As June 30th approaches, more and more people are raising their voices in fear, protest, or simply acknowledgement of the deeply uncertain and potentially dangerous future for Liberian Refugees unable to return home from the Buduburam Camp in Ghana. Because of the stagnated economy on the camp, men and women who came to Ghana as refugees two decades ago have struggled each day simply to eat. They have not be able to save the funds necessary to transport themselves, their families, and their material lives back to Liberia.
This is not a story of a helpless population, however. The Liberian refugees took the maintenance and health of their community upon themselves long before the UN began pulling its crucial support. The camp contains numerous Community Based Organizations (CBOs), local initiatives, many of them women-led, that identify specific issues in the community and work to address them. There is a long standing Community Welfare Organization and a highly successful neighborhood watch program that has kept the camp safe for the past ten years. Our very reason for beginning this work with The SCHEF Organization was the incredible dedication and positive vision one Liberian refugee, Keith Kortu, had for his community.
It is unfathomable that the challenges we face in supporting refugees who wish to return home are so great. Their return is the exact outcome that nearly every party involved wants: the Ghanaian Chiefs want their land back, the Ghanaian government wants to be rid of the responsibility, the UNHCR has grown weary of the issue, and most importantly the Liberians themselves want the opportunity to finally begin their lives anew.
At GroundUp Global we have always felt strongly that every person has something of value to share. It is because of the tremendous generosity and kindness of the people we met on Buduburam that we stand with them today. The Liberian refugees are more than capable of creating change in their own right, all they need is a way to amplify their voices, to have others hear them. Take a moment to listen, that's all we ask. If the stories change your perspective the way they did ours, help us amplify the refugee's voices by passing the link along to friends and family. It is only together that we can create positive change, and for the Liberian refugees on Buduburam, time is running out.
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