By 
Monrovia, Liberia – In recent months, Liberia’s streets have told a troubling story one of rising poverty, where young children weave through cars selling snacks, cold water, or simply begging for survival. Recent reports have highlighted the heartbreaking scenes of school-age children working under the scorching sun, a stark reminder of the economic hardship that forces thousands into street life.
Now, the Government of Liberia says enough is enough. Through the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, a five-year project titled “Save the Future” has begun, aiming to remove over 366,584 street children from dangerous street corners and place them into classrooms.
The initiative kicked off with a dialogue meeting between ministry officials and leaders from marginalized communities at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex.
Speaking at the opening, Alex Devine, the project’s focal person, revealed the program’s origins:
Alex Devine, the project’s focal person
“The project came from a crafted policy by the past administration titled ‘Role Map on Children Living in the Street Situation Across Liberia,’ which at the time revealed that about three hundred sixty-six thousand five hundred and eighty-four children were in the street and there are multidimensional factors that were responsible, mostly poverty.”
He warned that the number may have risen in recent years, prompting the current administration to assemble a technical team to tackle the crisis head-on.
According to Devine, the project seeks to “remove all children from the streets, and every community to school, with government taking full support ranging from the provision of school fees, bookbags, uniforms, shoes, amongst others, leaving the parents with the responsibility of making sure that their kids remain in school but nothing else.”
To ensure parents don’t return their children to street life, the plan also includes business grants and vocational training for struggling families.
Devine noted that past efforts faced challenges:
“Last year, over one thousand four hundred children amongst kids in the street were sent to school, providing basic needs including grants but yet parents bring them back in the streets, making it appear like the Government of Liberia isn’t making any frantic efforts towards the strive.”
The current meeting, he explained, aimed to get input from leaders in the disabled community on how best to roll out the grants.
“For now, it’s in Montserrado County, and by next year we will be rolling it out for three counties,” Devine added.
The project’s first phase will target children systematically, backed by field surveys showing that cash transfers and small business opportunities can have lasting impact.
Meanwhile, the ministry in partnership with the Liberia National Police recently launched Operation Zero Street Selling and Begging, focusing on street vendors between cars and beggars. In just three weeks, they have removed at least 1,200 people from selling and begging between vehicles in Montserrado.
Children caught selling are taken to nearby police stations by social workers and police officers. Parents are then required to sign a commitment bond and warned to keep their kids out of the streets.
But Devine admits that not all cases are straightforward:
“Despite the effort, removing beggars through this means is yet a complicated situation.”
As “Save the Future” moves forward, the government hopes this aggressive combination of school support, business empowerment, and law enforcement will finally break the cycle and give Liberia’s children a chance to grow up in classrooms, not on street corners.
