2025-09-14T15:27:12-04:00 2024-12-31 824700083 Pure Foods Management Mid Atlantic 7237 Hanover Pkwy Suite C Greenbelt MD 20770 990 2024-01-01 521541798 FRIENDS OF LIBERIA INC % REBECCA MARTINEZ FRIE 5712173083 2440 Virginia Ave NW STE D1007 Washington DC 20037 REBECCA MARTINEZ President 8162078960 2025-05-14 false true MUHAMMAD SHARF ELAHI P03239408 2405993605 2025-09-14 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z X Rebecca Martinez President 1021 N 21st Street Lafayette IN 47904 126340 false X https://fol.org/ X 1987 DC SUPPORT EDUCATION, HEALTH, AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS RELATING TO LIBERIA 16 16 0 28 0 0 120960 0 5380 0 126340 0 0 0 0 6416 57237 57237 69103 371001 440104 0 371001 440104 SUPPORT EDUCATION, HEALTH, AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS RELATING TO LIBERIA false false 22424 18985 Since 2020 the Liberian Health Team has been offering continuing professional development workshops with the financial support of Friends of Liberia. These continuing professional development workshops not only enable both faculty and clinical nurses and midwives around Liberia to continually update and expand their knowledge, skills, attitudes and enhance evidence-based practices throughout Liberia, it also allows them to lead efforts to improve the Liberian healthcare delivery system. Since 2022, it has been determined that a majority of workshop participants have shared workshop resources in their respective institutions either through uploading of workshop resources on to personal or institutional computers or more formally through organized workshops. This facilitates the circulation of evidence-based practices throughout the Liberian health care system. The 2024 workshops were again held at Phebe Hospital from January 8 through January 12, 2024. There is a critical shortage of continuing education for practicing nurses and midwives and teaching faculty in Liberia. Friends of Liberia is helping to fill that gap with continuing medical education workshops. Our Liberian Health Team (LHT) comprised of five volunteer Liberian master-prepared nurse-educators and one volunteer with a masters in bioinformatics and computational Biology, has put together four, (now five) successful workshops each January (2020-2024). These workshops have been funded by Friends of Liberia and successful Global Giving campaigns. They have been held at Phebe School of Nursing. The workshops have targeted both faculty from all accredited nursing/midwifery schools and clinicians from various hospitals around the country. They have focused on several topics, including (but not limited to) nursing education through distance learning, program evaluation and accreditation, linking theory with clinical experience, and quality improvement in the clinical settings. The topics of each workshop are determined by annual needs assessments conducted by our LHT. The Liberian Health Team also accepted, oversaw, and distributed funding from Friends of Liberia of an award to Phebe Hospital to assist with extraordinary expenses related to the care of the Toyota gas tanker explosion victims. These victims were seriously injured in December 2023. Friends of Liberia is grateful to the Team for their assistance in these efforts. 14523 28990 The Family Literacy Initiative (FLI) This year was the 9th year of the Family Literacy Initiative (FLI). WE-CARE, FOL, and HIPPY International launched the FLI in November 2015 after a survey by FOL members indicated that the most significant unmet educational need in Liberia was early childhood education. More specifically, the preparation of preschoolers in literacy and other basic skills needed to thrive in school. The FLI is a partnership between FOL, the WE-CARE Foundation, and HIPPY International. The FLI has two components: the HIPPY Home Visitors program and the Adult Literacy Program (ALP). The HIPPY Home Visitors program uses the HIPPY curriculum to provide parents with training, educational activity packets, and other resources to help improve their childs literacy and readiness for school. The training and resources are delivered through home visitors, which WE-CARE employs. The ALP is a series of literacy classes using a curriculum designed to supplement the HIPPY curriculum for those parents and other adults who want to improve their literacy as they help their children improve their readiness for school. Now, the ALP has also served a number of adults who are not an FLI caregiver. Miriam Westheimer of HIPPY International continues to provide resources and technical support as needed. WE-CARE serves as the on-the-ground implementer and facilitator, adapting the HIPPY curriculum to a Liberian context, training and coordinating the home visitors, and overseeing the program. In December 2024, year 8 FLI came to a close and the closing ceremonies for the HIPPY Home Visitors program and for ALP were held in December. The HIPPY Home Visitors Program HIPPY is an international early childhood development program grounded in the belief that learning begins at home and parents can play a critical role as educational partners with schools. It is widely known that children are more successful when parents are engaged in their learning. HIPPY is designed to help parents prepare their preschool children for success in school and life and to equip parents with the tools, skills, and confidence they need to support their childrens learning at home successfully. The Friends of Liberia Education Committees dedicated monitoring and evaluation team has been working on expanding our previous report tracking the