By Lincoln G. Peters
The Eminent Women of the Women Situation Room (WSR) over the weekend ended eighteen months of training activities for women & youths in Montserrado County.
The activities were implemented by the Angie Brooks International Center for Women’s Empowerment Leadership Development International Peace and Security, in partnership with ZOA Liberia with support from the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund.
The initiative is a flagship program of the WSR under the Project Sustainable and Inclusive Peace in Liberia through promoting women’s leadership and participation in civic and political life and their strengthened role in conflict resolution.
The program was held on Friday, 19 August 2022 in the Cecil Dennis Auditorium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It brought together hundreds of women from 10 communities within rural and urban Montserrado County, including Westpoint, New Kru Town, Todee, Bentol City, Clara Town, and King Gray, among others.
In remarks, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Angie Brooks International, Amb. Olubanke King -Akerele encouraged Liberians to exercise patriotism and hold together for the betterment of the country.
She mentioned that Liberians should get involved with initiatives that will buttress the efforts of the government.
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Furthermore, Amb. King -Akerele expressed the need for civic education to be taught in Liberian schools to prepare the citizens to know their roles and responsibilities for the growth and development of the country.
The former Foreign Minister suggested that every Liberian has a role to play in the development of the country, noting that the incorporation of civic education is paramount.
For her part, Angie Brooks International Center (ABIC) Establishment Coordinator Cllr. Yvette Chesson-Wureh urged the women to use the knowledge acquired from the training to keep talking to their children about the danger of violence.
She said women are accountable to maintain the peace of the country, motivating them to ensure the peace of the country is sustained.
“You need the country, the country does not need you”, Cllr. Chesson-Wureh told the women.
She further told them to be ambassadors of peace within their respective communities, adding that ABIC and its partners will continue the program with the women who are leading the way in protecting the peace of the country.
John Dennis, representing the United Nations Peacebuilding Office of the Resident Coordinator praised the ABIC and ZOA Liberia for implementing sustainable and inclusive peace in Liberia through promoting women’s leadership and participation in civic and political life.
Mr. Dennis said with the level of transparency and accountability exercised by ABIC and ZOA Liberia in implementing the project, the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund office will continue to support it.
He disclosed that the new fund will focus on elections and a peaceful environment.
Also remarking at the event, ZOA Country Director Jaap Van Kranenburg elaborated that the project was intended to celebrate women empowerment.
“I think this is what we are trying to achieve in this project. The objective of the project is to lift women up to their rightful place in society,” he stressed. –Edited by Winston W. Parley
