Monrovia — Patience S. Koteah, the Executive Director for “Taking Actions for Girls” says young people are the driving force behind the developmental goals of any country and as such it’s important that they understand how advocacy can address things that are affecting them.
The Executive Director made the statement when two local advocates groups, the Taking Action for Girls and the March for Justice trained 40 young people in the area of genuine advocates at the ICampus Liberia on Carey Street, central Monrovia.
“If young people are the future leaders or they are supposed to take part in our national development they ought to understand the various approaches to be able to address things that are bothering them,” she said.
Koteah an activist herself has engaged national leaders on several human right issues, especially child rights. She was one of the lead organizers for the much supported “March for Rape” protest in August of last year, a protest where scores of young people for three days took to the streets to call on national leaders to address the many domestic violence that were taking place during the heat of the COVID-19 last year.
“We see a lot of young people in Liberia who are leaders and they are passionate about being activist and advocate. So, having been in the NGO space for a while, I have decided to impact young people. That is, to bring this knowledge that I have acquired back to the young people from community-based youth organizations,” she said.
Koteah added: “In Liberia, most time people think advocacy is all about protest. So, the main reason for this training is that we want young people to have knowledge of activism that goes beyond protest. And so, we provided them what advocacy is and what are some of the different approaches they can use to engage national leaders.”
The 40 participants from community-based organizations according to Koteah, were selected through a proper vetting process after the submission of their applications via email.
Koteah also praised partners both home and abroad for their supports in making the two days training a success.