- The Population Caring Organization was founded in May 2003 in response to the needs of Liberian refugees in the Buduburam Refugee Settlement in Ghana. At the time, Buduburam was home to more than 42,000 refugees from the Liberian civil war. PCO was founded by Mr. Emmanuel G.V. Dolo, a Liberian refugee living in Ghana. Emmanuel and his colleagues saw the need to volunteer their time to the cause of improving the living conditions of suffering people, address the lack of access to quality education, the tensions between different tribal groups represented in the camp, and the need for training and employment opportunities for war-affected, single mothers.
After some of the original staff members of PCO had repatriated, Emmanuel recognizes an opportunity within the immense need of Liberia to expand PCO’s mission and projects to Liberia. With a grant from the Starbucks Foundation, PCO began its first program in Maimu, a former IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camp working on an agriculture project with war-affected youth. In addition, PCO is applying the knowledge and model of the Peace Cells and Tribal Elders Council from the camp to organize National and Regional Peacebuilder Summit in collaboration with Seattle-based NGO, Global Citizen Journey. The aim is to create a grass-roots network of peacebuilders for sustainable peace.
