In late 2005 democratic elections were held in Liberia. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first woman democratically elected to lead an African nation, became president. Today Liberia is a nation in transition. Due to severe resource constraints, progress is slow but steady. The new government has delineated four priority areas to reduce poverty and human suffering. These areas are:

• Consolidation of peace

• Increasing human capacity and development with a focus on health, education and poverty alleviation

• Promotion of a broad-based economic recovery program

• Promotion of food security by expanding food production, accessibility, distribution, and affordability

The economy has begun to stabilize, with a growth of 5.3% in 2005/2006 and expected growth of 7.3% in 2006/2007. The government and private Liberian citizens continue to seek assistance from external sources, including individual philanthropists and volunteers, international aid and charitable organizations and friendly nations. The government provides ready access to individuals and institutions willing and able to volunteers their services and resources to help the people of Liberia. Today, there are hundreds of international and local organizations working in health and other social services, education and literacy, agriculture, restoration of electricity and water, etc. The need is still enormous and there is still a lot of work to be done to provide basic services to the population.