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Minnesota
 Upon the beginning resettlement of her country and after years of working as an individual benefactor, Vera
decided to expand the work she was doing into a nonprofit with the mission of provide care, empowerment, and hope to the disadvantaged. In
2005, Caring for All, Inc became a nonprofit organization based in the northwest metro of the Twin Cities. Caring for
All continued the work that Vera had been doing: providing goods and services to struggling refugees in Ghana and newly returned
Liberians to Liberia.
Yet the need for services in the immigrant Liberian community of Minnesota became more evident as refugee
families struggled to support their families and navigate the new systems in this new country. So in 2006 CFA
also began working with families in the Twin Cities, connecting them with services offered through the county and local nonprofits,
and supplying them with clothes and school supplies for their children. The purpose of the organization soon became
one of serving the many needs of the Liberian community, both in Minnesota and in Liberia
Since 2005, Caring for All continues
to search out the most pressing needs in the Liberian community, both in Minnesota and Liberia. In Minnesota, Caring
for all is serving the community by providing an emergency food shelf, educating the community about health concerns regarding
HIV/AIDS and Cancer detection and prevention, and working with youth who are struggling with a cultural divide between themselves
and immigrant parents.
Caring for All has also worked to lay the groundwork for sustainable and effective services for those
who need them most in Liberia. With limited resources, CFA volunteers are working in the outskirts of Monrovia and the
rural community of Lofa on a number of issues. The programs that Caring for All is exploring and developing in Liberia
are women’s professional training and empowerment, child education, public health, and support for Liberians with physical
disabilities. Caring for all envisions this work leading to stronger communities that nurture successful and thriving
citizens in a new, peaceful, and reconstructed Liberia.
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Liberia
In
2003, the Liberian civil war, which had destroyed much of the country over its 14 year duration, came to an end.
Over the course of the war, 250,000 Liberians were killed, many thousands were left disabled. Half
of the country population had fled the country as refugees during those 14 years, and over a million were internally displaced
in camps around the country.
Nearly 30,000 Liberians came to the Twin Cities as refugees fleeing the war.
One of which was the founder and executive director Minnesota-based Caring for All, Inc (CFA). By
the time Vera Dixon came to the United States, she had lived over half her life as a refugee, moving between camps in Ghana
and Ivory Coast, and waiting for the war to end. After coming to the United States, Vera’s
heart and mind were still with those she had seen in the refugee camps, suffering from hunger and poverty.
She began to work from her home, collecting medical supplies, food, and toys for families and children in Ghana and
Liberia.
In November of 2004, the UN began its resettlement process, closing camps and encouraging
Liberians to return to their homes. Most families had not seen their homes in years. Many
returned to their homes with little or no money or resources to restart their lives. Much of the
national infrastructure was destroyed during the war, taking out roads, schools, and hospitals. As such,
education, healthcare, transportation, and opportunities for economic gain were and still are significantly limited.
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