After rebels ousted his foe, ex-president Charles Taylor, in and peace returned to Liberia, the general begged for forgiveness — and quickly found that the charismatic personality that made him a natural rebel commander was well suited to preaching. So while Taylor does time for war crimes, Joshua Milton Blahyi, 45, has remodeled himself as a popular street pastor — a quick, and often financially lucrative, way to gain respect in West Africa. His Journeys Against Violence NGO has, he says, trained about 1, former combatants and street kids in activities such as farming and bricklaying since , but has been hampered by a lack of funds. At his training camp in a suburb of the capital Monrovia, lush vegetation threatens to overrun half-built houses abandoned for want of funds. Blahyi says he is appealing to donors to support him and is asking for half a million dollars to complete the units and carry out farming programs.

Joshua Milton Blahyi born September 30, , often known by his nom de guerre General Butt Naked , is a former commander of forces under the wider control of Liberian warlord Roosevelt Johnson. Once described as "the most evil man in the world", Blahyi said in that he killed at least 20, people and carried out regular human sacrifice and cannibalism of children. Blahyi has stated that he was originally a tribal priest. Since the war he has converted to Christianity and become a preacher. Blahyi travels Liberia preaching peace and love, denouncing his old way of life.

Then he became a pastor. Today he visits the families of his victims to seek forgiveness for his sins. On a Tuesday about six years ago, an attempt was made to quantify Joshua Milton Blahyi's guilt.