Organization
Organizational Structure
PEP is managed by a local Board of Directors, which is the policy-making body. PEP also has a Management Team that is the implementing arm of the Board’s policies. However, project design and implementation are bottom-top which promotes grassroots participation in decision making.
Networks and Affiliations
PEP is an active member of several civil society networks in Liberia including Pamoja Liberia and LiRDAN - the Liberia Rights and Development Advocacy Network.
Pamoja Liberia: Pamoja fosters solidarity among REFLECT & Literacy practitioners at different levels in Liberia. Pamoja is a duly registered and accredited network of local NGOs with the mission to advocate and enhance people’s participation in community development and social transformation through REFLECT and other participatory rural appraisal tools and lifelong learning. Pamoja Liberia works with poor, marginalized, and voiceless people; most of whom are non-literates and live in hard to reach areas. It has an active membership of more than five (5) organizations, that are engaged in the implementation of various development projects, some using the REFLECT approach. Pamoja Liberia is a member of Pamoja West Africa – a network of REFLECT practitioners from 12 West African countries plus Morocco.
Liberia Rights and Development Advocacy Network (LiRDAN) is a network of four civil society organizations with the mission of promoting sustainable democracy and human development through rights-based, impact-oriented actions, partnerships and advocacy. Member organizations are involved with programs including empowerment of women and youth in literacy and life skills, HIV and AIDS Education, election monitoring, and promoting citizens’ participation in governance.
PEP also networks with the Destined Women for Peace, Unity and Development (DEWPUD). DEWPUD is a women-led organization whose mission is to promote unity, peace and development through conflict resolution, reconciliation, women rights (including SGBV issues), economic empowerment, advocacy and hygiene and health initiatives and food security.
Sustainability and PEP-TEC
In 2006, PEP developed a 5-year strategic plan to design strategies that would lead PEP to sustainability. By 2011, we had partly achieved this objective and currently we run a training center – component of which provides sustainability of our programs. In 2013, we developed another 5-year strategic plan promoting more sustainability of our programs. By 2015, the PEP Netherlands Foundation (our main donor) ended its fundraising initiatives to PEP Liberia. By this time, PEP had established the PEP Technical Education Center (PEP-TEC), located in Paynesville, suburban of Monrovia, the capital. The center is primarily self-supported, with some contributions coming from board members, families and friends.
The PEP-TEC keeps PEP’s programs alive in the absence of donor-supported projects. The center operates an early childhood education program, basic education at the junior high school level, adult literacy program for women (using REFLECT) and income-generating activities for vulnerable women and girls using VSLAs (village savings and loans associations). The center also supports youth development program with primary emphasis on building the capacity of community scout troops. All these programs are operating without donor support. However, PEP is open to partnership with organizations that share our success story and the ideals we represent.