Utilizing Community Strength


Through three regions in Liberia, the Community Integrated Development and Need-Based Project (CIDNEP) reached 15,000 people in seven communities. Adolphus Dupley (Class of 2015), Associate Director with Liberia’s Department of Community Services, began CIDNEP after learning the principles of SEED-SCALE.

The influential idea for him was building on local successes and understanding community capacity. The result increased community access to essential services – education, water, sanitation, health, and agriculture – in Liberia’s most densely populated regions. “We created a partnership between all parties so needs are met.” says Dupley.

Prior to enrolling in the Graduate School, Dupley ran the predecessor project to CIDNEP. It used a one-size-fits-all approach. “There was no particular attention being paid to community capacity, knowledge, and involvement,” he remarks.

The Community Integrated Development and Needs-Based Project reached more people in its first year than its predecessor ever did. More than half are women. “We have made interventions in areas of gender where for the first time in some of these communities women are now playing major leadership roles,” notes Dupley. In addition to gender equity, the project addresses underground water pollution, forest resource management, and peacebuilding.

Journey Towards the Light


Bhim Bahadur Nepali is one of many Future Generations students who is heavily involved with Share and Care, a group that works with marginalized and vulnerable groups, particularly women and children, throughout Nepal. As a self-directed project for his Graduate Study Foundations course, he worked as the production coordinator on “Journey Towards the Light,” a short documentary that focuses on Share and Care’s Advocacy on Women’s Empowerment Project (AWEP).
Bhim estimates that AWEP has directly benefited about 6,000 people. “Women and adolescent girls are aware, empowered, and transformed through direct intervention from our AWEP project,” he says. Bhim came up with the idea for the documentary in order to showcase a handful of the personal stories of some of these women. “They might be role models or sources of inspiration for others in the community.”