Photo credit E. Mansion press
Report by Kay Mantor
The Liberian government, in collaboration with international partners today, Thursday, June 30, 2022 launched a US$3 million rehabilitation program under the “National At-Risk Youths project” for disadvantaged youth commonly known as “Zozos” across the country.
Launching the project at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex, President George Manneh Weah said said the initiative will require a significant financial investment saying: “Most of them were affected by the long years of our civil conflict, during which they were conscripted as child soldiers by various warring factions and introduced to drugs and other harmful substances.”
As the government launches the initiative, the former Indian Consul General in Liberia, Upjit Singh Sachdeva (Jeety) has disclosed that he is willing to provide jobs for at least 100 at-risk youths on his rubber farm, if they turnout or agree to be trained through the government’s rehabilitation program.
Upjit Singh Sachdeva (Jeety)
The number of drug-addicted youth in post war Liberia is on an astronomical high. This has been a key contributing factor in the rapidly increasing rate of crimes in the country, with calls on government from every nook and cranny to do something about this menace.
Many have been calling on government to organize programs that will transform these [mostly] young people into useful citizens thus reducing the rate of danger being posed to peaceful citizens and foreigners alike.
After several calls on government for prompt action, with many accusing the GoL of usually paying lip service to the public outcry for action, it seems now that something is about to be done. The Government of Liberia recently announced the commencement activities in support of the “National at Risk Youth Project,” which was drafted in 2021. The program will include a fundraising rally that hopes to raise US$13 million. The fundraiser will officially be lunched at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Congo Town, and will bring together official of the CDC-led government and development partners including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Under this project, several hundreds of At-Risk-Youth from across Liberia will be hopefully rehabilitated and reintegrated into mainstream society and thus be able to contribute positively to the national development program.
President Weah’s call
In related development, President George Weah is challenging parents across the country to cater to their under aged children in order to prevent them from getting involved into acts that have the proclivity to damage their future. According to president Weah the increase in the number of under aged street children is unacceptable.
The Liberian leader blamed this mostly on parents’ less care and attention to their kids. He noted that each and every parent has a responsibility to cater to their child or children while stressing that there is a need for parents to give their kids good upbringing so as to protect their future.
President Weah said less care and attention to children sometimes lead them to get engaged into wrongful acts and eventually endanger their future. He further indicated that as part of effort to cater to At-Risk Youth across the Country plans are underway to launch a rehabilitation programs in the coming days. The former soccer world best and now president made these assertions recently at the newly constructed Invincible Sports Park where participated in a friendly soccer encounter between the Government of Liberia and the One UN System’s Team as part of initial programs of the National At-Risk-Youth project.
Reaction by At-Risk-Youth
In reaction to the government recent decision to commence its long awaited project, Tony Beh, head of the At-Risk-Youth in Liberia has lauded the government especially Youth and Sports Minister, Zeogar Wilson, for the path government is taking to help At-Risk-Youth, adding, “We are marking the promise because this is not the first time officials from the government has made such a promise.”
He said the Chairman of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Mulbah Morlu had invited him and other members several times in his office to discuss ways forward in helping At-risk youth in the country, but none of these promises have yielded any results. In fact, at a certain time, Chairman Morlu refused to reach out to them, as promised. According to him the CDC Party Chairman has not been able to live up to his promise to zogos in the. country.
Mr. Beh added that they are angry on grounds that during the 2005 elections they at times stood under rainy weathers, and at the same time “personally printed party T-Shirts because back then we believed that President Weah was the only person to bring the change we wanted,” he said.
“The president has also deliberately refused to give us the attention which we have always waited for. In fact” he has abandoned us.”
Appropriate Activities
As part of programs leading to the start of this all important national project, the government through its international partners recently held a high-level dinner conversation and dialogue on the At-Risk Youth across the country at a hotel in Monrovia.
During the event, Youth and Sports Minister, D. Zeogar Wilson, who is also Chairman of the Steering Committee of the National At-Risk-Youth Project, called on the business community, civil society organizations, friends of Liberia, and Liberians both at home and abroad to join the government and its development partners to help raise the targeted amount to kick start the implementation of the rehabilitation and skills-based training, as well as economic empowerment of At-Risk-Youth in the country.
As part of activities marking the start of the program of the national project, the government has set up a steering committee, constituting both local and international partners.
The international partners will work with its government counterpart under the umbrella of the One UN System. A one day sports encounter took place on the weekend of 25th June between the government of Liberia, led by President George Weah, and the One UN System Team, led by Amb. Niels Scott, UN Resident Coordinator in Liberia at the Invincible Park, in Sinkor, Monrovia.
The June 30th fundraiser event at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex hopes to be the beginning of a massive fundraiser to help mitigate the entrance into the At-risk life and provide training and life skills for those that are involved. We will be raising US$ 13 million on that day. Because this national plan is to give a collective fight and approach against this nightmare by fighting it from the root cause. If we do not fight this from the roots, we will be wasting [the] government’s resources,” Says Finance and Development Planning Minister, Samuel D. Tweah.
Jeety’s Promise
Upjit Singh Sachdeva (Jeety) has promised to hire at least one hundred of the disclosed that he is willing to provide jobs for at least 100 at-risk youth on his rubber farm.
Jeety is a businessman, philanthropist, humanitarian and active contributor to the socio-economic development of the selfless service extended to all COVID-19 patients admitted in the COVID-designated hospitals. He has also been providing home-cooked meals to thousands of less fortunate people in Liberia since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.
National at Risk Youth Project
The National At-Risk Youth document was drafted in 2021 and endorsed by the cabinet in February 2022 to rehabilitate At-risk youth through technical vocational skills and social circle counseling process, in order to make them self-reliant and productive citizens to promote peace in the society.
It is a long-term project drafted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and other development partners including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports as the lead ministry, Health, Gender Children and Social Protection, Justice, Finance and Development Planning, among others. The Project will provide psycho-social counseling, detoxification, vocational and technical skills training, family reintegration, and make them serviceable to the society to be good citizens.
According the Chairman of the Project’s Steering Committee, Minister Wilson, the National At-Risk Youth National Plan budget is US$13.9 million.
He said US$ 6.5 million of that amount will go towards renovation of the rehabilitation center at the Youth Agriculture Center in Bensonville, while the rest of the money will go toward the rehabilitation of the at-risk youths. Publication of this report is part of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) fellowship program for Senior Students of the University of Liberia and the Peter Quaqua School of Journalism with support from Internews.