By Patrick N. Tokpah
The United Bong Citizens Association in the Americas (UBCAA) Liberia program in partnership with the
Association of Career Development (ACD) has graduated 41 rural women from its Home
Economic Skills Development Program in Sanoyea District, lower Bong County.
The women graduated after successfully going through four months of intensive tailoring training in
Sanoyea.
Serving as keynote speaker during the graduation ceremony on April 29, 2023 in Sanoyea Town, the County Health Officer, Cynthia Blapooh, cautioned the graduates to continuously practice what they have acquired from the past four months.
“Women, the only way our husbands and other family members will stop looking down on us is when we equally contribute to any financial burden in the home; don’t waste what you have learned; continues to put it in practice,” the Bong CHO cautioned the graduates.
Madam Blapooh told the women and girls to respectfully resist whatever that may want to stand in their paths of achieving greater things, pointing out, “As you leave to survive on what you have learned, I plead with you to respectfully resist the things that may want to stop you from learning and moving forward,” Madam Blappoh averred.
Madam Blapooh further hailed the UBCAA and its partners for their positive role play in the elimination of female dependency syndrome in the home adding, “Today, I want to say to UBCAA and its partners thank you for helping our women to be economically empowered;, this is a milestone that only God can pay you for, thank you plenty!,” Madam Blapooh expressed.
Earlier, UBCAA Liberia’s Strategic Program Manager, Charles Fernandez Kellen, remarked on behalf of president Caimon Joe Kollie and the UBCAA’s Board of Director (s) by thanking the women for their willingness to learn and the courage to complete the program.
“Yes, we can talk to the UBCAA big man, your son from Gbamokollie and Caimon Joe Kollie to talk to some of his friends and other Bong County people in America who have interest in making you able to help your home to help provide opportunities, but when they come, people must be willing to accept them; the UBCAA sees this act on the part of Sanoyea women as people who are willing to change their community,” Mr. Kellen noted.
Additionally, Mr. Kellen said the graduates will be divided into cooperatives and startup package will be provided and distributed amongst them in order to enable the graduates start from somewhere stressing, “We are not just graduating to leave you like that, after this graduation, with the help of our trainers, you will form cooperatives so that we can be able to give you something to start with,” the UBCAA Strategic Planner assured.
A chief of Sanoyea Chiefdom, Noah Giddings, applauded UBCAA and ACD for helping to end the ‘food money war’ in their homes and the communities at large.
“UBCAA, I want to let you and your partners know that you have brought peace to our various homes, thank you for joining the fight to end, the food money war in our home. Thank you for making our women and young girls have a say concerning finance and investment in the home,” Chief Giddings added.
The president of the graduating class, Sarah Flomo, lauded UBCAA and its partners for leaving a positive mark on their existence as citizens of lower Bong County.
Sarah Flomo at the same time thanked the non-profit humanitarian organization for opening a “New door” in their lives when they thought they would never have such opportunities, “we are truly grateful. May God continue to bless the hands that are spending their hard-earned money to make us able to feed our families,” Miss Flomo concluded.
The Executive Director of ACD, Morris Kamara awarded two scholarship slots to the first top two of the graduating class.
Mr. Kamara said the move is part of his association’s drive to make women professionals in cloth making. The two beneficiaries will benefit from ACD’s training free of charge for two years.
The program brought together local, chiefs and women leaders, youth, and children from Sanoyea town and its environs.
