Building Hope and Opportunity: Spotlight Initiative 2.0 is Empowering Women and Girls Across Rural Liberia

In communities across Maryland, Grand Gedeh, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, and Bong Counties, a quiet transformation is taking place.

For many women and girls, generations of poverty, harmful traditional practices, limited educational opportunities, and gender inequality have shaped the course of their lives. Survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), women and girls affected by female genital mutilation (FGM), women living with disabilities, female-headed households, and out-of-school girls often face multiple layers of exclusion and economic hardship.

Today, through the Spotlight Initiative 2.0, supported by the European Union and UN Women Liberia and implemented by the HOPE Consortium—including HOPE Liberia, HeForShe Liberia, and the Disabled Children Female Empowerment Network—new pathways towards dignity, inclusion, and economic independence are emerging.

The Spotlight Initiative 2.0 began not with training sessions or financial support, but with conversations. Project teams travelled to towns and villages across the five counties, meeting with chief elders, traditional leaders, local government officials, women, youth, and community members in palava huts, town halls, and local offices.

Together, communities discussed their challenges, aspirations, and the opportunities they believed could create lasting change. Through these dialogues, local leaders and residents helped shape the beneficiary identification process and informed the design of future interventions.

Following the consultations, the project identified vulnerable women and girls across the five Spotlight counties. Beneficiaries are being connected to skills development programmes, entrepreneurship training, financial literacy education, Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), and other income-generating opportunities.

Community members expressed strong interest in practical livelihood skills such as soap making, hairdressing, catering, agriculture, tailoring, and small business management—activities that can help families build sustainable sources of income.

Early Results, Lasting Impact

Although the initiative is still in its early stages, encouraging signs of change are already visible.

Across the five Spotlight counties, more than 1,100 women and girls have been identified and connected to support networks and empowerment opportunities.

Project partners report increased participation of women and young people in community meetings and project activities, while enrolment in livelihood and entrepreneurship programmes continues to grow.

Perhaps even more importantly, conversations that were once considered difficult or taboo are beginning to take place openly.

Issues such as SGBV, FGM, early marriage, women's rights, and economic empowerment are increasingly being discussed among traditional leaders, government officials, youth representatives, and women themselves.

A Future Reimagined

In Grand Gedeh County, Beatrice Toe, a mother of five from Billibo, sees the initiative as an opportunity to create a better future for her family.

"This project has given me hope that I can better support my children and improve our future," Beatrice says. "The training and support are opening new opportunities for my family."

For Beatrice, access to skills development and savings groups represents more than a development programme—it is a chance to build financial independence, keep her children in school, and create lasting stability for her household.

Looking Ahead

Even with this progress, significant challenges remain. Deeply rooted social norms take time to change, and women living with disabilities and those experiencing extreme poverty continue to face barriers to full participation.

Yet the foundation for lasting transformation is being laid. As Spotlight Initiative 2.0 expands livelihood support, skills development, mentorship, and community engagement activities, more women and girls will have opportunities to strengthen their economic independence and participate fully in community life.