What can you buy for $200?

What can you buy for $200, or dare I say £100 having spent a week in England before arriving in Liberia? 25 journeys on the tube, entry for 8 on the London Eye or two tickets to see Wicked in the West End.

In Liberia, $200 dollars is the average income per person in a year.

This places the country amongst the poorest in the world with more than 75% of the population living below $1 a day. The staggering 90% fall in GDP over the course of twenty years represents an incomprehensible fall living standards in a country of about three million people. The low level of income is accompanied by a lack of development in a more holistic sense. Fourteen years of brutal civil war killed an estimated 270,000 people, created hundreds of thousands of refugees, and destroyed the social fabric of the nation. The profligate rule of previous governments bred corruption and shattered any positive role to be played by state institutions. The country which emerged from the 2003 ceasefire consisted of a systematically excluded and marginalized population.

This is the country I have chosen to spend my summer internship. After explaining to friends and family where Liberia is, the inevitable next question was why. Was it not possible to choose a destination such as Mauritius or Cape Verde where, at the very least, my friends could visit me for a week? So I tell them about the election of President Sirleaf, the first female head of state of an African country, which has brought with it a marked shift in the prospects of the country. What better place to reinforce my education in international development than in a country where a strong leadership, with international support, is heavily engaged in sustaining peace and reconstruction.

I will be working in Ministry of Finance which has been charged with the task of revitalising economic activity. I hope that the two months I spend interning in Finance Minister Sayeh's office will provide an insight into the daily challenges faced in pursuit of what seems to be an insurmountable task. The two key events during my internship will be the passing of the annual budget and an international donor conference, each of which will present a unique set of experiences to learn from.

My position emerges from the success of last year's interns who have provided an invaluable source of guidance for my trip and the generous funding of the Nancy Germeshausen Klavans Fellowship. The fund was created to support the work of women peace builders of whom both President Sirleaf and Finance Minister Sayeh provide inspiring examples. I would like to thank the Fellowship for supporting my internship and the opportunity to share my experiences through this blog.