Opportunities Industrialization Centers International  |
Liberia Opportunities Industrialization Centers (Liberia OIC)
DATE ESTABLISHED 1977
MISSIONThe Mission of Liberia OIC is to assist with Liberia’s post-war recovery, reconstruction and development through human capacity building, social service delivery and rehabilitation of war-affected individuals.
VISION 2008Through community based institutions, Liberia OIC will provide training services to increase the economic capacity of war-affected individuals to rebuild their lives. By October 2008, thirty-five percent of the Liberia OIC operating costs will be generated through a variety of social enterprises and cost recovery initiatives designed to ensure program sustainability.
ORGANIZATION OVERVIEWThe Liberia Opportunities Industrialization Centers, Inc (Liberia OIC), the largest indigenous non-governmental skills training organization in Liberia, has operated for nearly 30 years providing basic skills training and support services to disadvantaged youth in Liberia. Since the inception of the Liberia OIC in 1977, over 20,000 individuals have been trained in Agriculture science, technical skills and small enterprise development in addition to trauma counseling, peace building activities, job placement, resettlement/reintegration and follow-up services.
Since 1992, as a result of the Liberian civil crisis, Liberia OIC efforts have been concentrated mainly on the rehabilitation and resettlement of ex-combatants and other war-affected individuals. Support for Liberia OIC initiatives has come from a variety of bilateral and multilateral agencies as well as the Government of Liberia. These include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Evangelische Zentralstelle Fur Entricklmsqshilfe (EZE) now EED of the Federal Republic of Germany, Inter Church Coordinating Organization (ICCO) of the Netherlands, Lutheran World Service/World Federation, and OIC International, among others.
Based on the vast experience acquired by the Liberia OIC over the past three decades in human resource development, coupled with its institutional capacity and highly trained staff, the organization is uniquely qualified to take the lead in providing technical assistance to other indigenous NGOs that are involved in the rehabilitation, training and resettlement of war affected individuals in post war Liberia.
PROGRAMSLiberia OIC works to assist war-affected persons, ex-combatants, returnees, disabled persons and community members to gain the skills necessary to rebuild their lives, communities and country.Essential services offered by the Liberia OIC include, but are not limited to the following:
Vocational Skills Training
Liberia OIC offers skills training modules in carpentry, masonry, plumbing, arts & craft, metal works, electricity and tailoring. The building trades of carpentry, masonry, electricity & plumbing are essential for the reconstruction process of Liberia. The areas of metal works, arts & craft, tailoring and small enterprise development are intended to create income generation means and self-employment for graduates of the program.
Computer Training
Liberia OIC is currently operating a Computer Training Program funded by the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Foundation for African Development and the International Telecommunications Union. The program is providing computer literacy training to returning Liberian refugees, Internally Displaced Persons and local community members in order to help bridge the technology divide in Liberia.
Agricultural Training
Liberia OIC offers training in crop science, vegetable production, animal husbandry, poultry farming and fish farming. Liberia OIC's agriculture and livestock farming are essential in ensuring that communities and households obtain food security.
War-Trauma Counselling, Peacebuilding & Resettlement/Reintegration
Liberia OIC is dedicated to providing the necessary support services to communities in Liberia that have been affected by past conflicts. The goals of the LOIC's Rehabilitation and Resettlement Program are to resettle war-affected individuals and to rebuild rural societies and economies. Liberia OIC serves four war-affected groups: returning refugees, former combatants, internally displaced and severely affected local citizens.
Small Enterprise Development Training
Liberia OIC offers small enterprise development training to beneficaries across its program profile in order to help individuals start their own businesses. These services are essential in order to help individuals earn an adequate income for themselves and their households, and to help normal economic activities resume in the country.
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