Margibi- United States First Lady, Michelle Obama says her visit to Liberia is to give her family an insight into the work being done by Peace Corps volunteer in the country and also see how Liberian girls are doing with education.
“I decided to travel to Liberia along with my mom and two daughters to come and see you working with the Peace Corps volunteers, to change the idea that says girls are not good enough,” she said. “This is why this GLOW program is so important, you are worthy of education because you are going to be mothers, so it is important so that you would educate your own children.”
Speaking to girls of the ‘Girls Leading Our World’ (GLOW) program in Kakata, Margibi County, Mrs. Obama said she has seen over 62 million girls around the world that are not in school and it is affecting the entire world. Her visit, she says, is to admonish the young girls of Liberia to stay in school and remain focus.
“So, I sat and thought to myself that how can we allow over 62 million girls around the world not be in school when we have all of the resources in the US but the girls do not want to go to school. I urge you to keep fighting and stay in school to achieve your goal and be able to help other girls just like you tomorrow,” she said
She urged the teenage girls in the GLOW program to speak about things affecting them and not feel shy as she made the trip to hear from them.
“I have heard about you and the challenges you have faced and are still facing. And I am here to learn from you about sharing your experiences. So speak out and do not be shy—say what you feel—I have come to hear from you. So, I have traveled with my mother and two daughters because this is a girl’s mission, so we left Barack behind, because he is a boy and this is all about girl’s power. To the volunteer, welcome back home, because I know you are happy to be back in Liberia, I am so proud of you all”, the First Lady said.
The girls spoke about things they have learnt from the GLOW program which included: the quality of a good leader, having self-confidence, being patient minded, kind and compassionate, role model, low self-esteem and the need to listen.
The US First Lady, along with her mother and two daughters, landed on RIA Monday afternoon following a heavy down pour of rain. The first lady was greeted by lawmakers, government officials and members of the Traditional Council of Liberia.
First Lady Obama met President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at a brief visit at the RS Caulfield Public School in Unification Town in Unification Town to speak to girls and hear from them about their plight.
Some girls speaking in the round table with President Sirleaf and First Lady Obama said they have challenges including the lack of science labs to further their studies and teenage pregnancy which they said has led many of their friends dropping off from school.
Also speaking the Peace Corps World Wide Director, Mrs. Carrie Hastler Radlett thanked the Liberian community for opening their arms and accepting back the Peace Corps Volunteers who fled the Ebola crisis.
“Thanks for opening up your homes and houses to us since we returned. We feel at home whenever we are here. And to the girls, you all are emerging leaders and we are touched by your eagerness to learn. We know when you are educated; you will help your families, communities and country”, She said.
According to first lady Obama’s office, Peace Corps has been a great partner to the office of the first lady.
“As the first lady said, we have over 62 million girls who are out of school. We are trying to create this program in order to get more girls into school and we also training teachers to provide the best curriculum to be able to teach the children for tomorrow.”
GLOW began in Romania in 1995, with the purpose of encouraging young women to become active citizens by building their self-esteem and confidence.
USAID Makes New Commitments
Meanwhile, the USAID has announced dedication of up to $27 million in funding to directly support Let Girls Learn and the Peace Corps is expected to expand Let Girls Learn Liberia with 51 new Peace Corps Trainees and 23 Peace Corps Response Volunteers
The U.S. Government has also announced new programming in Liberia to help address the barriers that prevent girls from attaining an education. Through these programs, the U.S. Government hopes to help improve the future for adolescent girls in Liberia. The new commitments announced today build on more than $20 million in existing contributions made by a variety of organizations to the Let Girls Learn initiative and announced by the First Lady earlier this month as part of the United State of Women Summit.
Some of the new programs include new Accelerated Quality Education (AQE) Activity focusing on increasing enrollment and safe access to education. It will include: training teachers, administrators and policymakers to prevent gender-based violence (GBV); assisting Parent Teacher Associations to reduce GBV; ensuring the policies, systems, and resources are available to the Liberian Ministry of Education to address school-related GBV; and designing curricula to ensure gender-sensitive content.
The new program will also lead to increased in Support for Out-of-School Girls and Youth over the next five years. USAID is expected to expand its work to provide out-of-school adolescent girls and other youth with improved access to basic education and training in work readiness, technical skills and leadership development.
As part of the initiative USAID will advance a public-private partnership to support Liberia’s Ministry of Education and other partners in expanding the Liberia School for the Blind to include a separate dormitory and Water and Sanitation for Health (WASH) facility for adolescent girls.
Mae Azango [email protected]