To overcome the great distrust of the population in Liberia towards the police, since the founding of the foundation, Walz has drawn his attention to effective partnership activities with educational institutions/schools because these represent the state of society. Therefore, the foundation aimed to improve and optimize school infrastructures in Liberia. The foundation intends to create a safe and hygienically acceptable environment for needy and vulnerable children so that children have access to adequate school education. This creates opportunities to prepare children for academic and professional careers.
Following a statement by former US President Barack Obama: "We are the change we have been waiting for," - explains Walz, young people can change history, and education is the way to do this. They are the "change-makers."
The foundation supports or initiates effective measures for the general promotion and support of the local Liberian community in humanitarian and ecological development areas, particularly the support of people-connecting community projects in water supply, hygiene, and health.
The focus is on funding programs in close cooperation between educational institutions in Switzerland and Liberia. It is about education in environmental and solar technology, water supply, agricultural sciences, basic medical care, maternal and infant mortality reduction, sex education, and epidemiology. The following important processes were identified as pioneering:
The foundation organizes and promotes the exchange of students and trainers (train of trainer program) between Liberia and Swiss companies and educational institutions to live this purpose.
At the beginning of May Rev. Dr. Yar Donlah Gonway-Gono, President of the United Methodist University in Monrovia, Liberia visited the OST at the Rapperswil-Jona campus. The goal: A cooperation between the OST and the university in Liberia.
For five whole days, Ms. Gonway-Gono got an in-depth picture of the Eastern Switzerland University for Applied Science OST - from the training in the various courses, various laboratories to the research facilities in the fields of solar energy, environmental- and health sciences and recycling. Two research institutes of the OST - the UMTEC Institute for Environmental and Process Engineering and the IBU Institute for Construction and Environment - have been working together with students and universities in West Africa for years and organize international student and research projects, including Bachelor thesis's. The organizations involved provide an insight into the activities under the leadership of UMTEC on the website newal.ch – Network for Water and Life. – Network for Water and Life.
After Ms. Gonway-Gono's visit, one thing is clear: nothing stands in the way of cooperation between the OST and the United Methodist University in Monrovia. In a mutually signed Memorandum of Understanding, the two universities have agreed to work more closely together and, for example, to jointly strive for transnational research projects. The personal contacts to professors and researchers at the OST made during the visit form an important basis for the future planned cooperation.
Source: ost.ch at 17.05.2022 from https://www.ost.ch/de/news/article/hoher-besuch-aus-liberia
Reducing maternal and Newborn mortality is one of the priority goals on the international agenda—the new global target is to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to <70 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, and the country should reduce their MMR by at least two thirds from the 2010 baseline, and no country should have an MMR higher than 140 deaths per 100 000 live births by 2030 (Maternal Health Task Force at the Harvard University, 2017).
The water kiosk project "GDM-2" is finished and ready for use. The young artist Salomon Boakai, has painted the main logos very beautifully and clearly visible, completely freehand and without tools.
The water kiosk is located in the densely populated Rockhill community, which is in District 6 of Montserrado County, with an estimated population of about 65,000 people divided into several blocks of
is divided
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