Mercy Corps, MYS Graduate 158 Youths

Mercy Corps in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS) has graduated 158 youths with basic life skills to enable them take on employment in the informal sector of the Liberian economy.

The graduation ceremony was held yesterday at the SKD Sports Complex in Paynesville, outside Monrovia.

It was attended by top government officials and private sector members as well as the youths.     

The initiative is under the ‘Liberia Employment and Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP)’ that aims at bolstering employment and entrepreneurship potentials of Liberian youths to meaningfully contribute to the development of the country.

LEEP is a 3-year program being implemented by Mercy Corps in partnership with the MYS, with funding from the of France Development Agency (AFD), to support the Liberian government’s Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development.

The program came as the result of President George M. Weah’s visit to France, after his inauguration, to seek assistance in addressing unemployment issues facing the country’s youthful population.

Making remarks at the graduation ceremony, the Minister of Youth and Sports, D. Zeogar Wilson said that the government of President George Weah recognizes that young people of Liberia are faced with a serious problem of unemployment and other social issues.

“Our Ministry recognizes that the youths of this country live with complex and dynamic systems. Many of the youth strive to play active roles hoping to influence future outcomes for themselves and communities. Investing in them by preparing them for the workforce and connecting them to economic opportunities can contribute to sustain peace,” he explained.

According to him, his Ministry over the years has worked to ensure that young people are trained with marketable skills through apprentices programs in various vocational schools.

“We have worked tirelessly to provide the space for young people to contribute toward their own livelihood to move away from the jobless growth path toward an inclusive growth that is labor intensive and create social economic development and generate growth and employment,” he added.

However, Minister Wilson stated that the vocational training programs of the country for the youths are overwhelmed, due to the economic constraint.

According to him, the goal of the LEEP program is to enable 11,000 young people in the rural and urban areas to acquire basic skills to overcome unemployment challenges.

He used the program to call on the youths to make use of the skills acquired to better their lives.

Meanwhile, the Youth and Sports Minister has called for more budgetary support to his ministry in order to enhance youth development.

Also speaking, Montserrado County Senator, Abraham Darius Dillon, congratulated officials of the MYS and partners for the program. 

Senator Dillon, who is the Chair on the Committee for Youth Development at the Liberian senate said that youth development must be taken seriously if the country is to move forward.

He promised to work with his colleagues at the Legislature to make sure that there is an appropriate allocation in the current national budget for youth development.

For his part, the team leader of LEEP at Mercy Corps, Mwesigwa B. Isharaza, said that his institution has proposed a public private civil society partnership to generate better economic opportunities that would increase youth employment and entrepreneurships under the program in the next few years.

According to him, his institution will seek unemployed and underemployed youths, youth with disabilities, and uneducated youths in the informal commercial sector. 

Speaking earlier, the Assistant Minister for TVET at the MYS, Millias Z. Sheriff stated the intervention areas of the LEEP program as: the National Youth Service Program, the Youth on the Job Training and Sport Based Life Skill Development.

He disclosed that these interventions are being carried out by Mercy Corps in collaboration with his ministry in Montserrado, Bassa and Margibi counties.