MONROVIA: Ready for Dedication, First Lady, Clar Marie Weah, will on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, officially dedicate a newly constructed modern Vocational Training Center for use by the Army Wives Association, in the Edward Binyah Kesselly Military Barracks in Schiefflin, Margibi County.
President George Manneh Weah, in his state of the nation address in January this year, praised Mrs. Weah’s numerous humanitarian initiatives targeting less fortunate Liberians and announced that the army wives vocational training center was completed and ready for dedication.
The initiative is part of the First Lady’s flagship program- “She’s You Movement”- which aims at improving the lives of women and girls for a better and prosperous Liberia.
Valued at over US$100,000, the facility comprises the main training building with state-of-the-art classrooms, an office building, a meeting hall, and a reservoir among others.
In fulfilment of her promise to not only build a modern facility but also help to equip it, Mrs. Weah has provided several essential equipment including brand new refrigerator, freezer, 15kva generator, an electric oven and several chairs among others.
The Liberian First Lady, who continues to focus on improving the lives of less fortunate Liberians through various programs since assuming the “Mother of the Nation” role, has at the top of her priorities the empowerment of women and girls.
Hence, the new vocational training center demonstrates her commitment to advocating for the overall advancement of women and girls while at the same time undertaking impactful projects that would build their capacity, confidence, and hope in leading independent lives and meaningfully contributing to the national development.
Once dedicated, the vocational training center would provide a conducive environment and wider space for hundreds of women and girls in that part of the country to acquire life skills, enabling them to make a decent living and become less vulnerable to various forms of violence.
First Lady Weah initiated the project following her visit at the EBK Barracks in February 2020 in response to a request by the Army Wives Association, on grounds that the lack of a facility to conduct smooth teaching and learning of vocational skills under their self-help training program was a major challenge.
Mrs. Weah had gone to interact with the army wives to appreciate the support to their respective spouses, soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia, and acquaint herself with the general challenges affecting the women and girls living on the barracks.
The Association has been using the public-school building in the barracks to conduct daily classes but not until the academic school session lets out late in the afternoon, a situation which is said to be strenuous and inconvenient for the women and girls wanting to acquire vocational skills.
The pending program is expected to bring together government officials, international partners, and a host of women and girls among others.
