Monrovia – The Faith Foundation, a Liberian-based charitable organization, is set to begin a three-day leadership seminar from September 2nd to the 4th, and it which will be addressed by international lecturers.
Report by Mae Azango, [email protected]
The Foundation was founded by Mr. Paul Sky Berry and Mrs. Aminata Donia Berry in 2009 with focus to sponsor and empower underprivileged children.
Berry, who is now relatively successful in what he does, tasted poverty as a child and started out as a little boy breaking stones to sell to make earns meet. “I later realized that stone breaking was not a successful business strategy to make a living, but rather modern slavery in the 21st Century. The proof of that realization was during the war period in Liberia, where I could no longer sell stones because I had no buyers, as people stopped building homes due to the war. Consequently, as sales dropped tremendously, my life became even more difficult and challenging. I then started working at a construction site, where I carried bricks and other construction materials on my head to make a living.”
The hardship during his childhood did not kill his dream of becoming a leader.
“Faith Foundation promotes leadership empowerment. We have designed programs for professionals wanting to excel at public and private sector leadership,” said Berry.
According to him, Faith Foundation’s international speakers tailor courses and teach their listeners how to apply the lessons to most occasions they may face.
“Faith Foundation wants to support individuals to become a better leader and not a boss in a memorable way,” Berry added.
Berry, who is an award-winning author, a mentor, a motivational speaker is expected to be one of the lecturers at the leadership conference. As an author, he has dedicated to inspire self-improvement and leadership in others. He has shared his story in many parts of the world on what it takes to build success and become a leader. The conference will also have lecturers from Sierra Leone and Italy.
Mr. Teddy Foday-Musa, the lecturer from neighboring Sierra Leone, told this newspaper upon arrival at the Roberts International Airport, that leadership is about influence and how they (leaders) can get people to follow them. “This is exactly what he I am looking forward to. Once we engage the participants, they will not be the same again,” he said.
Musa, who began his leadership work since 2008, has spoken to many audiences around the world about leadership.
He is currently a lecturer in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the Fourah Bay College.
Also speaking at the upcoming conference will be Mr. Mohammad Sirhan, a Palestinian who lectures in Turin, Italy, on disability and economic and social adjustment. Sirhan is a physically challenged man. He has not allowed disability to be inability.
“I managed to raise a fund for people with disability in Darfur, where I manage to provide the club with wheelchairs, sound system for blind where they can hear the recording books recorded by volunteers. I manage also to provide them with Braille plates,” said Sirhan.