Monrovia – In commemoration of the Day of the African Child, Liberia, on Thursday June 16, 2016, joined nations across Africa to celebrate the historic day.
In Montserrado, students began the day with a parade from the Ministry of Education to the Capitol Building. On their way to the Capitol Building, they made a brief stop at the office of the President.
At the Capitol, the students presented a petition to Bong County Senator Jewel Howard-Taylor.
Serving as the Keynote Speaker, the Director of Corporate Affairs and Public Sector for Bridge Partnership Schools Liberia, Benjamin Sanvee, stressed that education is the key in moving Liberia forward.
“We need to do something radical to revamp the system, we can’t just throw money at the problem,” Sanvee said.
Sanvee who ran for the Senate 2014 added that education was at the core of his campaign.
“When I was running for the senate, I went to schools where dedicated teachers were covering multiple classes without any support, classrooms with no books, and students – Liberia’s future – not even bothering to take their back packs off their backs, because they knew they would not be in the classroom for long,” Sanvee added.
Sanvee said Bridge Partnership Schools for Liberia is part of the national movement to dramatically improve education in Liberia.
“We need to be bold and take risks; that is why I decided to join Bridge Partnership Schools for Liberia. Bridge Partnership Schools is part of the national movement to dramatically improve education in Liberia. To do this we are creating powerful public schools,” Sanvee added.
He said Bridge International will create powerful places of learning that provide parents, pupils, and teachers a stable and supportive environment they can trust.
“Bridge has over 500 schools from here to India. I have seen how Bridge schools worked – I’ve seen teachers prepared, present and given the support they need to make sure children are learning,” Sanvee added.
“Bridge Partnership Schools will create powerful public schools that will make Liberia shine. It is the first step that could make the future for a Liberian child today very different from the Liberian child of yesterday.”
For his part, Global Youth Ambassador, Moses Owen Browne, said the Day of the African Child is meant to encourage young people to speak about issues affecting them.
“On 16th June 1976, Hector Pieterson was shot during a peaceful demonstration in South Africa about the imposition of the use of Afrikaans and English in schools. He was 13 years old. His death signified for us that advocacy pays.
Forty-years later, we mark this day, The Day of the African Child by encouraging young people to step forward and speak up about the issues that affect them,” Ambassador Browne said.
This 2016 celebration is held under the theme, ‘Conflict and Crisis in Africa; Protecting all Children’s Rights.’
Browne called on the government to take concrete steps towards the realization of goal #4 of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030.
“We believe education can change the world. No matter what, education can take us into the future that we long dreamed of. What matters most to us is training and mentoring young people with the right mind, curiosity, hope and resilience so they can be active creators of the future they want,” Browne added.
“As Global Youth Ambassadors and education advocates, we are passionate about education and this unique organization inspires us to continue to support young people, street children, out of school kids to see education as the only way forward from poverty and discrimination”, he furthered.
He said they can no longer sit back and watch millions of children perish in poverty without an education. “We must use this day to re-echo our calls on government around Africa to prioritize education.”
Browne named the Ebola outbreak as a major setback to the development of education, adding that it became one of the first casualties when the country was hit by the outbreak.
“You already know that the Ebola outbreak in Liberia was a great challenge for not just the government, but also national and international organizations responding to the epidemic. Education was one of the forgotten causalities of the Ebola outbreak like in so many emergencies around the world.”
The Global youth Ambassador said Liberia’s existing schools are in a perilous state, adding that more than half of the country’s schools have no water supply and 43 percent lack functioning toilets.
“We must therefore mark the Day of the African child on June 16, 2016 for young people to stand up against this terrible neglect of education, their futures, and the future of Liberia,” Browne added.
