LIBERIA: Pres. Sirleaf Roots for Market Women

It is often philosophized, based on a certain unknown background, that ‘If you educate a woman, you educate a nation; but if you educate a man, you educate an individual'.

While this statement may not be absolute, it seems central to President Sirleaf's “Lift Liberia” agenda. And she said so in many words, over the weekend in the US, when asked what development opportunities in Liberia would entail. The Analyst, reports.

President Ellen Johnson told delegates at the just-ended 102nd Year Service Celebration of the International Sorority – Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) – that though Liberia has vast opportunities for US investment, her administration would appreciate immediate focus on three key areas, which address the plight of market women.

The Liberian leader made the request, last Saturday, when she addressed a reception hosted in her honor by AKA at a local hotel in St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America. She spoke on the theme, “Development Opportunities in Liberia”.

“You've asked me to talk briefly about “Development Opportunities in Liberia.” Let me say, first off, that Liberia is a country blessed with many resources: with mineral, agriculture, forestry and marine resources, and now we are also exploring for oil off our shores,” she said, praising and thanking the sorority's international president Barbara McKinze for spearheading ‘a worthy cause in Liberia'.

She said even though US companies were moving beyond the traditional realm of the extractive industries and engaging in agriculture, oil exploration, hotel, and even housing construction, there remained an untapped sector, which borders on the basic development needs of the most vulnerable section of society – women and children.

She said the three key areas of the untapped sector related to education, learning, and training for the women of Liberia, who were the key breadwinners at the time in the nation's history when unemployment robbed the traditional breadwinners, men, of their place in the family hierarchy.

“You can be a partner in this effort. You can join us in empowering and enhancing the role of women and girls through adult literacy programs, the construction of community libraries for children, and the training of women to make quality products for the US markets,” she said.

She said there were many ways affluent members of the mainly black women sorority could form stronger solidarity and partnership with the government of Liberia in effecting changes in the lives of millions of unfortunate women and girls.

For instance, she said, they could provide support for the Sirleaf Market Women's Fund, the adult literacy program aspect of which the sorority's international president launched last year.

She noted that adult literacy, though often overlooked in national development planning in favor of more pressing national demands, was crucial to any assistance to market women in Liberia.

“My reason for highlighting this area is that while I believe the literacy program to be valuable, a six-month program is not enough for any real comprehension, especially for women who have never entered a classroom,” she said.

According to her, the focus of any assistance to the program would be to go beyond the short-term courses and provide at least six years of education, leading to the acquisition of complete elementary education.

“A sixth-grade, primary school education might seem inconsequential to those with advanced and post-graduate degrees, but in my Liberia, where the illiteracy rate is particularly high among females, a level of education beyond mere literacy will enable women and girls to better function in a 21st century world,” she emphasized.

The Liberian chief executive who said her story to success resonated with and inspired women everywhere to seek equality with their male counterparts, noted that the expanded adult literacy project for women would require more resources.

Outstanding amongst these requirements, she told the delegates whom she referred to as “sorors”, were funding for teachers, training materials, training workshops, mini-generators and/or solar panels to light the classrooms at night.

“Such a project would be undertaken in collaboration with our Education Ministry, which has established a National Council for Adult and Non-formal Education,” she said, noting further that it would make immense differences in the lives of women and girls in Liberia.

As the parents take advantage of the new expanded adult literacy program, she said, it would be well thought to provide community libraries for Liberia's 1.6 million children, most of who were already in school or were of school-going age.

President Sirleaf said it was unimaginable to execute the “Lift Liberia” program when the education system of the country and the learning environment were such that the children could not supplement the knowledge discovered through the covers of books with the use of computer and the Internet to explore the outside world.

She said the community library projects would be stepping-stones for the nation's long-term goal of establishing national public libraries.

“If we can capture, at an early age, the imaginations of children and instill in them a love of books, the day will come when we will no longer need to appeal to you, Sorors, to support expanded adult literacy programs in Liberia,” she said.

Expanded education for market women aside, she said, the third area of immediate investment need for the vulnerable section of society was the training of women to benefit from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a duty-free privilege opportunity that the US extended Liberia in 2008 to help expand Liberia's offshore earnings.

Emphasizing that only US $3,000, of the total US $78 million export revenue the nation earned in 2009 came from the AGOA opportunity, President Sirleaf said training Liberian women to produce quality goods would make the required difference.

She said with the nation engaged largely in the extractive industry – mining and logging – it would be difficult to take advantage of the trade opportunity and that therefore the training program for creative art would break new grounds.

Not only would it be a groundbreaker, she said, it would also open lucrative investment opportunities for US businesses.

“This means that an investor can come to our country, set up a business to train young women in making clothes, and then sell the clothes to the U.S. market at prices that are competitive or even lower than those made in another country that does not enjoy AGOA benefits,” she said.

She then prodded the “sorors” to make the conscious decision to invest in the future of Liberia by sharing their experiences and know-how with the women of Liberia.

“This can be through training, setting up vocational schools, or providing equipment. You may even want to consider investment opportunities in Liberia,” she emphasized. “In short, we seek AKA's help to train our women in a way that their goods gain market access, thereby making AGOA work for Liberia.”

Meanwhile President Sirleaf, who received the fraternity's prestigious International Service Award last Sunday, has disclosed that plans have been concluded for the construction of a multipurpose and multi-faceted market building for residents of the Paynesville Red-Light Community.

The building, which would be constructed on the former Omega Tower site, the President said, was being sponsored by AKA.

She said AKA had pledged US $500,000 in 2008 to construct ten market buildings in Liberia, but that it has been concluded with UNDP and other partners that the amount be used to construct the ultra-modern Omega Market.

“The Omega Project came about as a result of the massive congestion around the area known as ‘Red Light',” she recalled.

When completed, she said, the Omega Market would provide a learning environment for thousands of pre-school children, health facilities, cold storage to preserve perishable goods, a bank, a police depot, and ample parking for all types of vehicles.

“Omega will create opportunities for the women to learn, thereby providing them with added skills through business training,” she said.