Submitted by: Tascha Alvarez von Gustedt, Foreign Policy Advisor

Yesterday was a crazy day of travel, and I’m just able to get online now to update. We rose early in the morning in Rwanda and traveled across the continent to Liberia, on the west coast of Africa. Liberia is a small country of only 3.5 million people and was ravaged by civil war in the 1990s and early this century.

Although it’s been ravaged by poverty, the country’s future is bright – as President Clinton pointed out today, Liberia enjoys strong political leadership from President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s only female head of state and arguably one of the most popular leaders throughout the continent.

After leaving the plane we traveled to the Golden Key Hotel, a CGI member commitment site currently under construction. There is a great need for hotels here — following the civil war, there were only 45 hotel beds in the whole country. President Clinton said he envisions Golden Key, ideally located at the halfway point between the capital city of Monrovia and the airport, to be a meeting spot for potential investors. He joked that he’d like to take a swim in the pool next time he visits.

After we left the construction site we made a quick stop for a tour of the Jorkpan Town Market, where cheering children greeted President Clinton. In front of a delegation of Liberian political leaders, he announced details of new negotiations that have lowered a popular malaria drug by 30% and secured a commitment that would keep malaria medicine prices stable.

Visiting Liberia – and all of the countries we’ve been to – has been a great experience for me as foreign policy advisor. Preparing for the trip was a lot of work, but it’s all worth it in the end to see the smiles President Clinton brings to the faces of the people here, and to see our work really helping people on the ground. When I get back to the office, we’ll start preparing for next year’s trip…

President Bill Clinton greets a crowd while touring an outdoor market August 3, 2008 in Monrovia, Liberia. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images For The Clinton Foundation)