Why Liberia?

This is the first question people always ask me. Coming into the MPAID program last fall, I knew I wanted to do my internship in Africa, and I knew I wanted to work within a government. The Liberia part I narrowed down once I got here.

Though I have traveled to over forty countries and worked extensively in Asia and Latin America, I have never been to Sub Saharan Africa: the focal point of global poverty. I didn't feel I'd be worth my salt as a development practitioner without spending some time on the ground of the poorest continent on earth. That was abundantly obvious.

Secondly, my experience to date had been limited to the private sector: consulting at Accenture and then strategy at Google. I knew that getting things done in a government environment meant something very different, even more so in the severely capacity constrained realities of most developing countries. I don't believe this is something I can understand without experiencing it firsthand, so this part was a real no brainer for me as well.

But why Liberia? Because it's one of the most exciting places to work in development today.

Liberia, with its annual per capita GDP of only $500 (according to the CIA World Factbook, other estimates are as low as $300), is one of the poorest places on earth. Fourteen years of civil war caused devastating destruction to infrastructure, industry, and human capital. GDP per capita fell an astonishing 90% in one of the largest economic collapses in history.

The civil war ended in 2003. In 2005, Liberia elected the African continent's first female head of state: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard graduate and seasoned Liberian politician. This presented a unique opportunity to build a country from scratch under the inspiring leadership of the President. The support has since poured in from the international development community.

And so it is an exciting time to be in Liberia. What gets me particularly excited is the opportunity to observe the myriad international players in Liberia today: from the World Bank to bilateral donors like Sweden, China, and France to a growing number of private foundations to the NGOs to private companies. It's a fascinating case study of best practices in aid and collaboration with the government.

I will walk away with an valuable perspective not just on Africa and working in a government constrained by financial and human capital; but also the international community's engagement in one of development's most exciting countries today.