At both ends, there are commendations and there are condemnations of President Trump’s tweet. Those extolling him are doing so because, at long last, “Trump is now proving to be the leader of the most powerful nation” – one comment reads under his post. Some are of the view that until you use military action as a leader, you are not man or woman enough. On this aisle, Presidents Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron are the “real men”, and Prime Minister Theresa May is the “real woman”.

How war situations are used to prove those who have manned-up is appalling, obsolete and horror-inducing.

On the other hand, there are those who do not necessarily condemn the strikes but the aftermath and the strategy going forward is what leaves them in a pool of doubts and fear. Let me be clear, I find no fault with the coordinated air strikes by the US, UK and France against the Syrian regime, since President Assad and his allies are blood suckers. Even if I did, who am I by the way? I can only nod and murmur. This is geopolitics in play.  Besides, I can only talk about the effects of war from experience, given that I was born and bred in a brutal civil war. For 14 years, my country ripped itself apart – approximately 250,000 of my fellow citizens including my father were killed. Liberia was once a “Syria in Africa”. At a very tender age, I witnessed some of the most heinous offenses human has perpetrated against another human. My memory of “men’s inhumanity to men” informs my conscience to rile up against conflict and violence. I know I am young, just 19, but I cannot stay silent. What affects a Syrian child or an American child affects me. That is my understanding of the Golden Rule.

I still find it unrealistic to term it as an accomplished mission. There is no “Mission Accomplished” in Syria until PEACE begins to reign. That should be the ultimate mission. Syrians have suffered more than they can bear. The state of the Syrian people is at stake. Bombing and destroying a handful of chemical weapon facilities is far from bringing peace and stability. Seven years on, the only accomplishments have been bloodshed, millions displaced, and broken structures and systems.

Chemical weapons and all other weapons can kill people. The mission shouldn’t only be about destroying chemical weapons. It must also be about ending the war. This what the US and its allies must seek, through diplomacy.

The idea that the US must stop intervening in matters of other nations is a hoodwink, argued by those who debunk democracy and violate human rights. More than ever, America must engage countries, not to direct their affairs, but hold them accountable for atrocities.

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I am a campaigner for children’s rights and justice for victims of sexual violence. Follow me on Twitter (@VIKeita) and Facebook

My parents never had an opportunity to obtain primary or secondary education due to extreme poverty. Neither my father nor my mother has ever seen or stepped inside the rectangular walls of a classroom. Dad died – well, was murdered by rebels during Liberia’s 14-year civil war when I was only 5 years old. Without a formal education, dad understood and recognized that  education was a sure way of breaking the vicious cycle of poverty that has plagued his family for generations.

His short-lived life was dedicated towards educating my siblings and cousins, though the roots of poverty had long cemented in our family. His meager income as a driver was used to feed the entire family as well as pay school fees to ensure that my siblings were given a shot at obtaining quality education. At the time of his death, my eldest sister was in 11th grade, but she and all other seized to attend school after he was killed. Things became so difficult that death seemed to be the only liberating option for my mother, aunts, uncles, siblings and everyone in my family.  We had lost all hopes and the world seemed to have turned against us. Many days, I recalled family members wondering whether we had offended God.

I also wondered if it was possible for a child to have a dream in my slum community – West Point. One day, at the tender age of nine (9), while sitting with my mother, I randomly asked whether I too was going to be a driver like dad someday. Mom, astonished by my question, starred at the horizon of the Atlantic Ocean as the sun set and vowed to spend all her little earning so that I could go to school. I saw tears rolled down her cheeks as she embraced me. She believed and was optimistic that since I was the youngest in the family, I would be focused and dedicated to becoming a better person for myself, my family and country. So I enrolled in the only government school in West Point, the N. V. Massaquoi Public School. In her eyes, I was the family’s hero. Her faith in me surpasses anything I can ever imagine. Most times, she would remind me of our family’s conditions.

