By Emmanuel M. Kangar, Jr.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and Partners on Thursday, April 30, 2026, concluded a series of Community Participatory Town Hall Meetings as part of GOLA-REAP (Resilience, Empowerment, Access, and Peacebuilding) Project, which is a cross-border initiative jointly implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the World Food Programme (WFP) with funding from the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) and oversight by the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO). The project aims to strengthen relationships among local communities, forest rangers, and border authorities within the Gola Forest landscape, a protected ecosystem shared between Liberia and Sierra Leone that maintains biodiversity, livelihoods, and cross-border trade. Supporting collaboration and trust among these key stakeholders promotes conflict prevention, peaceful dispute resolution, and enduring resource management in this important border region.
The community participatory interactive Town Hall Meetings were held in Kungbor and Tima Towns in Kungba District, Gbapolu County, from April 8 to 11, and in Mano River Kongo and Tiennie, Porkpa, and Tewor Districts, Grand Cape Mount County, from April 27 to April 30, covering all 30 project communities from across the three districts, aimed to strengthen local ownership and accountability by placing communities at the center of decision-making.
The Town Hall meetings brought together local authorities (district commissioners, Township commissioners, Traditional Leaders (Town Chiefs, Clan Chiefs, and Paramount Chiefs), Religious Leaders (Pastors and Imams), Youth Leaders, women leaders, Forest Rangers, the Joint Security, Community Watch Forum, and the Ministry of Gender, Women, Children, and Social Protection in Grand Cape Mount and Gbapolu Counties. The engagement discussions focus on five thematic areas: conflict resolution, natural resource management, trust-accountability-transparency, Border Management, and Community Policing. 172 participants (54 Females and 118 Males) attended these meetings.
The gatherings allow participants to identify problems they are experiencing in each of the five thematic areas, identify causes, and identify those most impacted by these problems. The participants provided practical solutions that communities and the government can implement to address the problem, with support from partners. By the end of the sessions, a comprehensive community plan of action will be developed to enhance trust, accountability, and transparency; border security; natural resource management; conflict management; and community policing, thereby advancing a stronger, more consolidated community. Speaking at the opening of the program in Kungbor Town, Kungba District Commissioner, Lawrance V. Sherbo, thanked IOM and Partners for helping community members to realize that they contribute to most of the problems in their communities that affect the youth and women, and also have the power and authority to solve and prevent these problems from occurring in their respective communities. Terrence P. Davis, Zone Warden of the Gola National Park, said, “This town hall meeting allowed Forest Rangers and community members to carefully identify problems that hamper their smooth working relationship and how we can solve some of these problems right in the communities.”
The meetings concluded with a pledge from local leaders, Forest Rangers, Joint Security Actors, and County Authorities to work together to implement proposed solutions to address the many challenges hindering unity, peace, social cohesion, and development within their respective communities and districts.
