About Us

About Alp

The Self-Help Initiative for Sustainable Development (SHIFSD) is a refugee-inspired, non-sectarian, non-profit and non-governmental organization (NGO).

SHIFSD was founded in the Central Region of Ghana by three Liberian Refugees on November 11, 2000 in the face of UNHCR’s severance of all humanitarian assistance (June 2000) to Liberian Refugees within the West African Sub-region. On October 11, 2001, SHIFSD registered under the Companies Code 1963 (Act 179) of the Republic of Ghana, and was later recognized by its Department of Social Welfare (DSW) as a humanitarian organization in January of 2004, with registration numbers G-8898 and DSW/2003.The organization first started with the name People United to Serve Humanity (PUSH), but changed it 10 months later to SHIFSD since the new name, as it was believed, better represents the self-help value of the organization.

SHIFSD works for an empowered West African Community where all people enjoy sustainable peace and development.

SHIFSD exists to reduce social causes of poverty through access to education and economic empowerment. We believe poor governance, gender disparity and a lack of access to education and resources breed social imbalances that contribute to poverty and conflicts, which, in turn, hinder development. Through education and economic empowerment for underprivileged people, SHIFSD seeks to contribute to sustainable peace and development in Liberia and West Africa.

Our core values are:

  • Quality education
  • Gender equality
  • Self-empowerment
  • Good governance and accountability
  • Respect for human rights

Areas of Intervention:
Our main areas of intervention are:

a) Education:

  • Sponsorship of basic educational programs including peace-building, trauma counseling, HIV/AIDS and computer literacy for our school children with a focus on the girl child
  • Sponsorship functional Adult Literacy Programs with focus on women
  • Management of workshops, seminars or symposia for youth, parent-teacher associations, and others, particularly in areas of gender and participatory school governance

b) Economic empowerment:

  • Micro-enterprise development with focus on promotion of local materials
  • Provision of access to entrepreneurial skills training
  • Sourcing and distributing of re-furbished used tools (e.g. sewing machines) for entrepreneurial purposes
  • Leadership training

Core Program Objectives:
Our core program objectives are to:

  • Increase access to education for underprivileged people in specific communities in Liberia and Ghana with special focus on youth
  • Improve school performance and community participation in school governance
  • Increase youth civic responsibility and nationalistic pride through educational activities on gender, health, human rights, peace-building, and environmental care
  • Increase micro-enterprise development opportunities for disadvantaged people
  • Enhance youth and adult leadership skills and self-confidence through training and access to information.

Geographical Scope:
SHIFSD has initiated its operations in the Central Region of Ghana, and hopes to start a pilot phase of its operations in the South Eastern part of Liberia in the near future.

Target Group:
SHIFSD primary target groups include youth and out-of-school children, particularly girls between ages 8-17 in specific deprived communities. The secondary target group is illiterate men and women.

SHIFSD Code Of Conduct