Mom has been my strength, inspiration, and the single thread which keeps me going. In 2016, I became the first high school graduate in my entire lineage, in over four generations. A year after, my brother who is 3 years my senior, also graduated. At the moment, we have younger siblings – cousins, nieces – who are in elementary and junior levels. A repetition of “firsts”, I am also the first-generation college student in my family.

My improbable journey to college enrollment has been one of determination and perseverance. I must say that previous attempts to apply to universities, during my last two visits to the US to speak at events, proved futile. In September of 2017, Organize For Liberia (OFL), Inc. invited me to the United States so that I could work on my college application. Upon accepting the invitation, I was flown to the United States.

Though I harbored little self-doubt, however, I mustered the courage between October 2017 and January 2018, and submitted applications to five schools – Amherst College, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Harvard, and Yale Universities. Each of those applications would, perhaps, take more than two days to complete. And then, there are tests to write (SAT), school scores to report – finally, recommendations from high school counselors and teachers.

In late March, I received five admission decisions. Having assessed all and in consultation with my family and friends, I have selected Yale to be my home for the coming years. People often say college is the place most suitable for fun, meeting new friends and making lasting connections. If this is so, then I wish to experience all these in the geometric walls of Yale.

ABOUT ABRAHAM

Abraham M. Keita is a nineteen (19) year old Liberian youth activist working with Organize For Liberia (OFL), Inc. who is slowly changing his country and inspiring activists around the world. Abraham fights for justice for children who are victims of violence. Over the past ten (10) years, despite a childhood filled with violence, war, and poverty, Keita has led demonstrations, lobbied the Liberian Government, and spoken out against violence against children. In spite of his young age, Keita’s activism has already had major impact, resulting in a public recognition where he was honored as the winner of the 2015 International Children’s Peace Prize – one of the top international prizes for peace activists.

Born in the midst of the Liberian civil war and raised by a single mother in the slums of Monrovia -West Point, Keita is the first in four generations of his family to have completed high school. At age 5, his father was killed by rebels while driving for a charity organization distributing food to internally displaced persons in Liberia. This left Keita and his family without a provider and life became unimaginably hard as they struggled to eke out a living. Although his path has been a hard one, Abraham Keita has shown resiliency and courage in the face of overwhelming poverty and pervasive violence. He has been recognized by one of his most famous peers Malala Yousafzai, who congratulated him on his victories and acknowledged his International Peace Prize. One day, Keita hopes to meet Malala in person. In the meantime, he keeps advocating for children’s rights around the world and dreaming of a better future for all of them.

ABRAHAM’s IMPACT

In 2007, then 9 years old Keita heard about the rape and strangling to death by her foster parents, of a 13-year old girl in his community. It was an event that disturbed him, to the point that he felt the need to stand up and do something. Abraham led a peaceful protest to ensure that the foster parents of the girl was brought to justice. From that moment, Keita felt the need to continue to speak up for the rights of children. Due to Keita’s persistent activism, in 2012 Liberia became one of the first African nations to pass legislation protecting children rights, the Children’s Law.

He has arranged peaceful demonstrations, organized petitions, and lobbied for children’s participation and education to be funded directly from the national budget. Thanks in part to Keita’s aggressive activism, Liberia’s former president, H.E. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf issued an apology for the death of a 15-year old boy who was shot and killed by the government troops in 2014 while participating in a peaceful protest. The shooting sparked outrage throughout the community and Keita decided to channel that outrage into effective action. He organized and led another peaceful demonstration of young people, demanding that the government take responsibility for the death.  A national debate soon swept the throughout the country, and popular support began to build in favor of the young activist.

In 2017, Keita again led a peaceful protest demanding the investigation of a sitting representative who was alleged to have raped and impregnated a 13-year old girl in Liberia. As a result of Keita passionate and aggressive activism, the representative was subsequently arrested and taken into custody by the Liberian National Police. The representative subsequently stepped down and is currently facing the justice system in Liberia.  Keita continues to work hard to reduce child violence and create more opportunities for the poor. He is also lobbying for free, quality primary and secondary education for all. In addition, since launching his campaign, he has become a role model to thousands of children throughout the globe.

