Gbarnga — On Friday, September 15, the Youth Transforming Africa Narrative (YOTAN), in collaboration with its partners, initiated a transformative project titled "Empowering the Next Generation of Adolescent Girls through Education" (ENGAGE) in Gbarnga, Bong County.
This year-long program is aimed at providing vital support to vulnerable girls, helping them return to school, and putting an end to early and forced child marriages. The ENGAGE project is an integral part of the Mondu Cooperante initiative, contributing to the global campaign for girls' rights.
The launch of this project brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including youth and women's groups, students from Bong County, national and international organizations, civil society organizations, traditional leaders, elders, and government officials.
During the launch ceremony in Gbarnga, Joe Smith, the Bong County Gender Coordinator and chief launcher of the program, expressed his enthusiasm and hailed the project as a significant opportunity for less privileged girls in the selected counties whose parents are unable to afford their education.
Smith emphasized the importance of educating girls, dispelling the traditional belief that only boys have the right to education. He urged YOTAN to extend the program to all 15 counties in Liberia. Smith also highlighted the pressing issue of early marriage and its negative impact, underscoring the crucial role of educating girls in combating this problem.
He commended YOTAN and Mondu Cooperante for their initiative and the "Girls Hour" radio show component of the project, which will empower girls to discuss topics such as child marriage, domestic violence, and the significance of girls' education.
Smith called on civil society organizations to join the fight for girls' education and against child marriage, thanking YOTAN and Mondu Cooperante for providing hope to adolescents in Liberia.
"As the saying goes when you educate a girl, you educate a nation. The issue of girl's education cannot be over emphasized. The traditional believe that only a boy child have the right to education are still going on in Liberia and I am appealing to YOTAN to extend this program to the fifteen (15) counties in Liberia," he appealed.
Donnish M. Pewee, the Executive Director of YOTAN, revealed that the ENGAGE project will directly impact 120 vulnerable girls in Rural Montserrado, Bong, and Lofa Counties. The project will provide comprehensive support, including full tuition, book bags, copybooks, and the strengthening of girl's retention committees. Additionally, it will feature a series of 36 radio programs titled "Girls Hour" to amplify the voices of girls on issues related to early and forced child marriage.
"The project is meant to educate less fortunate girls seeking secondary education in Bong, Lofa and rural Montserrado counties," Pewee said.
Pewee emphasized the urgency of addressing child marriage collectively and investing more in girls' education. He thanked Mondu Cooperante for sponsoring the program and urged for continued support to end child marriage and empower less privileged girls through education.
The ceremony also included parents whose children are beneficiaries of the program expressing their gratitude towards YOTAN and its partners for enabling their children to enroll in school.
It's worth noting that on January 11, 2019, Chief Zanzan Kawor, Chairman of the National Traditional Council of Chiefs and Elders of Liberia, warned traditional leaders against sanctioning marriages involving underage girls in their communities. Chief Kawor urged strict enforcement of Liberia's Rape Law and called on community members not to compromise statutory rape cases.
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The commitment of traditional leaders to ensuring girls' access to education was documented in a policy document submitted to the National Legislature, following nationwide consultative dialogues on ending teenage pregnancy, supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Child marriage, which includes forced marriage, is a global problem affecting girls across regions, with a higher prevalence in developing countries. UNICEF reports that one in three girls in developing countries is married by the age of 18, with one in nine married before 15. The ENGAGE project aims to address this pressing issue in Liberia and empower girls to pursue their education and fulfill their potential.
