USAID Youth Advance

Challenge

As Liberia approaches the milestone of two decades since the end of a devastating civil war, the country continues to rebuild and move toward a prosperous future. However, after 14 years of civil unrest, there was significant damage to the country’s workforce as well as its education system. These were also significantly affected by the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in 2014 to 2015, which compounded setbacks on an already fragile system. Since then, Liberia has fallen behind the majority of the other African countries in most of its educational statistics, and as such, illiteracy and unemployment are endemic.

The USAID Youth Advance Project focuses on increasing the economic self-reliance and resiliency of Liberian youth in three counties across Liberia: Lofa County, Montserrado, and Grand Bassa. Over the course of the project, USAID Youth Advance will provide over 21,000 young people with the skills, experience, support, and relationships to productively engage with their local economies. Working with local youth-serving organizations (YSLOs) and employers, the project will bolster Liberian youths to foster the foundational skills in education and employment to create a successful future for themselves and their local communities.

Key Activities

The project is carrying out the following activities:

Support YSLOs to integrate an adaptable basic education and work readiness curriculum that will provide youth populations the skills needed to move toward their employment goals
Integrate health education, mental health, and resilience training and support through its work readiness activities
Engage with local organizations to support and create relationships between youths and local employers to provide real employment experiences as part of their foundational skills
Apply a community-focused approach to help youth and local institutions mobilize resources, networks, and services to ensure that young women and men are supported—and support one another—to overcome barriers to education and employment and become leaders in their communities
Ensure that vulnerable members of the community—including Liberian youth with disabilities and young women—have access to tailored services and opportunities as well as the support they need to be successful

Impact

The USAID Youth Advance Activity will work with local partners to achieve the following intended impact:

Increase economic self-reliance and resilience in 21,000 Liberian youth, including young women and youth with disabilities
Increase capacity of 40+ youth-serving organizations to support innovative youth livelihoods development programming through grants
Train 16,800 youth in entrepreneurship
Assist 8,000 youth in the transition to employment or in starting an enterprise