PHOTO: Proud recipients of the gesture
By Alfred Kollie, alfredkolliejr92@gmail.com
A local nongovernmental organization, Youth and Girls Educational Initiative has provided school fees and educational materials to about one hundred and fifty teenage girls, particularly school going girls.
They are from Gbalekoma, Gonlonkluma Clan of district #4 and Sekou Village in Upper Margibi County, which is over 78 kilometers east of Monrovia.
The distribution of educational materials and the disbursement of cash as school fees were presented to students on Sunday, January 31, 2021. They are from the Morning Star Academy in Sekou Village and the K. Orange Christian Academic School while the process will continue this Saturday in Margibi and lower Bong Counties respectively.
K. Orange Christian Academic School currently has an enrolment of one hundred and ninety three students while Morning Star Academy has forty three students as its enrolment for this academic.
The group on Sunday presented to students copybooks, pencil, coloring, sharpeners and file anole with cash intended for school fees.
Youth and Girls Educational Initiative is a local organization that was established in 2016 with focus on education and health for underprivileged girls in Liberia especially in rural area that provide training, educational materials, health and the provision of school fees.
Speaking Sunday in upper Margibi County, Youth and Girls Educational Initiative Founder and Executive Director Miss. Paulema G. Gweama stressed the need for equal opportunity for both the urban and girls in rural area across Liberia.
Miss. Gweama observed that girls in rural Liberia has not been given the same opportunity as compare to those in urban area something she said is affecting rural parents thus making things difficult to send their children to school.
‘’The same way we give girls in urban area opportunity, those in rural must also be given the same and equal opportunity and be able to make Liberia a better place for all,’’ Miss. Gweama explained.
According to her, ‘’based on our survey conducted by the organization, it was observed and established that girls in rural communities deserved more in every aspects of life most especially in the area of education and health’’.
‘’When you say Liberia most people think that Montserrado is Liberia and Liberia is not just montserrado, we have other counties and other girls that need us most, more than girls in urban communities. It is against this backdrop that for the past three years, we have been providing school fees, educational materials, training and health materials for female in Montserrado and rural areas,’’ Miss Gweama added.
Female are the most vulnerable and are often marginalized in society as such they must be care for in order to complete with their male counterparts, if Liberia must be better, Miss. Gweama pointed out.
In remarks, the administrator of K. Orange Christian Academic School Pastor Clarence Tokpalizee thanked the local organization for identifying with students in this struggling economy currently affecting every sector in Liberia.
‘’I am so happy and done know what to say, it is by the special grace of God that directed these people here today, imagine, they pass by so many schools in montserrado and Kakata but locate us in this corner, it is God’’ Pastor Tokpalizee.
Madam Satta Kollie and Korpo Tokpa both express joy
Speaking in Liberian parlance, Korpo Tokpa said: ‘’The tin in my mind to say, I na get nothing to say I only tell the people thank you for the tin they do for our children because we don’t have anything, but let them continue to help us one day god will bless them too but today I am so happy because I will not pay school fees for my daughter or even buy copybook.’’