Monrovia – The educational team leader of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Dr. Malcom Phelps, has called on Liberians to hold government officials accountable to ensure the provision of basic social services.
Delivering his keynote address on Sunday, August 14, 2016, at the 13th graduation program of the New Hope Academy in Paynesville, outside Monrovia, Dr. Phelps who served as a proxy of the United States Ambassador to Liberia, Christine Ann Elder, stressed the need for the creation of an environment in which all citizens would have an access to quality education and healthcare.
The USAID official, who is overseeing a large and diverse portfolio of educational activities in the country, disclosed that the United States is committed to increasing access to quality education in Liberia with focus on adolescent girls who are left out of the education system.
According to Dr. Phelps, U.S First Lady, Michelle Obama’s recent visit to Liberia is a symbol of U.S. Government’s commitment to ensuring increased access to quality education for adolescent girls in the country.
Speaking on the theme: “Education in a Fragile State,” Dr. Phelps indicated that the first thing people want after peace and security is educational opportunity.
He underscored the need for members of the Legislature to advocate for education, stressing, “We must engage our lawmakers to provide more educational opportunities for young people in the society.”
He also emphasized the need for families to become strong advocates for education in the Liberian nation.
“Parents have demonstrated such commitment and made sacrifices needed for their children’s successful graduation today. Our challenge to parents is to encourage other parents to support their children so that all children are exposed to learning opportunities,” he added.
He continued that teachers can also be great advocates for education and they need to see that teaching is a profession, like that of a doctor, requiring rigorous preparation, strong content and continuous updating and research. They need to embrace the passion and sacrifice that accompany the profession so that students become successful.
“Our challenge to teachers is to reach out to other teachers who may not have the same opportunities and share knowledge, experience and resources, so that all schools are successful,” he further said.
The USAID-Liberia official at the same time urged Liberian students to advocate for education as well, saying – “You can be your own advocate for education. Celebrate today and begin your hard work again tomorrow. Our challenge to you is whether it is continued education, or work, be focused and do it as best as you can. Remember the saying: Out of its schools, grows the greatness of a nation.”
He described as a positive step, efforts by Liberia to improve its education sector.
Dr. Phelps who is also former Director of Education of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), said U.S is committed to providing opportunity for young people not only in Liberia but other parts of the world to ensure they are not only leaders of tomorrow, but also change agents today.
At the occasion, he quoted US President Barack Obama’s statement in observance of this year’s International Youth Day (Sunday, August 14, ) that through America’s “Young Leaders Initiatives, nearly half a million young people are working together to learn from one another and effect change in their communities.”
“Today, on International Youth Day, we celebrate the potential and power of young people to shape the future of our increasingly interconnected world. With over half of the global population under the age of 30, young generations will find the solutions to some of our toughest global challenges.
“Whether it is ensuring boys and girls have equal access to education, building skills to strengthen youth leadership in civil society, business and academia, or providing a young entrepreneur with the capital and network to grow a start-up, we are investing in the potential of the next generation,” he further quoted President Obama.
Dr. Phelps, on behalf of the U. S. Ambassador applauded the graduates of the New Hope Academy for their educational achievement; and at the same time expressed admiration for the work of the New Hope Academy with the support of the Better future Foundation (BFF), describing the institution’s work and its contribution to cultivating youth leadership and development over the years as “wonderful.”
The Valedictorian of the graduating class, Jee-won M. E. Arkoi, speaking on the Theme: “It Takes Determination!” cautioned her fellow graduates to properly utilize the knowledge they have acquired and to serve as goodwill Ambassadors of the New Hope Academy in the larger society.
“In order to be determined, one has to have a fixed goal and believe in the need to achieve that goal. This is why the education we got from kindergarten to high school is very important on our paths to success,” she said.
She added that in order for them to get knowledge about this modern world in which they live and get insight on the different careers that exist today and they also get to understand the subjects and skills required to pursue specific careers.
“Also from kindergarten to high school, the lessons we study and carry out help us to realize what we are capable of, and what we have interest in. Only then can we set our goals based on our interests and capabilities.”
Ms. Arkoi: “We all have different interests and capabilities, and as such, we are going to take different paths to either success or failure depending on one’s determination. Some may go to Vocational schools or Universities; others may set up businesses or even become inventors.”
“Not everyone will take the path of going to university, getting an Undergraduate degree and finding a well-paying job. Taking a path contrary to this doesn’t necessarily mean that success is out of reach, all you need is to know your goal and be determined to achieve it,” she cautioned the 30 graduates who included 16 girls and 14 boys.
Making remarks at the graduation ceremony, Lofa County Senator Stephen Zargo who is also Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence lauded the graduates for their achievements.
Senator Zargo said the Legislature will work with the relevant educational stakeholders in the country in creating the necessary environment for citizens of not only Lofa County, but other counties to have access to quality education.
He reiterated the assertion of the keynote Speaker at the occasion that education is the bedrock to the development and progress of any nation.
Making remarks and historical overview at the occasion, the Founder and Proprietor of the New Hope Academy, Mr. Augustine Arkoi said the academy is a subsidiary education pilot project of the Better Future Foundation (BFF), and revealed that the academy is the first academic institution established on Peace Island in 1999.
Girls’ education, retention in school, leadership, and issues of sexual reproductive health are at the core of BFF’s programs and services being provided at the New Hope Academy. Currently, the school is witnessing an increment in girls’ enrolment over boys in each of its classrooms, Mr. Arkoi added.
For the 2014/2015 school year, out of New Hope Academy’s total student population of 338, there were 179 girls and 159 boys. Similarly, for the 2015/2016 school year, out of a total school enrolment of 342, there were 173 girls and 169 boys, he told the gathering.
Moreover, as a result of BFF’s intervention programs to accelerate girls’ education, the female students at the academy are demonstrating better academic performance than the boys; with girls being the dux of the school for the past four consecutive years.
According to Mr. Arkoi, New Hope Academy’s facilities are also used by BFF for multipurpose youth leadership and development training programs. Such programs, over the years, produced more than eight of the first generation of the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) Fellows, also known as the Mandela Washington Fellowship from Liberia.
Among the products are (James Mulbah, Fombah Kanneh, and Edith Massa Greene. Others include Ms. Kula Fofana, Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports for Youth Development (MYS); Prince Korvah, Assistant Minister of Labor; Richard Scott, Spokesperson for Liberian Youth on the Millennium Development Goals and now Montserrado County Public Defender; including Kojo Ross, Deputy Director of the Liberia refugees’ repatriation and resettlement Commission (LRRRC), among others.