Recently, citizens of the former Quardu Gboni Chiefdom in Lofa county now Quardu Gboni District hosted a peace and reconciliation festival in Barkedu Township under the auspices of the Barkedu Development Association A New Liberia News papers Editorial Consultant Abu Kamara who is also the Liberia’s Assistant Minister For Information Services follows the prospects and challenges facing the rural communities towards implementing self help projects.

The familiar slogan “don’t expect so much so soon” becomes a reality when one actually takes time out to visit some of our rural communities and see how much damage was done to both human and material resources during the fifteen years of civil conflict. The most common problem being encountered by most rural dwellers is the lack of roads connecting them with the urban centers in the country. This perennial problem of lack of good roads across the length and breadth of the country has had innumerable consequences on the lives of peasant formers.

Barkedu town is less than an hour drive from voinjama with a population of approximately ten thousands inhabitants most of whom lived by subsistence farming before the advent of civil conflict have embarked on several self help projects aimed at improving the living conditions of its people. Mr. Ayoubah Fofana the chairman of the
Barkedu Development Association outlined the significance of such community initiatives. “After the devastating civil war which saw the destruction of social and economic fabrics of our land, we the citizen of Barkedu decided to under take these self
help projects”.

According to Mr. Fofana, although the Association has several projects in mind, securing a conducive learning environment is a priority. This, he explained was necessary because the existing infrastructure in the town currently can no longer accommodate the teaming population of both primary and senior school students. “The school you see is being operated on a shift basis [morning and evening sessions] in order to accommodate those that may not get the opportunity to attend morning session or the vice versa.

Despite the difficulties, the people of Barkedu have demonstrated a strong sense of commitment towards creating hope for their young children in times to come. “When you invest in education, you would have prepared a better future for the present and the next generation” said Mr., Fofana. The Associate Justice Kabineh Janneh of the Supreme Court recognized this in his key note address when he said; “the way to proceed in the new Liberia is for us as a people to identify our priority which would transform our
community into a vibrant one for all to be proud of.” Quoting the saying of prophet Mohammed as a reference point, the Associate Justice said seeking of knowledge was a mandatory requirement for every Muslim from birth to credo. In his view, investing in what he termed as a human capital investment was inextricably linked to education. He therefore, urged the citizens of Barkedu to invest in their children education.

But how far can a such community based project go in the absence of governmental support?. Sekou Dolleh , the co-chairman of the Barkedu Development Association
comments; “ it is true that our people are having the zeal to carry on these self help projects but certain factors are militating against their speedy execution, the lack of teachers to teach increasing number of school children, inaccessibility of towns and villages due to absence of bridges most especially during the raining season are among the impediments to our progress”. In this respect, Mr. Dolleh appealed to the central government to come to the community aid.


Evidently, the situation in Barkedu is one of the many difficulties being faced by most of our rural schools in the country. For instance, a school of six hundred pupils has only three permanent teachers who are on the government pay roll while the rest of the eleven
teachers are teaching on a voluntary basis. A situation that has compelled some parents to send their children to Voinjama the administrative capital of the county located forty miles away from Barkedu town.

Against all odds, the Barkedu people seem to be determined to push ahead with these self help initiatives hoping to get a boost from the central government in the nearest future. The secretary General of the Barkedu Development Association asserts this notion; “we are doing this in the realization that it could compliment the government’s efforts in restoring hope, and the rebuilding of our damaged infrastructures, and it is with in this context that the government should see reason to assist our cause”.
Perhaps being quite impressed by what he saw, the internal affairs minister Ambulai Johnson rated Barkedu first when it comes to a self help projects initiatives in the country. According to him, development should not only be seen in the context of
physical structure but also in the mind set. “Once you have that positive mind set and you begin to do some thing, the requisite support will always follow, I have been in the different parts of the country and I have observed and noticed various behaviors patterns
and if you are to rank it , I think this area is ranked number one in my mind”. The challenge in the words of the Internal Affairs Minister is what can we do for our selves that when other see it would have the courage to help us. This is a challenge for both the rulers and the governed as we embark on the reconstruction agenda.