However, what continually stood out in each account we heard was not simply the brutality inflicted by dictator Charles Taylor and his legion of male warlords, but rather, the significant role that women played in putting an end to the era of conflict. And in fact, two Liberian women -– President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her compatriot, peace activist Leymah Gbowee -– were recently honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for their hand in helping to end the war and steer the country forward in the years following.

PBS will be exploring the power of Liberia’s women in tonight’s “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” as part of their five-part documentary series,“Women, War & Peace.” Tonight’s episode will recount the story of the Liberian women who took on Taylor and his regime amid an escalating conflict, and won seemingly unattainable peace for the country in 2003. Armed only with white T-shirts and iron clad courage, they were instrumental in putting an end to years of inconceivable violence and helped to put their country back on the slow road to recovery.

Watch the preview above to whet your appetite before tonight’s show. Put it on your calendar or set the DVR, because this is definitely a story you’ll want to hear.

Liberian elections. Photo courtesy of United Nations in Liberia

Liberians defied the rains this week and turned out in the thousands to participate in the country’s second election since it emerged from a 14-year civil war in 2003.

This year’s elections are historic for Liberia, as they are the first Liberia-controlled elections. They are being described world over as a test of Liberia’s fragile democracy. The 2005 election was managed by the United Nations.

About 1.8 million people were expected to vote in the election.

Incumbent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is up for reelection for a second term in office in a hotly contested race against 14 others. Analysts say that her stiffest challenger will be former UN diplomat, Winston Tubman, whose running mate is George Weah, a former international football star who lost the 2003 election to President Sirleaf in a runoff.

President Sirleaf, who only last week shared a Nobel Peace Prize with two other women, for her work in advancing the democratic space in Liberia is not having an easy ride. This itself is testimony to why she won the prize. Some say that the Nobel Laureate couldn’t have received her prize at a better time, and that the Nobel Peace Prize could have helped boost her campaign at the last minute. Liberia has also seen growing foreign investment and got rid of most of its debts, and some argue that President Sirleaf is a favorite among donor countries.

But many analysts predict that this election could be too close to call, and are gearing up for a possible re-run in November. Her supporters admit that some of the challenges she faces are that, “her greatest achievements are intangible — peace, security, investor confidence.”

On the other hand the opposition’s main critique of President Sirleaf is that while Liberia is debt free, millions still live in abject poverty.

A total of 150 observers from different countries are in Liberia to monitor the presidential elections, while it’s borders remain closed until Wednesday for security reasons. Coming so close after Zambia’s successful elections, if Liberia passes the test for a peaceful election, (and all signs are that it will), this will be a sure sign that Africa is experiencing a renaissance in democracy.

While in Monrovia, Liberia earlier this month, I had the opportunity to visit with some amazing women at the Sister Agnes Maternity Clinic. Located in the Gardnersville area of Monrovia, Sister Agnes was named after the civil war for Sister Agnes Mueller, one of five American nuns killed there. The building was vandalized and looted during the war, but was repaired and is now serving a population of about 35,000. Monthly, Sister Agnes sees more than 1,100 women, delivering approximately 50 babies every month. Sister Agnes is a recipient of funds from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Not only does Sister Agnes provide primary health care, immunizations, and pre- and post-natal care, it provides HIV counseling, testing and drugs to help prevent the spread of HIV from mother to child.

The clinic is small but clean, located on a quiet residential street. Sister Agnes has the same problems as other health facilities in Liberia: not enough beds or medicine. They are also plagued by infrastructure issues. A broken water pump means that they deliver 50 babies a month without running water. They do have an HIV support group, which is where I met Jestina. Jestina has been on ARVs for nine years. When she was first diagnosed, Jestina had to learn to carry her medicines with her, but now her regimen is far simpler. Now she only takes two pills twice a day. Jestina is a beautifully strong woman. When she talks about being healthy and beating HIV, she holds up her arm, flexing.

“The stronger you are, the weaker the virus is. You have to stay strong.” This is the message she shares with the other members of the support group. They meet monthly in the yard outside Sister Agnes. They would meet more often, she explains, but some women travel very far to come here, and have to take buses and walk, sometimes pregnant or carrying their young children.

