The office of Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor over the weekend launched the Roseline K. Toweh Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) hub in Monrovia.
VP Taylor's office launched the initiative in collaboration with STEM Power Africa, Young Women Christian Association (YWCA), and the Jewel Starfish Foundation for changing lives and making a difference in one girl at a time.
The Roseline K. Toweh STEM hub is named in honor of a brilliant, fearless, and passionate female advocate.
Roseline worked tirelessly to ensure that women and girls are empowered and trained and their rights are respected and protected from all and every form of sexual gender-based violence, as well as domestic violence and traditional stigmatization.
The program which was held at the YWCA in Congo Town Friday, 26 May 2023 was graced by several diplomatic partners, local academia, and beneficiaries of the Jewel Starfish Foundation.
At the Roseline K. Toweh hub, students, most especially females, are going to be trained, empowered, and capacitated in Information Technology (ICT) and other aspects of computer sciences and networking.
The Roseline K. Toweh hub is fully furnished and equipped with several computers and other networking devices installed by a team of ICT professionals from Ethiopia, STEM Power Africa, and other local ICT technicians, ready for business to the public.
Launching the Roseline K. Toweh STEM hub, Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor expressed excitement and joy to the STEM Power Foundation and every collaborator for the support.
She thanked them for their patience and for ensuring that the digital literacy gap is mitigated, especially for females.
"We want to thank the STEM Power family for looking at Liberia," said Madam Howard-Taylor.
"Many people graduate from university, and high school but don't even know what [a] computer looks like," she said further.
"I am excited that we are the first in West Africa to be establishing this today for our future generations, especially females," VP Taylor noted.
She further explained that they are open to various universities and high schools for partnership, where young people, especially females, can acquire practical skills in information technology and other networking courses.
For his part, STEM Power Africa Chief Executive Officer Mr. Edwin Kumfa said they are excited to be implementing the project in Liberia to give Liberian youth the needed skills for the job market.
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"I am happy to be at this program implementing this magnificent project to empower ... the young in ICT. We are STEM Power Africa, we believe that every child is a scientist in waiting that has solutions to problems when trained," said Kumfa.
He noted that their vision is to see Africa have the knowledge and skills to compete.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries of the Jewel Starfish Foundation, Ms. Cecelia B. Freeman, a United States scholarship recipient, expressed excitement for the many empowerments and skills opportunities that the US continues to provide for them.
"We are excited [about] this opportunity. For and on behalf of the beneficiaries of the Jewel Starfish Foundation, we want to say a big thank you to our Mother, VP Taylor, and her partners for the job well done," said Freeman.
"There are many of us who don't even know how to boot a computer, but we are grateful that we have the means to access them free of charge."
