First Lady Clar Marie Weah reminded a thousand of “Go Girl, Lead” to make maximum use of their education to empowered themselves. She said education is the most important tools to a success woman.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
An educated and trained mind is a very powerful tool for our individual advancement and the collective betterment of society as a whole. And I believe in education. It is the key to your future, First lady Weah said.
In her debut as a commencement speaker on Friday at the Convocation for the Second Cohort of fellows of the Go Girl, Lead Mentorship Program. First Lady Clar Weah expressed delight about the sojourn of the young females.
You have informed me that the Go Girl, Lead is an initiative taken by your organization, Libpedia, in conjunction with Books Before Boys, Inc., whereby teenage girls in secondary schools are trained and mentored in public and private sector leadership, with the specific objective of running for student council leadership positions in their schools. Additionally, they also receive training in how to start small business and how to organize social impact ventures.
This is such an exciting proposition to me, and it is music to my ears, “because many of you may be aware of my deep concern and passion for improving the lives and livelihoods of the girls and young women in our society, especially through education and training.
And “it is part of my passion and mission to make sure that every girl child in Liberia, live a success life and be an example to many others cross the continent, Madam Weah said.
If I want to use myself as an example, I have encountered so many challenges in completing school, and I never gave up, because for me education was important. And so, for my children, and who ever else I am helping, I constantly stress the importance of persistence and perseverance, Madam Weah said.
The First Lady narrated: In my activities as First Lady of Liberia, and through my Clar Hope Foundation, the City of Hope, and other institutions that I have organized, I have been pre-occupied with the plight of this vulnerable group, and have focused not only on their protection and care, but also on providing opportunities for them to acquire the basic skill-sets to enable them to be gainfully employed or self-employed.
Madam Weah in her deliberation to the graduates, reflect on her own life story, how she how encouter the toughest challenges in completing her high school education and going beyond to become a successful woman.
When I started school as a young person in New York City, I didn’t have parents to help me through. There were so many challenges and difficulties to overcome, She reflect,” I eventually had to do two jobs while going to school at the same time. At one point I had to stop going to school because the only way that I could survive was to work full time. So I had to put school aside.
Later on in life, when I married your President, George Weah and moved with him to France, I was faced with another obstacle which is of course the language barrier. This also delayed the completion of my education. When I moved back to New York, even though I was older, I decided to go back to school, where I studied nursing.
It was not a college degree in nursing, but I obtained an accredited License Practical Nursing certificate , and became certified as a Licensed Practical Nurse, or LPN.
The Liberia’s First lady, Clar Weah, than encourage the young graduating females to make use of chance in education to educate themselves for better tomorrow, ‘I just want to encourage all of you very fortunate young ladies who are graduating today, that whatever opportunity you get to go to school and to learn, you should take advantage of it.
She challenged the girls to make use of hard work, combine with education to overflow a successful story for themselves .preparation and opportunity are not enough, on their own, to ensure success.
They must be combined with hard work, or function. If you have opportunity, you prepare yourself, you are lazy, and you do not work or apply yourself in a functional manner, you will most likely fail, and your dream will not be fulfilled. In anything you do, you have to work hard. No matter what you know, or what you learn, if you do not put it into practice, then you will become practically dysfunctional, Madam Weah said.
If you do not apply yourself after you leave here, you will have wasted your time, and wasted the efforts of these good people who have mentored you here, as well as the sacrifices of your parents and sponsors.
Madam Weah urged the girls, not to limit themselves, but be steadfast in their educational sojourn.”Graduates, You cannot learn and just sit. Do not be like other people who say they have learned, and didn’t do anything to put it into action. An educated person, and a clever person, should be an established person, because of the knowledge that they possess, Madam Weah averred.
So, to the graduating class, I say: WAKE UP, TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIVES .
This is the 21st century, and you need to be members of a NEW society, a society of peace, of diligence, of knowledge and expertise, of understanding, of respect, and of reverence. You must be the young people that will inspire others in this 21st century, Madam Weah added.
For his part, in special statement President George Weah, recommitted himself to promoting women’s education, the President said girls education will continue to be one top priority of his administration, as it is important to the society.
The President in other words urged Youth of Liberia to make use of opportunities to go to school, so that they can serve in capacity to developed their nation.
“It does matter what you do, Education is an alternate, President Weah said.
The Liberian leader challenge the young people to step up and be the change of the nation, by going to school and empowering themselves, the President too, urged the graduates to use he as an example for a successful storyline.
“You can use me as your example to achieved your goal, the President said.
President Weah gives motivation
President Weah narrated how he wasn’t afraid of going back to school, despite achieving what all its takes to become successful, the Liberian leader narrated: I left school in 12th grade to go to Cameroon for greener pastures
I got into Cameroon. I was a 12th grade student and had one year to finish my high school. And I saw another opportunity to play the game and the reason I was going to school was to help my family. But now I had a career.
So I tabled my school. After my career, I went back to school. I went back to school, I obtained my business degree, then I went for my master’s in public administration. So it’s not too late. When I was in school, I saw on the news an 85-year-old woman who just finished high school, so I become motivated to go to school”.
“Therefore after my 18years of soccer career, i went back to school and sat in the 12grade among the children with all my titles and a little boy who was my classmate use to slap my sabu, George, not knowing who I was, but i was never shame and face the challenge to become, who i am today, President Weah”, intoned.
Therefore, anybody can do that. I went to school and I want people to be encouraged. Most of my friends that played [football], I encouraged them to go to school and get a degree and be specialized in what they want to do.
So my young people I urged you to go to school and don’t limit yourself, take in mind education is the key to success, do not go and wait for opportunity , but rather create an opportunity, be an achiever president Weah, asserted.
President Weah at the same time urged young people to discover their passions, outlined what they should do to achieve more and called on them to make Liberia great.
