During 14 years of savage civil war, Liberia's market women kept food and supplies flowing against terrible odds.
In December 2005, ten days after the Liberian election, the group decided to create the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Market Women's Fund ( SMWF).
It offers training in literacy and small business management, enabling traders to provide a wider array of goods and earn profits sufficient to sustain them and their families.
Representatives of the Liberian Marketing Association and other local agencies are on the board of directors to provide political and technical knowhow.
Board members of SMWF/US work closely with their Liberian counterparts and visit Liberia several times annually to observe progress toward shared goals.
Only about a third had sanitary facilities or garbage disposal, and hardly any had storage on site, making security a major problem.
The design of the SMWF market structure includes a concrete shelter with built-in tables, water and sanitation, storage facilities, literacy and business training, basic health services, especially in rural areas, and space for children to play or be occupied in a nursery school.
Partnerships, within Liberia and outside of it, led to recognition by the UN Office for Technical Cooperation Among Developing Countries (TCDC).
In July 2010, UN Fund for Gender Equality announced it was awarding SMWF US$3 million over four years to improve the lives of Liberia's market women, their families and the national economy.
When completed, it will be the biggest so far and will provide a learning environment for pre-school children as well as adult literacy, health facilities, cold storage, a bank, a police depot, and ample parking.
Issues of inequitable access and opportunity and outright discrimination became a focus of resentment that came to a head in the 1980 coup d'état led by Sergeant Samuel Doe.
In January 2006, after a hard-fought campaign against a Liberian football star, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took office as Liberia's – and Africa's – first democratically elected female Head of State.