There are no men in the support group at Sister Agnes. Jestina explains the stigma still associated with HIV in Liberia. Liberians, especially men, are ashamed of anyone knowing their HIV-positive status. They refuse to get tested, or refuse to hear the results. Most of the women in the support group were abandoned by their partners when they tested positive for HIV. Of the 1,479 people tested for HIV at Sister Agnes in a year (April 2010 to March 2011), 45 were positive for HIV — representing a 3 percent prevalence rate. Thanks to the efforts of the nurses at Sister Agnes and contributions from programs like the Global Fund and UNICEF, they were able to provide HIV-positive mothers with ARVs to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV. Jestina’s little boy Adolphus, now 3 years old, tested negative for HIV, fulfilling every mother’s dream: a healthy child.

In her piece, President Johnson-Sirleaf commends the US’ support to Liberia and urges Congress to continue this aid in next year’s budget. She recognizes that the US is suffering from the global economic crisis, but reassures that US foreign aid is helping to save lives and increase productivity and political stability. And as the goodwill ambassador of WaterAid, she discusses the importance of clean water and sanitation in her efforts to lift Liberia out of poverty.

Here’s an excerpt of her piece:

“With support from the United States, we have been able to make progress. Thanks to our partnership with the American people, we are rebuilding roads, clinics, and schools, and expanding access to electricity, water, and sanitation. It is critical that this aid continues in next year’s budget. By investing in basic services, Liberia is improving the health of our people, especially mothers and small children.”

Thank you President Johnson-Sirleaf for writing this op-ed. Not only do our congressional leaders need to hear this message, but American citizens do, too.

Read her full piece here. And if you haven’t yet, read ONE Africa Director Sipho Moyo’s piece on her meeting with the Liberian president here.

I recently spent some time in Definah, Liberia. Definah, literally translated from the local language to mean “in front of the bush,” is a small village about 80 miles outside Liberia’s capital city Monrovia. This small community is living proof of the tremendous progress Africa has witnessed in recent years in the fight against preventable and treatable diseases.

The entire population of Liberia is at high risk for malaria and malaria remains a leading cause of death for children. Children under 5 and pregnant women are the most affected groups. Approximately 40 percent of US global health assistance in Liberia is provided by the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) through USAID.

The Red Cross has been working in Definah for more than nine years, and with funding through PMI and USAID, has helped this community achieve near-universal bed net coverage. They also helped to construct a health center that provides care to children and pregnant mothers, and provides education on how to properly use the bed nets. The health center director was proud to report that they have seen zero children deaths from malaria for more than six years.

While in Definah, we witnessed firsthand the success and joy that PMI and the Red Cross have been able to help this community achieve. We spoke to mothers who are properly using bed nets to protect their families, witnessed healthy children who attend school, and a local vibrant market that brings commerce from the surrounding towns and villages.

Following 15 years of civil war in Liberia, the people of Definah have a renewed sense of community and civil service. Two people who illustrate that sense of service so well, are Zinnah Quaye and Siaffa Coorer.

Zinnah had been a volunteer with the Red Cross after the war for six years, and has now been employed with them for three years. He introduced us to Definah’s local chief and shared with us the importance of building relationships of trust and respect with those in the community.

Siaffa is a 14-year-old boy who lost both his parents in the war. He told us that as he grew older he missed the sense of community and shared service he knew as a young boy. So he decided to volunteer with the Red Cross to give back and he also helps captain their organizations soccer club.

So much amazing work is happening throughout Liberia, a country that was founded by freed American slaves, as they seek to rebuild and reconstruct post conflict. US investments are yielding incredible returns by keeping families together, and helping to make sure that these individuals and communities who love their country build a sustainable and vibrant country once again.

Tenneh and me

The women of Made in Liberia, who were on both sides of the fighting during the civil war, now own and operate a business together. About 75 percent of Made in Liberia’s profits are used for community development projects, with the remaining 25 percent staying within the enterprise, allowing the women to build equity over time. Made in Liberia’s Right to Work program includes a 4-course curriculum intended to train women in entering the workforce, personal finance and job skills. Every graduate is guaranteed a full-time job at Made in Liberia, and an opportunity to save for their future. Made in Liberia’s Working Assets program encourages women to save by matching 100 percent of their savings for one year, enabling them to invest in major assets like land, education or starting a business.

