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Members of the Liberian Youth Forum have been urged to develop their potentials in order to become true ambassadors of the children of Liberia.

By Lewis S. Teh

Congo Town, Liberia, June 18, 2024—Following their recent election and subsequent induction as direct representatives of the Liberian Children Forum, the Resident Representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission to Liberia, Madam Josephine Nkrumah, urges the new leadership of the Forum to learn how to discover their true potential if they are to be true ambassadors for the children of Liberia.

“And if you like to learn from others, you must first discover who you are to learn, so I want to shift the question a little and ask, are you not curious about learning within Liberia what goes on with other children in the other counties?” She asked.

Madam Nkrumah spoke at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Congo Town during the official celebration of the Day of the African Child.

Her comments were in response to a question posed by one of the youths, whether ECOWAS had plans for members of the Liberia Children Forum to visit other countries for exchanges.

Responding, Ambassador Nkrumah reminded representatives of the children in Liberia that they do not represent children of foreign countries but Liberia and that many of their peers in other counties have not had, and perhaps for the next few years will not envisage, some of the opportunities the Children Forum here enjoys.

She said it was good that representatives of the children’s parliament are desiring to visit other countries to realize some of their dreams. This is a beautiful thing, according to her, as it shows that they are curious and want to know exactly what is going on out there.

And if you like to learn from others, you must first discover who you are to learn, so I want to shift the question a little and ask, are you not curious about learning within Liberia, what’s goes on with other children in the other counties?”

“Are you interested in seeing other children in the counties who would like to come and experience what it’s like to be in the city and for you to experience what it is like in other counties? Then can you truly say you are truly representative of the Irish Liberian child?” she said, adding such allows them to know what they want to see from other countries.

She encouraged members of the Forum to start by knowing who they are in their space, after which they can elevate their experience sharing outside Liberia.

“By then, ECOWAS will be ready to work alongside UNICEF to explore ways to have exchanges within Liberia to understand our own culture, to understand what life is like for people outside Montserrado, children living in rural Liberia. Then, you can appreciate the role you will play, so whenever you go out, you are truly an ambassador of an Irish Liberian child.

The Day of the African Child is celebrated on June 16 each year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the former Organization for African Unity (OAU) now the Africa Union. It honors school children who participated in the Soweto Uprising of 1976 in Soweto, South Africa, which led to the death of hundreds of children during the apartheid regime. Editing by Jonathan Browne