and further exacerbating the human capacity challenges.

Reports of widespread corruption in government, a broken healthcare and deteriorating school system plus impassible roads cutting off many parts of the country from the main city of Monrovia have dominated the headlines coming out of Liberia. There are countless Liberian Diaspora news outlets, internet TV and radio shows but almost all of them discuss mainly politics or amplify just the bad news and challenges confronting Liberia.