Joseph Fatinyan Jarbah- Children's Welfare International

Joseph is a Liberian national. Like other Liberians, he fled to the neighboring country of Ivory Coast during the fourteen year Liberian
civil war. Having to live in a refugee camp meant life was very difficult at times. He completed his high school at a United Nations
school based in the refugee camp but many children, mostly orphaned children between the ages of 5 and 12 years old in the camp
were not so blessed. They worked in the streets due to the conditions at the refugee camp

After completing high school in 1998, Joseph worked as an animator and a center coordinator for the International Catholic Child
Bureau (ICCB) Education program for Liberian children. He also served as a volunteer with the Croix-Rouge de Cote D’ivoire (Red
Cross of Cote D’ivoire).

While in the camp, Joseph and his friend restored the Church of Christ in Guiglo city and became preachers. Joseph spent his lunch
and weekends to spread the gospel out to the communities both in the French and English Languages.

Due to the rebel’s evasion and political instability of 2002 in the Ivory Coast, most of the humanitarian organizations, including the
one Joseph worked for pulled out due to the security threat.

In 2003, Joseph worked as a contractor with UNICEF, Guiglo branch distributing medical equipments to hospitals and clinics
including non medical supplies to IDPs in Deokue and Guiglo areas.

When the organization Joseph worked for left, all of the children living at its centers were forced onto the streets. One evening as he
went to eat at a restaurant in Guiglo city, four children from the center he oversees were in the back of the restaurant fighting for
leftover food.
He later found out that in order to earn their meal they’d washed dishes for hours. Seeing those children work so hard only to get
the leftover scraps from restaurants not only disturbed Joseph, but drove him to the point of action.
During that moment he made a vow to God that, if he had means or if fortunate enough to travel to a developed country, he would
find a way to help these children get off the street and back into a structured nurturing environment.

Joseph now lives in the United States where he served as the first Secretary General and Co-founder of the Liberian Association of
Washington State. He is a member of the Church of Christ in Kent, Washington.

In his quest for peace and reconciliation for his homeland Liberia,Joseph was certified by the University of Rhode Island "Center for
Nonviolence and peace studies" as a co-trainer in Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation.

Joseph F. Jarbah is a graduate of Bates Technical College with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is the Executive Director
and founder of Children’s Welfare International

Brief profile of Joseph F. Jarbah:

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