GBARNGA — At 42, Madam Rachel Paye sits behind her desk in a brightly patterned lappa suit, looking calm and purposeful. Her journey from a computer-science student at the Liberia Opportunity Industrialization Center (LOIC) in 2012 to Manager of the Gbarnga branch is a story of perseverance, community service, and a dedication to helping others access opportunities she once struggled to find.
Paye shares her early years with raw honesty. Growing up in a low-income household, she juggled farm work with school and often lacked basic necessities. "When I could not buy matches, I had to go from farm to farm gathering firewood to cook while working," she said. Those experiences, she notes, gave her a close understanding of the daily struggles faced by many young Liberians -- especially those trying to get an education and develop livelihood skills against the odds.
She entered LOIC determined to shape her future. "I volunteered. I learned. I kept pushing," she said. She advanced from student to teaching assistant, then to job-placement officer, and finally to manager. "Education, skills, and opportunity should be available to everyone," she said. "This is not just a job -- it's a calling. LOIC exists to transform lives."
Expanding Skills Training Opportunities
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Under Paye's leadership, LOIC Gbarnga has become a critical training hub for young people seeking employable skills. This year, enrollment surpassed 300 students, the highest in recent years, following a Bong County-supported scholarship initiative that offsets tuition for trainees in electricity, construction, auto mechanics, home economics, computer science, and cosmetology.
"For the first time, the county provided direct support for young people to learn trades," she said. "Some of those students are already working or using me as a professional reference."
Paye stresses that vocational training is more than just technical instruction; it is a strategy to combat youth idleness, drug abuse, and poverty.
"There's a mentality we must undo, that only university degrees matter. No nation can be built without skilled workers. When young people learn a trade, they become earners, not observers," she said.
Centering Women's Economic Empowerment
LOIC Gbarnga has also become a model for gender-responsive training. Paye has introduced short-term skill programs in soap-making, tailoring, and baking for women who want to earn income but cannot commit to multi-year courses.
She remembers a visit from a woman who already owned a vehicle but didn't have a steady income. "She told me, 'It's not the title my husband will eat.' She wanted a skill to support her family. That moved me."
Currently, LOIC is training 50 women in solar-powered tailoring through a partnership with ECO Energy. The program provides sewing machines and allows women to pay over a two-year period, enabling them to work even in areas without electricity.
"Women with skills support families and help grow the economy," she said. "Empowerment is practical. It starts with what we place in women's hands."
Connecting Empowerment to National Policy
Paye's work highlights Liberia's broader challenge of increasing women's representation. Women hold roughly 11 percent of seats in the national legislature and a similar share of statutory local positions. Regionally, women's leadership in West Africa averages 17 percent, and across sub-Saharan Africa about 26 percent.
Global research, including UNDP studies, shows that societies are more stable, equitable, and prosperous when women participate in decision-making. Paye's leadership at LOIC Gbarnga clearly demonstrates these principles in action.
Reintroducing Agriculture Training
A major effort Paye is leading is the revival of agriculture programs at LOIC. Beginning next academic cycle, agriculture will once again become a mandatory course for all students, restoring an earlier institutional model.
"Every student must learn to grow," she said. The center now observes Agriculture Day on a weekly basis, offering hands-on training in crop farming and animal husbandry. Agricultural units also generate revenue through the production and sale of soap, crops, and livestock -- providing both learning and sustainability.
"You cannot depend entirely on what you do not produce," she said. "Basic agricultural knowledge is a tool for survival."
Many students at LOIC arrive from street life, drug rehabilitation programs, or other difficult circumstances. Paye said transformation takes patience and structure.
"When they first come, you can see their trauma," she said. "But with counseling, routine, and skills, they change. Society begins to accept them again."
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She emphasized that rehabilitation without skills is temporary.
"To be reintegrated, a person must be able to contribute. Skills give dignity," she said.
Despite progress, LOIC continues to navigate limited funding and modest salaries. Paye said the center is working to expand income-generating departments to ensure long-term sustainability.
"We want to be able to fund ourselves," she said. "Even as a non-profit, we need systems that keep programs running when donor funds decrease."
A Personal Journey of Purpose
Born in July 1983, Paye reflects on her past not with regret but motivation. "I told myself I would be the lesson that ends poverty in my family," she said. "Today, I thank God that I am able to help others find their way, too."
"Life is one. Don't waste it. Drugs are not the answer. If your friends are learning skills and transforming their lives, walk that road. I came to LOIC as a student, and today I am manager. If I can do it, you can too."
