When I first arrived in Liberia on my second field trip for IFES, an unexpected thought crossed my mind: Why am I here? On the surface, there was no obvious connection between me and this distant continent. Five years earlier, I would not have envisioned myself stepping out of a plane into the Monrovian airport. Nonetheless, there I was, excited to be in Liberia and soon busy attempting to understand the Liberian accent and master the ubiquitous snapped handshake—and, while I was at it, help reopen IFES’ new field office. Abstract questions would have to wait for later.

My first trip to Africa had been a few weeks earlier when I flew to Nairobi to help organize a conference IFES was co-hosting as part of its program with the African Union. While that fantastic trip allowed me to meet many interesting people, it offered me a sheltered perspective of Kenya, and of Africa. First, downtown Nairobi is quite developed, at least by African standards, with skyscrapers and businessmen, well-heeled safari-destined tourists and elegant colonial-era hotels. Second, I spent the majority of my time confined to one such hotel where the conference was taking place. Only a brief outing afterward exposed me to a short safari, a taste of marketplace bartering and a glimpse of Kibera, one of the largest slums in the world located just south of downtown Nairobi. I left feeling I hadn’t seen the “real” Africa.

My trip to Liberia brought me to the opposite side of the continent, both literally and figuratively. Liberia’s brutal civil war ended only in 2003, leaving the entire country, including the capital, in ruins. Destroyed homes and businesses lined Monrovia’s streets; ghostly government buildings, left to decay halfway through construction, lurked on the city’s outskirts; and the gutted ruins of Hotel Africa, until recently a lavish five-star hotel, loomed in the distance. Walking through squalid and destitute areas of central Monrovia and an excursion to Firestone’s rubber plantation at Harbel further revealed the harsh living conditions endured by most Liberians. Groups of war wounded beggars on crutches and armed UN soldiers served as constant reminders of the fragility of Liberia’s peace and the price of returning to war.

Despite what I saw—poverty and devastation worse than I had ever before seen—I was not left despondent. While the peace is fragile, I heard over and over from Liberians that they know too well the horrors of war and will never again go back. Monrovia is rapidly developing, and I was told that what I saw was a drastic improvement from several years earlier, when the entire city lacked electricity and the area in which we were staying was still unsafe. Liberia’s economy and infrastructure are slowly improving, and successful national elections in 2005 and a series of by-elections since have moved the country toward greater stability and democracy. IFES’ integral role in these elections has made the organization widely known and admired throughout the country; I was met with a warm welcome wherever I went. I was particularly encouraged by the enthusiasm and dedication of IFES’ entire local team—from driver to program officer—toward furthering Liberia’s continued democratic development.

Liberia thus revealed to me the real Africa, the good and the bad—the poverty and instability that afflict much of the continent, as well as the resolve to move from a bleak past toward a better future. By the end of my trip, I no longer wondered why I was there. I saw in Liberia the potential and desire for progress and the corresponding cost of failure. I saw the tremendous value of IFES’ program in moving Liberia in the right direction and knew I wanted to be a part of that. I left having found the connection to Africa that I formerly lacked—embodied by the new experiences I had and wonderful people I met—and assured in my commitment to a continent that no longer seemed quite so far away.