Monrovia – A Pan African non-for-profit, has launched its “I Lift Africa” project in Liberia with a commitment to cast out Africa’s curse of food insecurity.
Launched at the offices of the Center for Media Studies and Peacebuilding on Tuesday, May 25, 2020 which marked African Liberation Day, a representative of the NGO said the this is a pilot project for the entire African continent to wake up to the realities and drawbacks her inability to feed itself forms the basis of its many problems.
According to I LIFT AFRICA’s Chief Executive officer, Jerry Topoe Boweh he is tired of seeing African countries survive on hopes, but never see such hope materialize into something greater in their pockets.
“I am tiredseeing glimpses of freedom but never see that materialize in the act of unity, oneness, for people progress, and pride”, said Boweh, continuing that, “hearing promises of Africa rising but not echoing this rise through our present situation and the future we envisaged is something so sad that must change before it is too late.
I LIFT Africa, he announced at the launch is in collaboration with philanthropies, individuals, partners, organizations, stakeholders, and governments, on the continent and outside to initiate series of programs to end food poverty crises from the continent.
As part of the initiative, he noted that I LIFT Africa intends to secure mass plots of land on which it shall build Charity Farms, a root project that can enable others strands on which holistic activities can be attached.
This will not only provide produce food that will be used for the most vulnerable but will also, according to Boweh help government to provide free school meals in every African country, with the minimum of 10, 000 acres of land.
“We believe this free school meal will encourage learning, participation to advance the potentials of the youth and drive the right energy and impact for a better Africa”
I LIFT AFRICA also plans to use extras from these farms for sale on product selves across the continent to eventually provide sustainable employment through the established process chain mechanisms.
Mr Boweh said the Public Private Partnership with governments across Africa, especially Liberia will help achieve such deliverables by targeting a minimum of 10, 000 acres of land in each country not just for farming alone but also for the provision of training and other skill development strategies.
Speaking on sustainability of the project, he said: “to make this sustainable and avoid continuous request for the same needs will not give us the dignity and progress we seek to have and maintained, therefore we intend to sell a huge proportion of the product produced or manufactured to the markets the outside world”.
Boweh also disclosed that the organization has developed a series of programs that will involve the diaspora communities of African national and enhance the condition of the African Diaspora whilst directly helping the Pan African Diaspora Youth Organization (PADYCO).
“PADYCO will launch chains of groceries shops in various diaspora countries that would directly buy products and other produces on the African continent” he said.
The I LIFT AFRICA official branded his organization as a bold vision step for a better Africa tomorrow which targets a ten year drive focusing on eliminating food poverty on the continent beginning with Liberia.
Due to the inability of the Africans to first feed themselves, he noted millions across the continent are striving and working hard to get somewhere, but yet see themselves in the same circles, “a pattern to waste our precious times, energy, money and resources”.
In his deliberation, Boweh cautioned Liberians to take the lead in seeing themselves weary of being driven like birds that are adapted to swim instead of flying or a fishes adapted to fly instead of swimming, warning further that “Africans should follow her own culture dynamics and dimension, explore communitarianism, collectivism and to advance ourselves and lives of our people now and always”.
The world according to him is looking down on Liberians and many African states because, Africa is retrogressing to deeper insignificance instead of achieving higher heights in positive retrospection.
Mr. Boweh concluded that he was in Liberia to celebrate African Liberation Day to specifically appeal to all Liberians to embrace the idea of closing strangled holes and the pitfalls that constraint its people and the continent of Africa from achieving its potentials as a super continent or as “GOD’s great people who are determined to overcome the stigma cast on Africa as a food poverty continent of the world”.