As we usher in the New Year....2009

The new year is a year where we make resolutions-one we intend to keep and follow as the year dawns with the help of the Almighty God being our fulcrum. As 2009 dawns, we all have made commitments and pledges to withhold certain belief and value to God and our fellow man and as such it becomes our paramount concern to uphold them even in the midst of adversities. New year, O new Year...a year that comes and adds yet another year to our ages, a year that comes and adds so many experiences- some of which we use as stepping stones whilst others are used as orientation to face life's numerous challenges. This new year tends to be one that has so many opportunities and challenges as well especially in the midst of economic turmoil and financial uncertainties, but with God Almighty being at the core of this, we are bound to succeed...and to all my friends....the biggest blessing in our lives is simply the presence of people who care much, whose love is for real and see us much beyond ourselves. Thank you for being a big blessing in my life. For 2009 may the love you share return to you a thousand fold. Prosperous New Year!

May Gold bless us all and grant us our hearts' desire within the new year and years to come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Think - About It Greatly

Today before you think of saying an unkind word, Think of someone who can't speak Before you complain about the taste of your food Think of someone who has nothing to eat Before you complain about your husband or wife, Think of someone who's crying out to God for a companion. When you are tired and complain about your job Think of the unemployed, the disabled and those who wished they had your job. Today before you complain about life, Think of someone who went too early to heaven. Before you complain about your children, Think of someone who desires children but they're barren. Before you argue about your dirty house; someone didn't clean or sweep. Think of the people who are living in the streets Before whining about the distance you drive, Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet, But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another Remember that we all have sin and we all answer to one Maker And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down Put a smile on your face and thank God you're alive and still around.
Amen!

Youths Participation: The Key To Lasting Peace.

The fratricidal killings and blatant destruction of lives and properties occasioned by the civil war in our country saw the youths being exposed to the brutality of the war and the dehumanizing pogrom at the hands of warring factions which have to a larger extent rendered them remorseless. Their capacity to fend of their predators has been largely reduced by a list of negative self-images and the lack of opportunities. They lack outlets that could afford them the opportunity to acquire values and express their views and voices. Their ability to learn and develop skills has been grossly compromised by a continuous being in and out of school over the last 15 years. They now live in a state of chronic dependency surviving on handouts only to make life worth living.

They have been exposed to violence, drug addiction, prostitution and all sought of horrible things that has dampened their potentials and thus rendering them to be used as baits for the launching of insurrection and instability as evidenced in our immediate past history. Because of this, Most of them languish behind bars at detention centers while some lack the necessary securities to help them meet the challenges in an environment that is so frustrating and don’t offer opportunities for the attainment of success. Their hope for a better future is shadowed with the vices of the past; their educational and economic well-being suspends in limbo and is threatened by neglect on the part of the adult population that makes the moral decisions and controls the resources and power in our society.

Since the climax of the October and November polls which to a larger extent has set the stage for a pluralistic democracy, the involvement of every Liberian especially the youths in the rebuilding process must be the focus of this new government. The youth needs to build equity of their lives which requires an active and full participation in all sphere of the Liberian society. They must be given the chance to make impact on the basis of competence, credential, character and commitment.

With all of these, there is an endless list of Liberian youths that have struggle to acquire a minimum level of education and skills so as to prepare themselves for the future and survive the turmoil we are faced with in these crucial times of our nation’s history. Amongst them are Bankers, Lawyers, Technicians, Financial Experts, Economists, Medical Doctors, Teachers, Nurses, Mechanics, Masons, and Plumbers etc, etc.

If this new government fails to focus on the empowerment of youths who are the vulnerable class in our society, nation building and national security which are the fundamentals of any given society stand a risk; the fragile peace we enjoy today could be derailed by detractors, political misfits and warmongers.

Finally, the President Sirleaf led government should ensure the broad participation of Liberian youths in government as a means of preparing them to face the enormous challenges of the future. A national conference on youth must be held so as to afford the youths the opportunity to express views and voices on issues that tend to ship their future. The government should ensure the appointment of a youth advisor-whose preferment should emanate from recommendations of a cross section of Liberian youths as a means allowing them the opportunity to channel their grievances and developmental programs initiatives. This new government must have a comprehensive and cohesive agenda and strategy that can be used to improve the lives of Liberian youth. It is with this that we hope appointments in government at lower bureaucracies should involve the youths.

The youths are our “Precious Jewel” and so we must engage them in ways that would set the process of participation into motion which will subsequently increase their livelihood and prepare them for the daunting task the future holds. We must therefore act now or forever remain in a state of total backwardness and neglect.

The Road to National Renewal: A Liberian Scenario

The road to National Recovery requires a Multi-Dimensional Approach to the developmental needs of the destitute and impoverished mass of our people. The wanton destruction and blatant human rights violations occasioned by the civil war has made every need of the Liberian people a priority meaning that an attempt to tackle one leaving the other would creates serious economic paralysis in the other. In this light, national government must embark on a triangular styled agenda that incorporates those crucial needs of our people (health, education, and the restoration of light and pipe borne water etc..). This New government should not loss track of the greater segment of our economy since they are the most vulnerable class in our society like any other third world country-the youth constitutes nearly 70% of our population. They need to build equity of their lives since a continuous being out of either academic or vocational institutions has grossly compromised most of their potentials and skills. They have been debased and pauperized by previous regimes which to a larger extent rendered them remorseless simply because they were exposed to the dehumanizing pogrom and brutality of the war. They now live in an arena of extreme-chronic dependency surviving only on transitory income. With this, Government's national renewal policies must involve the youth largely so as to avoid political misfits and warmongers from using them as bait for the launching of insurrection. National Recovery also requires the setting of a system that would deal with the extremely well orchestrated machinery of corruption that is so entrenched in our society through the setting up of a system that fosters accountability and check and balance, Thanks to GEMAP thus far. This Government must also address the issue of unemployment through the creation of more jobs rather than downsizing in the short term. Downsizing can be achieved through the establishment of a vibrant private sector that automatically attracts people thus resulting to a sharp fall in the number of employees within government. Finally, if this new Government is to succeed, it must follow with keen interest the domestic needs and not losing grip of foreign policy tools implementation as these policies must compliment each other. We need this as a masterpiece and panacea to our Herculean problems.