Pricey Sweden,
My coronary heart sank after I heard that each your growth cooperation and embassy work will probably be closed in Liberia by October 2026. It’s a massive loss to Liberia and to me it feels private! As I pause to look again in your admirable journey with post-war Liberia, my ideas return to the bone-chilling Scandinavian chilly of February 2008, after I first stepped into Uppsala for a Sida sponsored worldwide coaching program in human rights, peace and safety. I bear in mind the quiet dignity of the town—the serene river, the towering cathedral, the sense of order and objective woven into on a regular basis life. It was greater than a visit; it was an awakening. In Uppsala, I first understood how values, when pragmatically utilized, can form establishments, nurture peace, and encourage justice. That have planted in me the seeds of risk—seeds that will later take root in who I’m as we speak. Sweden ultimately grew to become the nation I’ve travelled to probably the most (6 instances), and aside from my place of origin Liberia, it appears like residence.
In 2015, I took a job on the Embassy of Sweden close to Monrovia, and for almost 9 years I labored with the Embassy as Program Officer for Personal Sector Improvement, Commerce and Employment. It was not merely an expert project; it was a shared journey of conviction—of believing that growth isn’t an summary idea however a lived actuality formed by alternative, dignity, and partnership. From the lengthy technique classes to the sphere visits by way of muddy roads all throughout the fifteen political sub-division of Liberia, Sweden’s quiet insistence on human growth, inclusion, accountability, and human-centered progress grew to become a part of my very own understanding of what sustainable change actually means.
Immediately, after I look throughout Liberia, I see traces of this partnership etched in lasting methods. I see it in Lofa, the place the worn-out and smash Voinjama Multilateral Excessive College was remodeled and restored to a state-of-the-art vocational coaching establishment, and this can open pathways for younger folks to construct livelihoods with their very own fingers for a few years to come back. I’m extraordinarily proud to have been this system officer who oversaw that growth from an idea word to a college totally outfitted for technical and vocational learnings. I see it in Liberia’s WTO accession, the place Sweden was keen to assist Liberia get again into the multilateral buying and selling system as a rustic that was nonetheless coping with the spoils of its armed-conflict. This assist was meant to assist Liberia construct its capability and institute reforms that strengthened Liberia’s capacity to face confidently within the international economic system; and I’m additionally proud to have been one of many program officers that labored on this. I see it in Naymote’s Younger Political Leaders Program, the place a brand new era of Liberians are studying that management is service, not privilege. And I see it in Mercy Corps’ revolutionary youth growth packages, the place creativity, resilience, and entrepreneurship supplied options to despair and helped unlock the immense potential of our youth.
These should not remoted achievements; they’re threads of a shared story—one wherein Sweden’s humility, consistency, and long-term imaginative and prescient helped form tangible change. The affect isn’t solely institutional however deeply human. It lives in 1000’s of younger folks who acquired a ability, in scores of entrepreneurs who discovered an opportunity, in impoverished communities that realized to imagine once more in their very own capability to develop.
As I replicate, three classes stand out—classes I’ll carry with me at all times:
Improvement is strongest when it’s affected person and intentional. Actual change takes time—time to know, to adapt, to construct belief. Sweden taught Liberia, and taught me, that endurance isn’t passive; it’s an funding in significant outcomes.
Partnership is strongest when grounded in respect. The Liberia–Sweden partnership thrived as a result of it honored native voices and native management. It confirmed that respect isn’t a courtesy—it’s a technique.
Alternatives given to younger folks reshape the way forward for nations. Whether or not in politics, entrepreneurship, or vocational coaching, empowering youth isn’t a programmatic selection; it’s a generational dedication.
Thanks, Sweden, for shaping my journey and for leaving footprints throughout Liberia that may endure lengthy after initiatives have closed and reviews have pale. This reflection is each a reminiscence and a promise—to proceed carrying ahead the values that you just helped instil in me.
I’m assured that Liberia will nonetheless thrive in your absence. The United Nations Mission in Liberia at its peak was spending round US$500 million in Liberia yearly, it left and Liberia survived. USAID left leaving a void of roughly US$ 100 million yearly and Liberia continues to be surviving. Sweden will go away with its US$ 20-30 million yearly and Liberia will nonetheless survive.
With a life-time of gratitude and respect,
Prutus Sackie
