Mr. Alexander B. Cummings has empathized with hundreds of ghetto youths, detesting their deplorable living conditions, and assuring them of urgent government attention for rehabilitation and transformation, when elected President, come October 10.
Mr. Cummings said he was horrified by the cruel neglect of thousands of youths trapped in various ghettos and hooked on dangerous drugs, with no hope for rehabilitation and a better future.
Mr. Cummings, Standard Bearer of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), made the assertions when he visited several ghettos in Monrovia including the 5th Street, Moscow, and Pressure ghettos. He shared messages of hope for relief to the residents.
With combined youth of nearly 400 including girls, spokespersons for ghettos visited narrated their stories of the difficult street life, their relentless hope for rescue and their desperate need for shelter to lay their heads, especially during the rainy seasons.
A 5th Street Ghetto spokesperson said he was 12 years old when he joined the street life and at 47 years now, he along with others are tired, feel hopeless, and are in dire need of redemption for a better life and future.
The youths expressed gratitude for the visit by the CPP Standard Bearer and his promises of hope as well as thanked him for his financial assistance given them over time. They specifically plead for durable and lasting solutions to their plight which resulted out of their personal choices.
The CPP Standard Bearer vowed to prioritize the welfare and rehabilitation of thousands of youths and help them acquire needed skills, noting that, it was a shame for a huge population of young people to be neglected and living in such deplorable conditions without hope of any relief or sustainable program by government.
Mr. Cummings said, under his administration, there will be a unit focused directly and exclusively on At-Risk Youths that will ensure this group of disadvantaged young people are prioritized and get the attention they need. Some key things that will be done on an institutional level are Providing rehabilitation services and subsequently rehabilitation homes in all fifteen counties that will incorporate counseling, skills training, education, and employment. He mentioned that the National Youth Service program will also include at-risk youths.
