The Director of the Peter Sayclon Orphanage home in Margibi County, the Reverend Mother Martha Sayclon, is calling on the Government of Liberia and her international partners to empower Liberian youth. She said the youth of Liberia can become future leaders only if government invests in their education to make them effective and efficient in leadership. According to the Liberia News Agency, Mother Martha Sayclon made the call recently at the Kakata City Hall when she delivered the keynote address at the 2nd graduation program of the Economic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and young women (EPAG).

The program is a three-year pilot project aimed at increasing employment and income among 2,500 young Liberian women between ages 16 and 27. It is being implemented through the Ministry of Gender and Development with funding from the Nike Foundation and the Government of Denmark under the administration of the World Bank.

The EPAG project with strong support from President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the first of its kind under the World Bank's Global Adolescent Girls initiative with a team of service providers and consultants.

Speaking on the topic: "After Skills Training, What Next?" Mother Sayclon urged members of the graduating class not to bury the knowledge acquired, but begin to immediately utilize them for the betterment of themselves and the country.

Earlier, the Deputy Gender Minister for Planning and Administration, Andrew Tehmeh, who deputized for Minister Julia Duncan Cassel, commended the EPAG project administrators and service providers for their hard work and dedication to ensuring the overall success of the training program.

The Deputy Minister also congratulated the graduates and urged them to serve as torchbearers of the EPAG project. Over 220 adolescent girls received basic skills in business management, professional driving, and hospitality, among others.