Liberia was established as an American colony in 1822 during the administration of American President James Monroe and was setup to be a home for freed slaves.   Liberia received its independence from America in 1847.

     In 1980 Liberia began to spiral downward, and entered nearly two decades of violent coups and civil wars. Liberia’s problems spilled over into neighboring West African countries, and Liberia became a catalyst of violence and unrest in the region, which involved gruesome acts of genocide, murder and suffering.

     During the war over 40,000 children were captured and forced to serve as soldiers. During their time as child-soldiers they were given powerful drugs that made them compliant to every wish of their evil leaders. They became the most feared part of the rebel forces because they stopped at nothing to fulfill their leaders commands.

     In 2003 things began to turn around for Liberia as the war-lord president, Charles Taylor was finally forced to flee from the country he destroyed through the most barbaric means imaginable. He was later arrested and is now in the Hague, Netherlands being tried for war crimes against humanity.

     In 2006 Ellen Johnson-Shirleaf, a Harvard educated economist, was elected as the president of Liberia, making her the first women president in Africa’s history. Since her time in office she has been working hard to eliminate corruption in government, and seeking to rebuild the war-torn nation of Liberia.

     We pray that God continues to bring hope and life back to this nation.