Liberian Welfare Council
In the Oru Refugee Camp of Ijebu-Ode there is an organization as old as the camp itself. This organization is the Liberian Welfare Council, founded especially for to look after the Liberians in the camp.
Francis Abayomi, country coordinator of RESPECT Nigeria, recently conducted an interview with Rancy Paul G., the Secretary General of the Liberian Welfare Council.
"I… came into this camp due to the recent war that broke out in Liberia," Rancy said. However, his recent entrance makes no impact on his knowledge of the Council.
As he told Abayomi, the Council was created to "look [after] the affairs of Liberians most especially on medicals, resettlement, feeding women and children, and mediating between the Liberians and the UNHCR officials on camp." The organization achieves its goals by working with other organizations, such as the Red Cross, UNHCR, and other NGOs, and having many activities in the camp.
"Presently… the UNHCR is planning to repatriate over 700 Liberians back home, and we are assisting in the registration and monitoring of Liberian nationals," Rancy said.
The Council is also helping to ensure that the repatriates have a "reliable contact back home to receive them," he said. But above all, "We make sure that Liberians are truly going home."