-Launches officially in Liberia
By Jerromie S. Walters
In a bid to expand the visibility of its works, the Foundation for Research, Education and Empowerment (FREE) Liberia, a non-governmental organization operating in Liberia has been officially launched.
Consistent with its endeavor to equip young minds with practical knowledge and resources to become valuable and successful in life, FREE Liberia launch was held at the Famous Sinkor Palace in Congo, on Friday, September 31, 2023, and itoccurred simultaneously with the graduation of the first batch of its “School of Value and Success.”
The organization was officially launched by the Deputy Minister for Administration of the Ministry of Education, Latim Da-Thong. Following the launch of the local NGO.
Remarking prior to the official launch of the Organization, Deputy Minister Latim Da-Thong, in his capacity as the Launcher- emphasized the need for Liberians to sustain and maintain the gains made in the educational sector. According to him, the educational system of Liberia requires a significant transformation, which he believes requires collective efforts.
If the system is to be shifted, Minister Latim Da-Thong said it requires strategic ways to tackle solutions. He believes Liberia’s best people are the young people, as they are the future. However, if they aren’t prepared well, he said everyone must hold themselves accountable.
“Education is a national security issue for every nation,” LatimDa-Thong articulated, and further noted that if Liberia will have a chance to compete with other countries, the educational sector must improve, and Investment in the young people remains paramount.
According to him, Free LIberia is succeeding in its endeavors, as he referenced the graduation of the institution’s trainees as vivid example of their commitment to transform the educational sector. Also at the launch, FREE LIberia honored the Deputy Education Minister for his commitment to Liberia’s educational sector.
Following the launch of the Organization, Mr. David Woods Baysah, the Guest Speaker of the occasion spoke on the topic-“Go and make the difference.” He believes making the difference is a personal decision that requires no distraction. In his belief, FREE Liberia dwells on evidence and it is required to address all the different burning issues affecting the country.
Because of its involvement in research and considering thatresearch is attacked to evidence, he said FREE Liberia has been making significant impact through such means.
With this, he says LIberia must go beyond the regular education, in order to equip young Liberians for progress. He recommended that decentralizing education is a must and Innovation is required to transform the country’s educational sector.
Also, he highlighted empowerment as a major pillar in addressing other burning issues. “We need to think about innovative approaches.“ Despite a man’s high level of education, he said it requires loyalty. “There is a reward for loyalty. It is loyalty that lays the foundation for leadership.”
In addition, he recommended spirituality and humanity as major values to greatness and progress. “Greatness has a prize and the prize of greatness is humanity.” He added compassion and honesty as two of the many pillars in making progress.
From her end, FREE Liberia Board Chair, Felicia Sackey Doe-Sumah hailed the graduates for mustering the courage to do more at FREE Liberia, amid the fact that most of them have strong credentials.
According to her, FREE Iberia is on the spotlight and committed to building the capacity of people. “We have to break this circle, we have to make this country progress.”
During the closure of the event, FREE Liberia’s CEO/Executive Director Charles Gbollie acclaimed the guests and his graduates. According to him, it has been their commitment that have pushed his agenda.
In April of this year, FREE Liberia, announced the commencement of registration for its training program in strategic planning and management, academic writing and presentation, and school counseling and mentoring.
“In response to those requests, we are establishing, as part of the innovative activities of FREE Liberia (Foundation for Research, Education, and Empowerment), the “School of Value and Success.”
As revealed by their release, the primary goal for this school is to “make all learners, irrespective of backgrounds, valuable and successful in life.” For the first circle, the institution is offering three essential programmes: 1) strategic planning and management; 2) academic writing and presentation; and 3) school counseling and mentoring.
Benefits include rich practical knowledge and innovative materials; a professional certificate; a special motivational package; alumni mentorship and connection; etc.
Registration for these life-changing programmes is now in progress. We are giving special discounts to early birds (the first people to register).
According to the institution, throughout its transformative encounters and training, one of the many requests they received was to “start short-term training programs” to create mastery and open more avenues for value addition and success for all.
Founded in July 2015, FREE Liberia, a registered and accredited not-for-profit NGO, was established to foster empirical research solutions, quality education, empower youth and promote public awareness and civic engagement. It comprised skillful and innovative researchers and professionals with many years of practical experiences with enormous contributions to research, education quality and youth-focused empowerment in Liberia.
FREE Liberia Vision is to become a premier institution for building a society with opportunities for evidence-driven interventions, quality education and inspired life for everyone. They are committed to conducting systematic research that informs quality education and effective service delivery, and empower communities, institutions and individuals to maximize their full potential.
As part of its mission, they have conducted groundbreaking studies and evaluations, trained dozens of teachers and school administrators, and empowered hundreds of individuals through in-person seminars and online and radio programs.”
One of the initiatives they are extremely proud of is the FREE Liberia School of Value and Success, which does not only provide interactive learning and hands-on professional training, but also empower participants with practical knowledge and resources to become valuable and successful in life.