Despite his rough and challenging childhood, he rose above his circumstances to emerge as a young man of courage, honor and integrity. As an uncompromising advocate of children’s rights and safety, he is committed to a cause that will have a major impact on future generations to come.

Unfortunately, the education system in Liberia has endured years of setbacks as a result of more than fourteen years of civil war, with some level of minor improvements since the end of the civil war in 2003. However, in 2014, with the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa, the educational gains made by Liberia were harshly affected. It is evident that the education system in Liberia, mainly the primary and secondary systems need to be restructured. Currently, there are numerous challenges, but there are many opportunities that have yet to be explored in Liberia.

In terms of the challenges and opportunities, we have chosen to concentrate on three (3) areas:

1. Liberia has an opportunity to establish an official accredited body whose primary objective will be to focus on the audit of elementary, junior and senior high schools that are currently operating in Liberia. In comparison to churches and other religious entities, there are schools (public and private) on every street corner in Liberia. However, there have been consistent reports of students performing badly on standard testing by the West African Examination Council and entrance exams at various universities in Liberia. The question becomes – are these schools functional? If so, what procedures did they undertake to become a legalized school? What are the teachers’ credentials? Are there professional development opportunities available to assist the teachers? Are these schools employing a standardized curriculum? Are their guidelines established to address overcrowded classrooms? Establishing a robust and respectable accrediting body, we believe, will definitely expose the weaker schools and place greater emphasis to further strengthen the schools that are performing better.
2. Among the many educational challenges girls in Liberia face, traditional beliefs have had a significant impact on educating girls in Liberia. Parents from many of the rural communities need guidance regarding the education of girls. In these communities, significant resources must be invested to help traditional leaders and parents grasp an understand that there are several disadvantages to keeping their daughters uneducated, while allowing their sons to be sent to school. Due to the high rate of illiteracy in Liberia, most parents in rural areas do not have enough understanding about the importance of educating their daughters; that this will yield a greater outcome to their communities. Parents and traditional leaders’ participation in the education of girls in these communities are essential to the growth of these communities, and with the same opportunities; their daughters will have the potential to make a difference. At OFL, we believe that education should not be withheld because of gender. As the world is rapidly changing, and technology is quickly advancing, bridging the growing divide between the educated and uneducated in Liberia is the key to our core values; no girl child should be left behind! OFL believes that high priority should be placed on strengthening primary education, so that it creates a strong foundation for secondary education and beyond.
3. The cost of education presents a significant challenge; preventing many girls from furthering their education in Liberia. Families are often faced with making the choice of meeting the basic needs of the family or paying for tuition. High tuition cost adds unnecessary burdens for many families and in turn adversely impact the education of girls. OFL’s Girls Education program offers an affordable education opportunity that is available for all, without sacrificing the education of young girls in Liberia. We believe that education for all is the key to a healthier economy in Liberia.

Challenges have been known to create ways for opportunities to prevail. There are several opportunities that have emerged because of these current challenges facing the education system in Liberia.  There are three main opportunities that require our attention.

1. Investing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM);
2. Funding opportunities such as scholarships, grants etc.; and
3. Establishing stipends or incentives for female educators.

In today’s world, an investment in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has been defined the way to compete and end poverty. However, Liberia has not positioned itself to join the race. Placing young girls at the forefront of STEM programs at an early age is necessary to eventually join the global competition. At OFL, our programs focuses on making STEM classes fun and engaging to young people and encourages young girls to believe in themselves and to make them aware that the STEM field is not exclusive for boys. They too can aspire to be pilots, engineers, scientists, statisticians etc. Young people especially girls can only have these aspirations and dreams based on how their teachers and mentors introduce these subjects in the classrooms. We are fully aware and have seen that women have the intelligence, drive and capability of making an impact in the STEM fields.

Organize For Liberia (OFL) girls education program, if placed in the hands of girls will leave a lasting impact locally and even internationally. This is why girls should not be forgotten because they play a critical role in how the world is being shaped.