graduates from the HIPPY program. For year 9 of the HIPPY Home Visitors Program, 274 families started the program, and 259 families completed the program. As a whole, the FLI continues to have a very high student retention rate. This year, 53 children graduated from year 3, and the graduation proceedings were held in early December. WE-CARE continued the program in West Point, Cadwell, Duazon, Neezoe, and Nyemah Town. In 2022, Nyemah Town was slightly delayed compared to the other communities. This year, they were on track with the other communities. Comic Relief continued to fund the FLI this year but delivered some unfortunate news. Comic Relief lost a major funder and, as a result, has to cut the value of their grants by about 50% across the board for 2024. This means that the FLI will have to operate at a reduced capacity unless additional funding is found. In better news WE-CARE worked with a filmmaker this year to create a short 15-minute documentary on the HIPPY Home Visitors program to spotlight it. Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centers Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centers WE-CAREs solution for lack of space in Nyemah Town developed by converting unused classroom space into an ECD center in one community while the community built a space in another. Both of those spaces were finished 2023 and their operation as ECD Centers. In 2024, both Centers completed their first school year. This has particularly benefitted the ALP classes and Friend of Liberia provided some additional funding for the purchase of a lighting system so the spaces can be used after dark. ALP The ALP is a series of group meetings designed to help HIPPY parents improve their English literacy and numeracy skills. The ALP curriculum is designed to work with the HIPPY curriculum, but the classes are not exclusive to HIPPY parents, though HIPPY parents are given priority in the program. There are two levels of the ALP. Level one is for parents who have very little literacy skills, while level two is designed as a continuation of level one and is designed for parents who already have some basic literacy skills. The curriculum writer and the ALP coordinator, James Cooper, are still actively developing the Level Two curriculum. One of the major challenges this year was attendance. Attendance, particularly with the ALP classes, was lower than desired due to the ALP learners involvement with the Presidential election held in Liberia this year. Even with the challenges the ALP was successful this year with 76 level 1 learners and 33 level two leaners completing the program. The graduation programs for ALP were held in each community in early December. Tracking Study WE-CARE and the Education Committees Monitoring and Evaluation group have been working on expanding the cohorts tracked in the tracking study. Cohort 1 students graduated from FLI/HIPPY in December 2018. Data was collected on these students academic performance during the 2022/2023 academic year. A total of twenty-five different teachers and twenty-eight schools were involved in the study. A total of 47 students were in this cohort and 62% (29 of 47) of them were enrolled in schools and were tracked. Preliminary results show that students attended school regularly, and that 20.6% were absent for just one or two days the entire year. By the end of the year, most students were promoted to the next grade, 83% (24 of 29) and 17% (5 of 29) being retained. This year, the FLI tracking study continued. The goal of this study is to gather data about how the students who have graduated from the HIPPY program are doing in school and compare them with peers in the same classes. These results will be included in a final report, which will provide a detailed analysis of the academic progress and behavior of Cohort 1 students. Publications In 2022, the Education committee submitted a proposal to write a chapter for a UNECSO publication that will focus on early childhood literacy programs worldwide. The proposal was accepted, and this year, the finalized chapter was given to UNESCO for publication in 2025. The Education Committee also submitted a proposal and was accepted to write an article for the COABE Adult Literacy Journal. This was published in 2024. Peter Town Unfortunately, in 2022, the ongoing work in Peter Town came to a standstill due to unforeseen issues with WE-CARE continuing to work in the town. This was beyond WE-CAREs and the committees control. In 2024, the committee and WE-CARE found a solution with training teachers at the Garden School in Gbanga. The Garden School has been completing on going training with the Peter Town teachers in Gbanga. Funding Issues WE-CARE is struggling to find funding to continue the HIPPY and FLI programs. They have requested additional funding for the upcoming year 2025. 10128 9085 In 2024 Friends of Liberia Small Grants Committee received 74 applications for funding. Of these, 13 had applied for a Friends of Liberia (FOL) small grant before, and 5 had been previous recipients of funding. 