The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has completed the training of 75 out of 300 Community Based Agents (CBAs) of its Liberia women empowerment project, across six project counties of Bomi, Gbarpolu, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Montserrado and River Cess.
Facilitated by ActionAid Liberia, the Service Provider for Component 1b of the Liberia Women Empowerment Project (LWEP), which focuses on Community Mobilization and Citizen Engagement, the training brought together 75 Community-Based Agents (CBAs) to strengthen their knowledge, build their social skills, and deepen their understanding of their roles and responsibilities within the project.
The expected outcomes are clear and impactful: to learn, to lead, and to serve In Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, a total of seven Community-Based Agents (CBAs) successfully completed the two-day training. The participants were selected from Konobo, B’hai, Gbao, and Cavalla Administrative Districts.
Although small in number, their role carries significant weight. They serve as a critical bridge between national programs and the everyday realities of rural communities, ensuring effective information flow, service delivery, and community feedback.
At the start of the training, participants commended the Ministry of Gender, ActionAid, and the World Bank for including them in the LWEP project. They described their roles as Community- Based Advocates (CBAs) as essential to achieving the objectives of their duties.
“I want to thank ActionAid and the LWEP team for this opportunity. What makes this training especially valuable is the introduction of new ideas and policies that will help us, as CBAs, carry out our roles more effectively,” said Aaron Zweh, a CBA from Gbao Administrative District in Pouh Town.
Zweh noted that the sessions, led by ActionAid and its partners, significantly broadened his understanding of Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse (SHEA), safeguarding principles, the various components of the LWEP project, and key human rights and women’s rights issues.
He added that the training has strengthened the knowledge and skills he already possessed.
He further explained that the training has not only increased his knowledge but also better equipped him to continue advocating for women’s rights and their protection. As an example, he recounted a personal experience involving his family, where he stood up for his female siblings’ right to inherit property.
“During the sharing of our father’s property, my brothers argued that the women should not receive a share,” Zweh said. “But I insisted that the women had the right to their portion, and in the end, they received their fair share.”
He concluded by emphasizing the importance of equality, noting that the LWEP project and ActionAid promote equal treatment for all. He called for the abandonment of traditional practices that discriminate against women and girls.
“MGCSP and ActionAid are advocating that everyone should be treated equally, and that harmful traditional practices that victimize women and girls must be abolished,” he said.
Supported by the World Bank and implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, through Plan International Liberia the Lead Service Provider and a consortium of service provider organizations including Actionaid Liberia, the training goes beyond theory.
It focuses on practical tools how to safeguard vulnerable groups, manage environmental and social risks, document community issues, and respond effectively through established grievance redress systems.
For many of the participants, this training became an opportunity to better serve their communities. It equipped them not only with knowledge, but with confidence and clarity of purpose.
The training strengthened participants’ understanding of their roles as Community-Based Agents (CBAs), particularly in community engagement and grievance redress. Arretha Blawou of Pokor Town noted that her responsibility is to actively listen to community members, document their concerns, and channel complaints to project management for resolution.
This reflects the training’s effectiveness in reinforcing CBAs as key links between communities and the MGCSP-LWEP ’s service delivery organizations, ensuring accountability and responsive service delivery.
ActionAid Liberia’s service provision also reflects its broader mission: to stand alongside women, young people, and marginalized groups as they claim their rights and improve their livelihoods.
This aligns with its Country Strategy Paper III, which places women’s rights and economic empowerment at the center of its work.
As the training concludes, Community-Based Agents (CBAs) return to their communities not only with new knowledge, but with a stronger sense of responsibility and an enhanced ability to lead positive change.
In many underserved and marginalized areas, lasting transformation often begins with a small group of committed individuals. CBAs are now better prepared to take on that role—serving as trusted leaders and effective agents of change within their communities.
MGCSP, as implementing partner of LWEP, continues its commitment towards capacity-building efforts in order to ensure that stakeholders are able to engage effectively within communities and participate in the implementation of the projects.
Capacity building efforts are carried out across national, county, district, and community levels to ensure that systems and leadership capacities are built up in all of the six counties covered under the project.
The MGCSP-LWEP training activities will progress into the SASA! Together Leadership Training from April 27th – April 30th, 2026. The training will take place at the same time in all six counties and the ActionAid Liberia team members will conduct the trainings.