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Projects
 Even in a city under massive re-construction like Monrovia, it is hard to miss the action at the Nancy B. Doe Market in Jorkpen Town. A huge three-story building, it occupies land the width of approximately two city blocks, making it one of the largest markets in the city. Once a model urban market and an emerging commercial and trade hub, Liberia's fourteen year civil war severely damaged both the market's physical structure and the economic activities within it. After the war, to the extent that the market women needed somewhere safe and non-hazardous to conduct their business, the three-story building was no longer appropriate. It was severely run down, provided no shelter from the weather and a large section of the second floor was threatening to collapse. Additionally, the market was missing key facilities needed for trading. There were no storage facilities to speak of and since stalls were non-existent, the women were forced sell their goods from the floor. The latrine system was destroyed, there was no trash collection or disposal system to speak of and the third floor, initially reserved as a venue where women could establish a day care for their children, had been dubiously leased out to a third party school that made the women pay for childcare services. In short, every aspect of the concept of "good work" put forth by the International Labour Organization was being violated. In honor of its vision and purpose, the SMWF commissioned a total reconstruction of the market and has found tremendous success in its first project. The building is now structurally sound and safe for use and an outdoor enclave has been transformed into a beautiful playground/garden space for children. SMWF has also installed stalls within the market, and made provisions for water, toilet, storage and electricity facilities. In addition to these physical improvements, the SMWF is creating adult education, financial resources, and child support programs centered on empowering market women and their families. |
Activities and Achievements in Liberia
From the 2010 Field Report
SMWF adult literacy training: Several field monitoring reports found that 85% of the market women who took the course, organized by SMWF and implemented by AlfaDen, can now write their names, phone numbers and take stock of their commodities. The project has attracted the interest of illiterate women who are not market women. As a result, many of the market women who acquired writing skills are now demonstrating their achievement at various women's gatherings and programs in their communities and churches.
The Saclepea Market in Nimba County in northern Liberia previously was a weekly open-air market. Now a daily covered market with extensive facilities it attracts some 3,000 individuals and private business people due to its location near the border with neighboring Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire. Recently, the local authority in a meeting with SMWF program staff said they have a registered membership of more than 670 marketers. The full sitting capacity of the newly constructed market is 750 tables and since the official opening in March 2010, the number of registered marketers has been on the increase.
SMWF micro-credit: Cecelia Touazama, an illiterate single mother of five received a loan of US$50 to expand her business. She sells dried meat in the Saclepea Market and goes into faraway villages in Grand Gedeh County to buy bush meat, dry it and sell to other marketers from Monrovia. She lives in Saclepea and has a table in the newly constructed market. She says, "The money really helped me to buy more meat to increase my profit. I used to buy only three whole deer meat with what I had, but I can now buy up to six whole deer meat, which has enabled me to increase my weekly savings from L$800 to L$2,000. And though it was difficult for me from the beginning, I have overcome some of the major problems and can now pay back the loan and save additional profit."
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