Liberia in western Africa is a desperate, hurting nation still recovering from a brutal civil war.

"It is a country filled with anger and hatred," said Victor Oladokun, CBN WorldReach producer. "Many have lost everything. Their only hope is hope itself, hope that God will be merciful and answer their prayers in the midst of trauma and tragedy."

According to Felix Oisamoje, CBN WorldReach general manager for Anglophone West Africa, there is a "spirit of desolation" in the air. He attributes it to the years of fighting.

But CBN WorldReach is delivering a powerful message of hope to Liberia in December with an evangelistic outreach in the form of a media blitz. On Dec. 16, CBN began broadcasting nine consecutive prime-time specials on national TV.

"People are looking for hope," said Kim Mitchell, director of operations for CBN International. "There is a strong Christian tradition in the country, but it is not a faith based on a personal relationship with Christ. We can offer them the hope of that relationship."

Two of the specials have just been produced in Liberia. They include testimonies that reflect Liberian society today. The people profiled are:

General Devil: a young teenager who joins a rebel army a few years after his father is executed. So notorious does he become and so heinous the atrocities he commits that friend and foe name him "General Devil".

Sam Belleh: a successful merchant marine trapped in Liberia during the civil war. He loses everything. Just as the war is ending, his 5-year-old son is shot in the head. When doctors provide no guarantees that he will survive, Sam cries out for a miracle.

Famata Shahadi-Thomas: a 13-year old girl who becomes addicted to crack cocaine. To feed her habit, she turns to prostitution.

Estimates indicate that almost a third of Liberian youth are addicted to drugs. Many have become prostitutes.

Some of the shows that will be broadcast are "Called by Name," a collection of dramatic testimonies; "Revolution," featuring Liberian teen testimonies and music to appeal to youth; "Heart of the Father," a modern prodigal son drama produced in Nigeria; and "With Whom Will You Go," a drama about a family in crisis originally produced for a Latin American audience.

The blitz has its origins in the hope of healing one man found in Christ. Ina Omakwu, CBN regional director, Anglophone West Africa, asked CBN to reach out to Liberia after he was healed of brain cancer.

"The idea was born out of a desire Ina had to do more for the Lord because God had done so much for him," said Sandra Smith, CBN WorldReach director of international programming.

Omakwu's church in Nigeria raised $30,000 to contribute toward the project. CBN has to buy the time to broadcast the shows.

"This is a co-production, a true partnership," said Smith.

Partnership with local churches and Christian leaders continues after the broadcast. Viewers are given a chance to respond to the broadcasts by letter or telephone. That contact information will be passed on to participating members of the Liberian Full Gospel Minister Association, a collection of about 500 Pentecostal churches, for follow-up.

WorldReach will also conduct on-going video evangelism in rural areas, in schools and in the youth video clubs that are so popular in Monrovia.

The broadcasts will be in English, the dominant language in the country. The two Liberian-based programs will also be adapted into Pidgin English radio programs.

In this country of 3 million, TV is only viewed widely around the capital of Monrovia. Economic conditions and continued fighting limit TV in the rural areas. The potential audience for the specials is 560,000.