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Impart Liberia presents you greetings joined with appreciations over its incorporation into the United Religion Initiatives URI’s Cooperative Circles. Such a step gives Impart Liberia the privilege to serve on a larger peace building platform which will eventually amplify its works at home and abroad.
Bearing in mind its responsibilities as a Cooperative Circle Member, Impart Liberia is pleased to present to the United Religion Initiatives an Activity Report covering its works between January and February 2016.
This Activity Report presents the programs of all peace-building projects of Impart Liberia namely: iRespect Project, ‘I Learn to Earn’ and the Peace Quizzing Tournament. These projects address the challenges of peace, security and development by considering mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, among people of different backgrounds, skills training and employment for the most vulnerable groups and clean competition that would inspire change of mind, heart and thoughts. Recommendations and expected programs area also outlined in this report.
Once again, thanks for lifting the works of Impart Liberia on a wider stage.
Regards,
Yours truly,
Augustine K. Kou
Founder and Executive Director
iRespect Club
Project overview
iRespect promotes mutual respect among people of different backgrounds: it demonstrates the value of tolerance and helps settle disputes among students. Currently, iRespect is present in 4 high schools within Electoral District 13 of Montserrado and 1 high school in the City of Paynesville. Most times political and social arguments are imported into various learning environments. These arguments may sometimes leave mixed reactions between students or among student cliques breeding and sustaining hate. This is where iRespect comes in with its Palaver Management Team to investigate, build and maintain peace among these groups. Within the iRespect Club, members are placed on different teams, namely Palaver Management Team, Peace Sport Team and Peace Project Team in order the effectively run the affairs of the club.
List of schools with iRespect Clubs present
- St. Michael Catholic High School
- Jimmy Jolocon High School
- Henri Wilmot Dennis High School
- Freeway Baptist High School
- Effort Baptist High School
iRespect Club Activity Report
For the year 2016, iRespect Clubs had been adjusting from the Christmas, New Year and First Semester Breaks. Yet consultations and Club meetings had been going on. At the Effort Baptist High School and Jimmy Jolocon High School, iRespect Club had been meeting to discuss challenges faced and way forward. Yet still before those breaks all iRespect Clubs had taken peace messages to students in various styles.
At the Effort Baptist High school, members of the iRespect Club hosted a Back to School Peace Jamboree. At this peace Jamboree, students from various high schools used sports and other student games as a means to magnify the Message of Peace.
iRespect Programs covering the months March & April
The iRespect Club is set to be present in the following institutions:
- St. Philips Ecumenical High School
- St. Peter High School
- Noah’s Ark High School
- Bishop Tue High School
After setting up these clubs, a Peace-Building Workshop will be organized for all iRespect Clubs. At this workshop club members will receive peace-building training.
I Learn to Earn Activity Report
Gender disparities, all forms of sexual gender-based violence against women and youth unemployment are challenges of peace, security and employment. ‘I Learn to Earn’ is initiated to address these challenges through the provision of free skills training and employment from these skills training. The first phase of the ‘I Learn Earn’ project offered free tailoring training for 25 survivors of all forms of sexual gender-based violence. These girls and women are between the ages of 14yrs to 40 years. Their stories either center on teen parenthood, single parenthood, commercial sex workers and or drug abuse and crime. At the end of the first phase training one tailor shop was constructed with one female employed while three others volunteer. There are plans still to construct tailor shops in communities with higher proportion of defenseless women. Another round of the project is scheduled to begin soon.
‘I Learn to Earn’ is embedded with several training programs to address the issues of vulnerability facing women and youth employment. It has plans for the ‘I Learn to Earn’ Junior Community College for Vulnerable Women. Opening this college would also open up more training programs, Driving, Cosmetology, Carpentry and Home Economics.
Community Quizzing Tournament Activity Report
Some forms of violence in Liberia have a strong connection to the abuse of harmful substances. Youth of school-going ages are serious partakers into violence and crime perpetrated overtime. All of the times, their actions are blamed on government inability to provide an environment for jobs and good education. Since these are vulnerable youth, politicians would most times use them as instrument to push their (politicians) cause. Like Liberia is edging to 2017 elections, these young people are on the standby to execute any plans projected. Impart Liberia has looked far into future happenings considering especially the economic situations and see the possibility of pre and post electoral violence. This is why Impart Liberia has staged the Iron Factory Community Quizzing Tournament under the Theme: Silencing Violence, Equipping Brain, Pen and Book.
At the moment, the tournament is in it knockout stage. There were 12 teams and 120 players and staff from three communities commencing the tournament on February 20. Each game features a discourse on how to avoid violence and take on peace initiatives. As the tournament draws to a close on March 15, the final is expected to host former Minister of Foreign Affair of the Republic of Liberia, Mr. Augustine Ngafuan. At this final he will give a lecture on the theme of the tournament.
Next Program
National Youth and Student Summit on Peace
Proposed Date: April 2016
Summit Background
There is a heated argument in and around every corner of Liberia. Some political parties have already announced their candidate as a winner of the 2017 Presidential Elections and threaten the security of Liberia if results go opposite. In just five months two mysterious deaths of prominent individuals have reveal anger and hate against the government. Citizens are more than ever before voicing their anger against government. These are indicators of conflicts.
Peace summits and workshops would be our engagement from now until after elections. Impart Liberia wants to use this platform to invite stakeholders, youth and students as well a youth and student groups to a board of commitment to national peace and security as we go to elections.
Target population: Students, youth, youth and student organizations, politicians, traditional leaders, press & etc.
Recommendations
Impart Liberia humbly recommends the following base on its challenges in various projects and programs:
- Join Impart Liberia to stage the upcoming National Youth and Student Summit on Peace(ahead of elections)
- Provide (if possible) curriculum/tips on peace-building and combating violence
