Liberia: Inaugural Mary N. Brownell Nuha Awards Conferred Upon Sister Barbara Brillant and Mr. Lancedell Mathews

MONROVIA – In what has been widely hailed by international observers, national statesmen and democratic actors as a watershed moment in Liberia’s post-conflict recovery, a high-level consortium of leading civil society organizations has officially issued a comprehensive national press statement following the successful convocation of the 62nd National Unification Day Dialogue in Monrovia.

The landmark event, held at the packed Auditorium of the Capitol Hill Campus of the University of Liberia(UL), was organized by the Better Future Foundation (BFF) in strategic partnership with the Office for the Establishment for War and Economic Crime Court in Liberia (OWECC-L), Voices Of The Elders (VOTE-Republic of Liberia), the Angie Brooks International Center (ABIC), People Uniting for Peace in Liberia (PUFPIL) and the Consortium of CSO-Partners for Democracy and Good Governance (PdG), Convened under the urgent and highly analytical theme:, “Assessing the Impact of Presidential & Legislative Elections on Peace, National Unification, Reconciliation & Good Governance in Liberia,” the dialogue served as the stage for two historic national milestones: the official presentation of the inaugural Mary N. Brownell National Unification Hero/Heroine Awards (NUHA), and the deployment of a sophisticated, empirical “Dialogue-to-Justice” framework designed to resolve Liberia’s protracted transitional justice impasse.

The ceremony was attended by an array of distinguished religious leaders, national and international dignitaries, providing undeniable state and global validation to the proceedings. Among the high-profile dignitaries present were the Minister of National Defense, Brigadier General Geraldine Janet George; the Assistant Minister for Decentralization at the Ministry of Local Government, J. Alphanso D. Perkins; the President of the University of Liberia, Dr. Layli Maparyan; and the Special Representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Mr. Christian Mukosa, who proxy for the UN Resident Coordinator  to Liberia, Madam Christine Umutoni.

Among the dignitaries, and also serving as proxy of the Speaker of the National Legislature,  Richard Nagbe Koon, for the high level panel discussion, was the Chairman of the House Legislative Committee on Elections/Inauguration, Prof. Thomas Romeo Quioh; the President of the National Rural Women Structure of Liberia, Ma Kebbeh Monger, and the University of Liberia Student Union (ULSU) Representative Mr. Thomas Theophilus Hallie, alongside leaders of the diplomatic corps, traditional leaders,  the Women In Peace Network, students, youth organizations, and high profile religious leaders, including the Rt. Rev. Dr. James B. Sellee, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Liberia, and the Rt. Rev. Bishop Dr. M. Wolo Belleh, of the Harvest Intercontinental Ministries in Liberia/ West Africa, who opened the dialogue with  special prayer for national unification.

To establish a standard of absolute transparency and moral authority, the NUHA Selection Committee—a stellar panel of Liberian intellectuals and moral pillars including former Education Minister Dr. D. Evelyn S. Kandakai, veteran educator Sister Mary Laurene Browne, OSF (President Emerita of Stella Maris Polytechnic University), global health expert Dr. Roseda Marshall, Veteran Journalist Martin N. Browne, Dr. Ye-jeung Nekar Coleman, Medical Practitioner, and legal scholar Cllr. Alvin W. Yelloway, member of the Liberia National Bar Association, with former Foreign Minister  Olubanke King-Akerele serving as advisor—announced that the inaugural honors have been officially conferred upon Sister Barbara Brillant  FMM and Mr. Lancedell Mathews.

The award, recently renamed to immortalize the nonviolent legacy, grassroots dedication, and reconciling spirit of the late Mother Mary N. Brownell, recognizes individuals whose life work has significantly advanced the cause of peace, equity, and national unification in Liberia.

To ensure these selections remain completely beyond any iota of public reproach, the consortium has integrated the full, unassailable institutional justifications underpinning their nominations.

Sister Barbara Brillant, FMM: A Half-Century of Sanctuary, Health and Human Empowerment

The citation for the award presentation to Sister Barbara Brillant, FMM, the Dean of the Mother Patern College of Health Sciences, was read with deep gravitas by former Liberian Foreign Minister  Olubanke King-Akerele, while the physical award was presented on behalf of the committee by Sister Mary Laurene Browne, OSF.

Sister Barbara’s selection stands as a profound testament to forty-nine (49) years of uninterrupted, sacrificial service to the people of Liberia.

As the National Health Coordinator for the Catholic Medical Council and the visionary leader of Mother Patern, her impact transcends the borders of conventional healthcare; she has been the primary architect behind training multiple generations of Liberian doctors, nurses, midwives, laboratory technicians, and public health leaders who form the literal backbone of the nation’s current healthcare infrastructure.

The NUHA Committee’s justification notes that Sister Barbara’s true merit was forged in her refusal to abandon the Liberian people during their most harrowing historic epochs. Throughout the multi-decade civil crisis, when state institutions collapsed and human life was cheapened, she remained on the frontlines, transforming health centers into neutral sanctuaries of mercy, healing, and safety.

Furthermore, during the catastrophic West African Ebola outbreak and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic, when fear and misinformation threatened to tear the social fabric apart, Sister Barbara re-mobilized faith-based and community health networks across all fifteen counties.

Her work is a textbook masterclass in peacebuilding through service—proving that national unification cannot be achieved without preserving human dignity and securing the health of the vulnerable.