Chid Liberty and the women of Made in Liberia

The women working at Made in Liberia were eager to tell me about their goals. Tenneh Bakana has been working at Made in Liberia for two years. On the “inspiration wall” (a wall filled with employee photos and their handwritten goals) and in our conversation, her motivation is apparent: her children. She wants her job at Made in Liberia to result in a better future for them. Many of the women here are mothers, victims of rape or abuse, working together for a unified and healed Liberia. In a feature on Made in Liberia filmed by CNN last year, Tenneh talked about her journey from victim to businesswoman. It’s hard to leave these amazing women in this little factory, humming with the sound of sewing machines. But I feel so lucky to have met them, and I know that they will succeed in building a better future for their children and their country.

I’m going to throw it out there…I’m a farmer groupie. I thrive on fresh, local veggies, getting knee-deep in the dirt, and seeing the fruits of my labor.

So, when I found out I would be visiting an innovative farm program in Bensonville, the capital of Montserrado County in Liberia, suffice it to say I was a little excited.

This farm is one of the sites where members of the Community Youth Network Program (CYNP), a humanitarian youth organization in Liberia, learn an array of agricultural skills, farming techniques and animal husbandry.

Founded in 2007, CYNP was created to increase youth participation in a broad range of issues that affect them -– everything from health and agriculture to good governance and youth empowerment.

Though the primary goal of the program is to equip youth with agriculture skills -– and therefore a steady income and job security -– CYNP also promotes education and empowerment for young women and provides counseling and support for youth, including ex-combatants. If CYNP sounds familiar, it’s because it was a runner up in last year’s ONE Award. From my tour of the grounds to hearing the stories of the students themselves, including Junior Toe, the founder of CYNP and an ex-combatant himself, it’s not surprising this incredible organization made it all the way to the final round.

Students who come to this particular farm spend 18 months learning crop farming, animal husbandry for ducks, rabbits and goats, and how to market their agricultural products to consumers. Many of the students I met were former child soldiers or had been orphaned in the 14 violent years of civil war that racked Liberia for more than a decade.

Like many countries in Africa, Liberia is an extremely young country –- in fact, more than 50 percent of its population is under the age of 20. Due to the years of strife, youth in the country face a crippling array of challenges, most notably high unemployment and low skills, an issue that the government has made a priority to remedy, particularly as they head into presidential elections this fall. CYNP has also become a major player in equipping these young people with marketable skills that will not only set them on the path to recovery but on a sustainable pathway out of poverty.

After an hour of engaging discussions on everything from how much a rabbit sells for to the importance of building up infrastructure and roads to get these farm products to market, it was time to depart. As I left, the students handed me a necklace emblazoned with “I Heart Liberia,” a sentiment I heard continually in this country, which is just beginning to awaken from a dark past. With programs like CYNP, it’s no wonder many of Liberia’s young citizens feel this way. And for this wannabe farmer, knowing there are programs like CYNP leading the way to a brighter future, I can’t help but feel the same.

Liberia was Africa’s first republic, colonized in 1822 and declared independent in 1847. It is also home to Africa’s first female president: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. I met with her this week at the Executive Mansion in Monrovia during a ONE listening and learning trip. And while this was not our first encounter, I was particularly thrilled to be meeting her with ONE’s new chief executive officer, Michael Elliot, who was visiting Liberia for the first time.

At ONE, we strongly believe that for poor rural populations throughout Africa, smart investments in agriculture are key to reducing poverty, building viable livelihoods and accessing affordable food. Meeting with President Sirleaf Johnson was a great opportunity to find out how committed Liberia’s president is to agriculture development.

No surprise, but definitely noteworthy: as an African woman, “Mama Ellen,” as many Liberians call her, does not just speak about agriculture — she is a farmer herself who grows rice, chilies and vegetables — and when she talks about the need for farmers in Liberia to move from traditional farming methods which erode the environment, you get the sense that the Iron Lady knows exactly what she is talking about. A recent report by Liberia’s Ministry of Agriculture echoed her concern. The report states that future efforts in Liberia need to focus on productivity-enhancing measures with a pro-poor focus that increases incomes. According to the Minister for Agriculture Dr. Florence Chenoweth, whom I also had the privilege of meeting during this trip, Liberia’s challenge is twofold; one is that Liberian’s lack access to assets like land, knowledge and inputs, and two, opportunities and an enabling environment.

