PHOTO: Helen Momoh, Chief Executive Officer, Book Before Boys
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Book Before Boys is encouraging young girls in Liberia to embrace learning and training opportunities, in order to grow and reach out to their mentors and achieve their reality of their dreams.
Miss Helen Momoh urged the young girls to pursue knowledge with relentless passion and understand that learning is lifelong journey.
Miss Momoh made the statements when she delivered the keynote speech at the program marking the fifth commencement convocation of the Go Girl Lead Mentorship program organized by the Book Before Boys held in Monrovia during the weekend.
Speaking on the theme: “Importance of Female Leadership and An Important Resource,” Miss Momoh said: “Dream big, stay resilient and believe in your potential because the future depends on us; step forward with courage and conviction, knowing that you have a community of supporters who believe in you.”
A cross session of the Queen of Change at the 5th graduation program
She urged them to seize the opportunity to learn, grow, and lead with integrity, empathy and a vision for a better Liberia.
In remarks, the Vice President for Institutional Development and Planning at the University of Liberia, Associate Professor Weade Koba Boley, cautioned the young girls to look within themselves that nothing their dreams come to reality.
According to her, education may not be the key to everything; but, it is the beginning for lot of things, open many doors to opportunities you can never guess.
Being a girl is challenging venture,” Professor Boley said that “the girls against peer pressure and challenges; we all were girls and we know the temptations. “ “We know the peer influence; we know the things that stop you dreams on your way; remember that you have mentored and taught; Make sure there are book before boys.”
“Whether you in climatic change or the environmental field , let’s tell our compatriots that we do not drop dirt everywhere because the clean air we want to breath and the environment we want to see depends on us.”
“Let’s put our lives under new management; let’s put Liberia under new management but not political management instead that we should know that government is the people for the people and of the people.”
For his part, the Executive Director of the Book Before Boys, Mustapha Sherman, encouraged the British and the United States Embassies to continue to support programs aimed at providing training for girls in the country.
According to him, the program needs funding and support of international partners because the Book Before Boys wants to extend its program in the 15 sub political sub-divisions in the country.
The girls were trained in public speaking, leadership, feminism, climate change creative writing planning political campaign among many others.
At the end of the program, over 95 students were awarded certificates for successfully completing the requirements and modules of the institution.
The program, was graced by a large number of people including students, youth and women groups, members of the diplomatic corps, school and college administrators, among many others.