MONROVIA – The Executive Director of the US-based non-governmental organization called Youth Action International Dr. Kimmie Weeks has announced that his organization has begun the distribution of 5,000 pairs of brand-new shoes to girls across the country.
Making the revelation at his Duport Road office, Dr. Weeks said that the shoes were being distributed as part of his organizations efforts to ensure that girls are not hindered from attending school because of the lack of shoes. He noted that a recent survey of school aged children in Liberia found that a large number of girls were not attending school simply because they could not afford to meet the dress code requirement which includes wearing a black pair of shoes.
The first batch of 1,000 pairs of shoes were donated to 10 organizations working directly with girls. The organizations will distribute to their various communities and beneficiaries. Mrs. Ne-Suah Beyan-Livinstone Founder and Director of REACH Liberia was one of the ten organizations receiving the shoes. She thanked the organization for its gesture stating that the shoes would have a big impact on the girls receiving them. “We bless God for this wonderful partnership,” Mrs. Lingstone posted on social media along with photos of the distribution of shoes to 175 girls.
Dr. Weeks noted that while some of the shoes were being distributed to urban Montserrado, a vast majority would distributed to rural Montserrado and rural Liberia. “Our goal is to ensure that these shoes reach the populations that really need it and so we will do most of the distributions in the rural where many girls do not have a single pair of shoes to go to school,’
Youth Action International was established by Kimmie Weeks in 2006. The organization has a mission to provide education, health care and economic empowerment for children and young people. Since its establishment, the organization has impacted more then 200,000 people in six post war African countries and currently has operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone. More information on Youth Action International can be found online at www.peaceforkids.org.