Agriculture was not all that was on the president’s mind on this day. Another one of her top priorities is education — particularly tertiary educational and vocational skills training. According to UNICEF, education in Liberia was severely affected by the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars, between 1989 and 2003. Therefore, while the country has seen a large increase in foreign direct investment in sectors such as mining, forestry and now petroleum, the potential for Liberians to get good jobs is limited by a mismatch in the required skills. Corporations that have a presence in Liberia will need to step up and invest seriously in vocational training for their workers, in an effort to fill the skills gap.

The mother of four is up for reelection later this year, and one of the key challenges surrounding her election is allegations of corruption in some sectors of government, a fact which she openly alluded to during our discussion as unjustly undermining the governments efforts to rebuild the nation. A report by the Voice of America (VOA) points out that the head of Liberia’s anti-corruption commission is asking for direct prosecutorial powers to go after government officials misusing public funds. Still, it is clear as President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf points out in her campaigning for reelection, that her government’s fight against corruption has helped to restore investor confidence in a country still recovering from 14 years of conflict. On the other hand, says VOA, political challengers question the president’s commitment, saying her government has too much influence over what should be independent investigations. From speaking to other government officials and some of the youth we were left with the distinct impression that the judiciary in Liberia is extremely independent and not likely to be much influenced by either the executive or the legislature. Those around President Johnson Sirleaf will tell you categorically that her work is her campaign. And based on the incredible transformation from the Liberia I saw five years ago when I attended her inauguration -– little more than a depressing ruin- – to what I saw this week, a much more organized, energized, optimistic and promising country with some well chosen cabinet members I’d say Mama Ellen should keep doing what she does best. Leading Liberians to their promised land!

More details from the official press release:

Debt relief under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative from all Liberia’s creditors was estimated at US$ 2.7 billion in end-June 2007 present value terms. Debt relief from the IMF would total US$730 million—the IMF’s biggest ever HIPC contribution for a single country—and from the World Bank’s IDA, US$374 million.

After reaching the HIPC completion point, Liberia also becomes eligible for further nominal debt reduction from IDA (US$66.9 million) and the African Development Bank (US$17.2 million) under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) and beyond-HIPC assistance from the IMF (SDR117.4 million or US$173 million) and the EU Special Debt Relief Initiative (US$0.9 million).

As a result of this relief, Liberia will no longer face a heavy debt service burden in relation to its revenue and foreign exchange resources.

The Boards determined that Liberia has taken the necessary policy actions to reach the completion point, and therefore debt relief from both the HIPC Initiative and MDRI becomes irrevocable. Liberia has successfully implemented its poverty reduction strategy and maintained a stable macroeconomic environment, despite the global economic crisis.

“We welcome the concerted efforts made by Liberia to obtain this debt relief—this will help attract new investment and generate much needed opportunities,” said Chris Lane, IMF mission chief for Liberia. “Liberia can now mobilize additional resources to rebuild the road network and the electricity supply system, providing the infrastructure needed to allow economic growth, while continuing to expand the health care and education systems. Liberia will also be able to further develop its own financial market and channel private savings to productive uses. We wish to acknowledge the efforts by the international community to finance Liberia’s debt relief, with over 100 members of the IMF making exceptional contributions beyond the normal terms granted to heavily indebted poor countries.”

President Barack Obama lauded the “heroism” of Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Thursday, saying her commitment to democracy stood as an example for other troubled African nations.

Obama met Sirleaf in the Oval Office, and pledged the United States would stand with Liberia at every step of the way of its democratic development.

“I have been an extraordinary admirer of her work for many years now…. The United States and Liberia are close friends, longstanding partners, and Liberia is now emerging from a very difficult period,” Obama said.

“Part of the reason it has been able to emerge is because of the heroism and courage of President Sirleaf.”

“She is committed to the rule of law, made strides in reforming the judiciary and in all these endeavors I want to make sure the people of Liberia understand… that the United States is a constant friend and partner.”

Obama said Sirleaf’s example should be taken as inspiration to other African nations including, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Niger.

Sirleaf said her country had made important progress, and she thanked Obama for his and America’s support.

Africa’s first elected female head of state, Sirleaf said that she would not hide the fact that Liberia had challenges, but added that all basic freedoms were alive in her country today.

“We said that we were going to make Liberia rise again. I come today on behalf of the Liberian people to say that we have made a lot of progress,” she said.