Monrovia – The all-powerful Women in Peace Building Network (WIPNET) through its parent organization, the West African Network in Peace Building (WANEP) signed a memorandum of understanding over the weekend with Alfalit Liberia to intensify the fight against illiteracy common to women.
Both nonprofit organizations agreed in the MOU to collaborate through fundraising and community mobilization for a literacy-for-all campaign in Liberia. They intend to consolidate strengths of both institutions to support literacy in both rural and urban communities of Liberia.
WANEP’s Program Manager and Acting National Network Coordinator Philip Kollie and the Acting Executive Director of Alfalit Liberia, Rev. Jerome Williams affixed their signatures on the agreement on Saturday, September 14 in the Conference room of Alfalit in the presence of some members of the WIPNET women and executives of Alfalit Liberia.
The agreement also expresses Alfalit’s commitment to keep-up the biannual ration distributions for the grassroots women who advocate for peace and the rights of women and children in Liberia. Each year, since 2015 Alfalit Liberia supported by Alfalit International supply food and personal hygienic materials to WIPNET in Montserrado and other counties of Liberia.
As part of the partnership, Alfalit Liberia has a literacy component for the WIPNET women who are mostly stationed at the foot of the James Spring Payne Airfield. As the women gather to pray weekdays, they also make time for literacy education that has enabled most of the elderly women to read and write basic safety tips and health information. The both organizations intend to expand on the literacy programs for other branches of WIPNET in the counties.
Women make up at least 85% percent of the services including literacy and job skills that Alfalit Liberia offers communities of Liberia, said Rev. Jerome Williams. “We envision increasing local collaborations that enable Liberians taking on the fight of literacy with exceptional speed. In order to achieve such, we have identified WIPNET as a trailblazer on which we can all rally local support to boost a robust literacy campaign’, Jerome Williams concluded.
Mr. Kollie who signed for WINPET assured Alfalit that WIPNET is excited about documenting the relationship between the both organizations, and committed his organization to doing its part to in the interest of Liberian women. He promised to expose the agreement to all of the WIPNET local network for inclusive participation.
WIPNET is renowned and astute in its public sit-in actions, demanding national solutions and conflict resolutions in the interest of peace in Liberia. Dated far back as the days of war in Liberia, WIPNET both at home and abroad staged peaceful protests, demanding peace to return to Liberia. Whereas Alfalit Liberia is noted for its effective literacy and adult capacity development programs that have been tested in all 15 counties of Liberia. It’s teaching approach and unique test books have brought thousands of Liberians from zero literacy to functional literacy that impacts their livelihood.
