Adolescents in Kabala, Koinadugu district on Wednesday 11th October, 2017 joined the world to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child at the Koinadugu district Council hall on the theme: EmPOWER Girls: Emergency Response and Resilience Planning”. This was made possible courtesy of the National Commission for Children in collaboration with Child Fund, a Non-Governmental organization.

The mentorship programme targeted 200 participants mainly adolescent girls and few boys from various schools in kabala town and its surrounding chiefdoms.
The mentors included successful women from different walks of life who are considered role models in their communities. These included: a Police Officer – Superintendent Mira Koroma, an Engineer – Miss Valentina Thompson, a Social Worker Ms. Edna Kaifala, an NGO Worker – Ms. Mariama Charles Bangura, an Entrepreneur Ms. Sadia Marrah, a Teacher Ms. Juliette Hagan and a Lawyer Ms. Stephie James.

Chairman for the NCC Mr. Bai Lama Munu said Koinadugu has been one of the main districts the Commission has been working with since its existence in 2014 citing the Fact finding study on Child Marriage done by the NCC in 2015 and a host of other activities. He said the government places high premium on children’s issues and that the NCC will not relent in addressing such and empowering the children themselves to talk on their issues. This is said is evidenced in the Child Friendly Budgeting initiative undertaken yearly by the NCC where children are now involved in the process of advocating and monitoring the realization of their rights with Koinadugu district being no exception.
Mr. Munu appealed to the children to refrain from all activities that will hinder their progress and lead to social odds such as violence, child marriage and teenage pregnancy.

Deliberating on the theme, Commissioner of the NCC, Mrs. Olayinka Laggah said girls have the power to change things because it is natural and in them. “Women spend more time with their families, they teach their brothers and sisters, they teach their friends but men do not have time for that as they focus more on their job”. She added that, when a girl is educated she can influence her siblings, the community and the entire country. She said in achieving this however, the support of the boys is needed as the girls cannot do it alone which is why the boys were invited to participate in the programme even though it is a day for the girls.
Mrs. Laggah highlighted the consequences girls face during times of emergency mostly leaving them displaced, causing the death of parents or siblings, being separated from their parents and other family members which makes girls automatically vulnerable and in need of care, protection and support.
She said that in life, no condition is permanent and that circumstances may come that one may have no control over but that one must be determined to make it at all costs. She encouraged the girls to be resilient and withstand the pressure and not allow themselves to be distracted but rather stay focused and fight to achieve their goals.

Mr. James Bockarie, Program Officer – Child fund, thanked the NCC for the initiative of organizing the mentorship programme for the girls in Koinadugu district. He said Child Fund focuses on active inclusion of children especially the girl child in livelihood and other developmental programmes by assisting them through the critical transition to adulthood. Mentoring and coaching he said, are critical aspects in children’s development as it gives them the opportunity to interact with people from different backgrounds. He said reviewing or changing some parts in the legislation, policies, services and social norms can improve the protection of children in multiple ways in various communities. To achieve this he said the communities, government and child protection partners need to be actively engaged to develop programmes to respond to instances where children are at risk or have been subjected to violence, exploitation, abuse, child labour, child neglect, and many more.

The programme was chaired by Mrs. Haja Bintu Mansaray a Councilor in Koinadugu who described the day as a remarkable one in the history of Koinadugu district and thanked the NCC profusely for choosing to celebrate with them. She implored all the participants to make good use of the opportunity considering their backgrounds and the present situation of the girls in the district.

After the opening statements, the role models spent most of the day with the girls by sharing their life testimonies and experiences with the aim of empowering them and building their confidence and self-esteem and challenge them to discover and fulfill their potential. These girls who have never attended any such programme had the opportunity for the first time to speak out on issues affecting them, talk about past mistakes and were eventually encouraged to move ahead.

The celebration ended on a high note of excitement and entertainment where in the participants were given the opportunity to showcase their talents through poetry, music, drama and storytelling where seven girls won lovely prizes.