61 applications were from new applicants, indicating knowledge of FOLs small grants opportunity is becoming more widespread across Liberia. This also allows us to build a larger network of local Liberian organizations. The average project cost was $2,766, with an average of 476 expected beneficiaries per project. Project proposals spanned topics such as construction projects for health centers to tree planting campaigns. Many training programs, including women and girls empowerment, vocational trainings and entrepreneurship were proposed. In quarter 1 FOL funded a project proposed by Educated West Point (EWP) called Early Childhood Development and Afterschool Extended Learning. The specific programmatic objective is to strengthen and grow the Early Childhood Development Center and After School Extended Learning program to provide education and updated materials for a greater number of children of West Point. This will be achieved by the refurbishment of the ECD center and Afterschool Program Classrooms to secure adequate space for a healthy, hygienic learning environment. As EWP continues to keep pace, as well as set tone, for the advancement of modern learning in a challenging slum like setting such as West Point, Digital Learning remains in the forefront of EWPs focus in the coming years. As such, visual learning will be integrated via the use of educational digital media, projected on screen with materials recommended through the Ministry of Education and other internationally recognized daycare-aged childrens education materials i.e. Jolly Phonics. In quarter 3 FOL funded a project proposed by Kpoma Women called Womens Rice Mill Project. Kpoma Women requested a $3,000 grant from Friends of Liberia to support the installation of a mechanized rice mill, construction of a small storage facility and basic training in business development to benefit a womens farming cooperative and their families in a very remote village within the Salala District in Bong County. Kpoma Women was founded in 2020 by Constance Mulbah who was born in Liberia and relocated to the United States during the civil war. Constance holds a bachelors degree in public health and became a Peace Corps Volunteer working on development in Senegal (RPVC Senegal 2015). After completing her MBA in Sustainable Business Development,she partnered with Chelsea Johnson, who has strong ties to rural communities in Bong County from her work completing her nursing education. Since 2020, Kpoma Women has focused on empowering rural women in Bong County through grassroots initiatives. Over the past four years, Kpoma Womens all-volunteer organization has focused on supporting rural women and has helped implement grassroots initiatives by collaborating with local communities and other nonprofit organizations. Kpoma Womens purpose is to provide rural women in Bong County with the tools they need to overcome barriers to economic participation. They believe that promoting womens economic empowerment is a key to eradicating poverty. They work on the grassroots level to engage with local women and help them to implement projects that they believe will have the most impact on their communities. It is crucial that Kpoma Women are not imposing their ideas but working collaboratively and listening carefully to the voices of women in the communities they serve. In this way, they have been able to develop successful projects. In quarter 4, FOL funded a project proposed by Help a Mother and Newborn Initiative (HMNI) called Empowerher Journey. HMNI works to support pregnant women and young mothers in Margibi County. Through their programs, they provide healthcare education, maternity support, and financial skills training. The EmpowerHer Journey project focuses on helping 100 first-time young mothers by giving them the skills and resources (through skill training and Seed-Funding for business) to support themselves and their babies. This project also encourages these young women to continue their education and become more self-reliant, breaking the cycle of poverty and improving their future. The total cost of the project is $11,000. We are requesting $3,000 from Friends of Liberia (FOL) to cover the cost of training materials. The training will be fully conducted by ForlifeZoe. While Help a Mother and Newborn Initiative team has extensive expertise in health-related programs, including running support clubs for pregnant women and mothers over the past three years, our focus has been on providing birth kits and prenatal and postnatal education. However, through HMNIs interactions and feedback from these mothers, they realized the critical need to incorporate an empowerment aspect such as vocational training to equip mothers with income-generating skills. For this new cohort (which is a pilot program), HMNI is working with the ForlifeZoe team due to their experience in delivering vocational training for the empowerment aspect. Based on their regular training, they estimated the cost of training materials to be approximately $50 per participant. The rest of the funding will come from local donations, community fundraising events, and in-kind contributions. To ensure the projects sustainability, we plan to involve community leaders and ensure that these women are actively involved, and they use the money for the right purpose. 47075 true true false false false false false false false true false true true false false false false false false false true true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true 0 0 true 0 false false false false false false false false false false false false X 16 16 false false false false false false false true true false false true true true true true true true true false DC X Accountipro LLC 3025977868 501 Silverside Road Wilmington DE 19806 X Sarah Morrison Co-Vice President 8.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Ashley Salazar Secretary 2.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Craig Cooper Communications Coordinator 8.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Sally Zelonis Development Representative 10.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Eddie Socker Education Co-Representative 8.