This Aid Market Podcast episode features an interview with Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee, focusing on her peacebuilding work in Liberia and offering advice to peacebuilding organizations and donors. The conversation touches on the success factors of her peace movement, the role of international organizations in conflict prevention, and the challenges faced by grassroots women's organizations.

Thank you to Ebenezer Norman and A New Dimension of Hope (https://ndhope.org/) for co-hosting this episode.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [01:18] Leymah discusses the success factors of her peace movement, highlighting the unity of the group and their shared ambition to end the war as key drivers.

• [04:41] The discussion shifts to the role of large donors like USAID and the UN, where Leymah criticizes the way funding is often channeled through middle or large humanitarian organizations instead of directly supporting grassroots organizations.

• [07:12] The episode concludes with information on how to support Leymah Gbowee's organization, the Gbowee Peace Foundation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

• The success of Leymah Gbowee's peace movement in Liberia was driven by the unity of the group, which transcended divisions and brought together people from various backgrounds, including different religious and political affiliations.

• Large international donors should direct more funding and support to grassroots organizations, especially those led by women, which often face challenges in accessing resources due to their lack of formal registration.

• Those interested in supporting Leymah Gbowee's organization can visit the Gbowee Peace Foundation's website or social media profiles to donate or learn more about their work.

Quotes: 

"Our ability to transcend the issues that divided us, we recognize that we have more to gain by being together, and we have a lot more to lose by being apart." - Leymah Gbowee

RESOURCES:

Aid Market Podcast 

Mike Shanley - LinkedIn

Gbowee Peace Foundation

A New Dimension of Hope Website

Co-Host: https://www.ndhope.org/

Leymah Roberta Gbowee (Leymah Roberta Gbowee was born on February 1, 1972, in Monrovia, Liberia.  She was seventeen years old when the Liberian civil war started and turned her, in her own words, “from a child into an adult in a matter of hours.” Inspired by a dream and as a person of faith, she organized her fellow Christian women to mobilize for peace. She then collaborated with a Muslim partner to build an unprecedented coalition with Muslim women, giving rise to the interfaith movement known as the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace (which operated under the auspices of WIPNET). 

(Source: https://gboweepeaceafrica.org/our-story)