In 1990, a small West African nation called Liberia experienced one of the deadliest civil wars in recent history. As a result, thousands of Liberians were killed and about a million were displaced and settled into many refugee camps throughout Africa.

The Gomoa Buduburam Refugee Camp was established in Ghana, West Africa. Since its establishment, the population has outgrown the size of the camp. To date, The United Nations has suspended assistance to camp residents, as such they have to fend for themselves. Many families at the refugee camp are unable to provide education, food, drinking water, clothing, hope, etc. for their children.

In an attempt to help alleviate the sufferings of some of the children at the refugee camp, two hardworking refugees, who are now our coordinators at the refugee camp, Hester Richardson and Aaron Lloyd, conducted a field study, held initial interviews with families, and put the structure of the project together. Without their hard work and honesty, this project would have never gotten off the ground. As such, the Budu Liberian Refugee Children Project (BLRCP) was established in 2002. The Budu Liberian Refugee Children Project is tax exempt non-profit charitable organization. The goals of the BLRCP are as follows:

q      To provide needy children with tuition assistance

q      To provide needy children with food

q      To provide needy children with clothing

q      To provide families of needy children with free counseling services

In November of 2003, a team of volunteers left the United States, for the refugee camp, on a fact-finding and needs assessment mission. During that visit, twelve suitcases of clothing were donated to the refugees and a thanksgiving dinner was held for more than 100 families. The project’s Executive Director, Advertus Orea Wright, headed the team. The team quickly realized that the needs of the children were far greater than imagined. Because refugees are not allowed to work in Ghana, survival of their families depends upon relatives living abroad, on petit trading, and other unacceptable means.

Since its establishment, the Budu Liberian Refugee Children Project has shifted its focus from its original goals to providing food, tuition and fees, and counseling services for children and their families. Due to our limited financial resources, we are unable to sufficiently and adequately provide the needed services to families at the refugee camp.

Majority of the refugees have not therapeutically addressed their traumas experienced from the civil war. This was evident when the Director of the project held a group counseling session with parents at the refugee camp. It was observed that parents demonstrated strong and powerful suppressed emotions, as they were able to constructively discuss their issues in a nonjudgmental, safe, and therapeutic way. It is unfortunate that the time spent with parents was not enough to accomplish any meaningful and lasting therapeutic solutions. We hope that counselor from different institutions throughout the United States would be encouraged to volunteer their services to families at the refugee camp.

To date, with the support from volunteers and private donors, the Budu Liberian Refugee Children Project has provided tuition assistance, food, clothing, a pen pal network, one desk-top computer and printer, one 2.2 KVA generator, and smiles on the faces of many children thereby giving them hope.

The Budu Liberian Refugee Children Project is also registered as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Liberia, West Africa. It is the project’s goal to build a mission school in Liberia by the year 2010. The focus of the mission school is centered on teaching children core values that can be used to help navigate them through life’s challenges. It is estimated that phase one of the project will cost $35,000 United States Dollars.

This project is in need of any support both cash and kind that would further enhance its goals.

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