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Janet Gross Health Programs Co-Representative 5.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Jo-Anne Manswell Butty Members-At-Large 5.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Preston Tulay Members-At-Large 2.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Brenna Da-Tokpah Education Co-Representative 8.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 John Morlu Treasurer 8.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Cori Maund Health Programs Co-Representative 5.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Mike Arden Membership Coordinator 4.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Don Drach Co-Vice President 8.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Maxwell Sines Membership 2.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Rebecca Martinez President 10.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Kyle Tweedy Small Grants Representative 8.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Accountipro LLC Bookkeeper 0.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 false false false 120960 120960 5380 5380 0 126340 5380 0 0 1338 1338 1527 1527 881 881 Family & Adult Literacy 14523 14523 Small Grants 10128 10128 Fundraising Expenses 6416 6416 Workshop Exp-Health 22424 22424 57237 47075 3746 6416 248667 192416 68322 68424 100000 54012 79264 371001 440104 0 0 X 371001 440104 371001 440104 371001 440104 69103 0 X false false X 259485 180406 105137 89330 120960 755318 259485 180406 105137 89330 120960 755318 0 0 0 0 0 0 755318 84 137 90 442 128 881 84 137 90 442 128 881 259569 180543 105227 89772 121088 756199 0.99880 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 54012 20000 5252 79264 50000 4012 54012 CD Investment 100000 C 100000 Endowment Fund Investment 79264 C 79264 Other Explanation Friends of Liberias Endowment Funds are held at the Greater Washington Community FoundationWhy did FOL create these endowment funds? Endowments are funds that an organization sets aside in investments where they can accrue value to ensure the long-term financial stability of the organization. It means that our endowment funds can help us plan for a more robust future that will help provide us financial security and flexibility. It is the hope with this stability and flexibility, FOL will be better able to fulfill our mission and programming in Liberia.The Friends of Liberia Legacy Circle FundThe primary mission of this Fund is To connect and engage interested parties in Liberia to positively affect Liberia and Liberians through education, economic, and humanitarian programs and through advocacy efforts.Friends of Liberia Emergency FundThis fund, will help Liberia in times of emergency such as Ebola, Covid, Civil War, environmental destruction, natural disasters, or such that provide challenges to daily living in Liberia. true Sub-Saharan Africa Program services EduHealthDevSm G 47075 47075 47075 Sub-Saharan Africa Education 14523 Bank EFT for exp false false false false false false Amended return information We are submitting an amended 990 for the tax year ending 2024 to correct some items identified after the original submission: Address Correction:The originally filed Form 990 incorrectly listed our organizations address as 2400 Virginia Ave NW D1007. The correct address is 2440 Virginia Ave NW D1007. This error has been corrected on the amended return. Update to Part VII:The original filing inadvertently omitted one individual from Part VII Compensation of Officers, Directors, Trustees, Key Employees, One of the reasons we missed this is that the event was added in the last return. Now, we have the proper breakup of actual expenses and revenue, so we have fixed it and included this event Form 990 governing body review Part VI line 11 Before submission, a draft of the filing is circulated to the organizations officers and directors for review. This process ensures that all financial data and program service descriptions are thoroughly verified for accuracy and completeness Conflict of interest policy compliance Part VI line 12c Each year, the Board of Directors conducts a formal review to identify and address any actual or perceived conflicts of interest. In 2025, any such instances involving the CEO or CAO were promptly investigated and appropriately resolved by the Board, in alignment with the organizations commitment to transparency and ethical governance. CEO executive director top management comp Part VI line 15a As part of the annual review process, the Board of Directors thoroughly considers relevant matters, with all substantiation, deliberations, and decision-making procedures documented in the official board meeting minutes. No compensation was provided to board members in 2024 Other officer or key employee compensation Part VI line 15b The Board of Directors conducts an annual review, with all substantiation, deliberations, and decision-making processes carefully documented in the official meeting minutes. No compensation was provided to Board members in 2024. Form 990 availability to public Part VI line 18 Friends of Liberia (FOL) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization dedicated to making a positive impact on Liberia and its people through the funding of educational, social, economic, and humanitarian initiatives. The completed Form 990 is imaged and can be accessed for viewing on our website at www.fol.org. Governing documents etc available to public Part VI line 19 The governing documents of Friends of Liberia are available for review on our website at www.fol.org.