Members of the teenage based group, Girls Alliance for future Leadership, say they find very difficult to comprehend the passing of one of their mentors and icon, Representative Munah Pelham-Youngblood.
The girls say it is complex to mitigate the impact of the grief, anguish and relentless consternation, the leadership and members are subjected to, since news of the late Representative demise hit the country.
In a statement issued Thursday, Girls Alliance said, Representative Munah Youngblood’s death is a big blow to efforts she begun making to help them deal with violence against women and girls, and the alarming rate of rape and teenage pregnancy across Liberia.
At a special called meeting to accept the reality that Representative Munah Pelham-youngblood is no more with them, the secretary general of Girls Alliance, Faith Smith encouraged her colleagues to take consolation in the late Representative’s determination to mentor every girl child to aspire for local and national leadership.
“While she yet lived among us, she told us that the way forward for women and girls in Liberia is to correspondingly participate in the governance process of the country like our male counterparts, Faith told the girls at the meeting. She continued that, there is no need to keep grieving her death as people without hope. “We all know that this is an irreparable loss, but we can now take her ideas and conversations in real time to get back to the drawing board to move forward, Faith noted.
Girls Alliance in the release praised the late Representative Munah Youngblood for her candid spirit, her sense of humor and cordiality, and her enthusiasm to share with them approaches that can compel lawmakers to listen to advocates for any cause. The release furthered that, Munah Pelham Youngblood had a vision for Liberia where women and men are at the same proportion in the three branches of government.
On October 11, 2018, at the celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child, Girls Alliance for Future Leadership awarded Representative Munah Pelham-Youngblood, the Girls’ Excellent Leadership Award for her work in the National Legislature. Other recipients of the Award over the years are: Vice president Jewel Howard Taylor, First Lady Clar Weah, Cllr. Jannette Ebba Davidson, Dr. Evelyn Kandakai, Dr. Elizabeth Harris, Professor Weade Kobbah Boley, Journalists Eva Flomo and Sarah Hayes Copper, Pastors Mariama Brown and Success Dixon, Madam Julie Endee, Madam Julia Duncan Cassell and Mrs. Comfort Enders. The first recipient of the Girls Excellent Leadership Award is Sister Mary Laurene Browne OSF, President of the Stella Maris Polytechnic. She received the award in 2016 for her work in education. Girls Alliance in the release made an impassioned plea to recipients of the award to participate in their sister and fellow honoree home going.