One of Liberia’s youth education activists Nathan N. Gbelee has reached the top 30 finalists of the Young Africans Leaders Award (YALA) in its Education Star Category.
Nathan is Founder and Executive Director of the Sustainable Educational Initiative of Liberia or SEIL, a non-governmental, non-political and non-for-profit organization with exclusive focus on building Liberia through sustainable education for human resource development and capacity building.
According to organizers of the Young African Leadership Awards, the young Liberian made it to the top 30 finalist stage of the 2nd edition of the most prestigious award for youths making tremendous impact in Africa.
The EDUCATION STAR category was attained after a rigorous process of nomination and presentation of substantial pieces of evidence of works done in country, and across Africa in education, earmarking the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-4, Quality Education) and the Agenda 2063 of the African Union with Liberian Nathan N. Gbelee and 29 youths from other African countries qualifying to the top 30 finalists.
YALA is the most prestigious award program that celebrates the best of the best in Sustainable Development Goals & Agenda 2063 of the African Union.
“The awards is an annual event organized by the AFRICAN YOUTH ARCHITECTS, a youth driven organization improving Africa through education and entrepreneurship with the aim of giving young people a voice and empowering them to contribute to the development of strategies that give young people everywhere a real opportunity to become independent and responsible global citizens”, says YALA.
It adds that the goal is to make more exceptional young leaders and their organizations capable of delivering their mandates to youths in all sectors.
Speaking in Monrovia over the weekend, Nathan Gbelee expressed appreciation to his team members for their tireless effort in making sure Liberia education system is revamped and put par with other African countries and the world at large.
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He noted that before founding SEIL, the thought had never crossed his mind one day of being among global finalists, noting that with no funding, his organization was able to impact many high school students across the country thru career counseling, educational awareness and advocacy.
For his part, S. Aaron Weah Weah, III Electoral Reform Program Manager at USAID Liberia Accountability and Voice Initiative ( LAVI) called on Liberians to support Nathan bring the prestigious award to Liberia.
“The next stage is the voting process before the interview which is the final stage; at such, the need to support a young Liberian promoting mama Liberia through his many contributions to Liberia in the educational sector that cannot be overemphasized, for the more votes he gets, the better his chances are of advancing to the final stage; which is the interview with the panel”, Mr. Weah appealed.
This year’s ceremony is expected to be held in Rabat, Morroco with the focus of recognizing the significant contributions young people make in the world as well as encourage them to strive for the best and continue doing what they love and enjoy.
By Ben P. Wesee–Editing by Jonathan Browne
