MONROVIA – The Country Representative of UN Women-Liberia, Madam Comfort Lamptey, has applauded the significant milestone academic achievements and contributions of New Hope Academy (NHA) to the Education Sector of Liberia.
Madam Lamptey’s keynote message was delivered by Ms. Yemi Falayajo, Deputy Country Representative of UN Women-Liberia at program marking the 30th Anniversary and 23rd Graduation Ceremony of the NHA recently in Paynesvillle, a suburb of Monrovia.
The UN Women Country Representative also congratulated the Administration of New Hope Academy as it celebrated 30 years of dedication and commitment to complementing the efforts of the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Education, in providing access to quality and affordable education for under- privileged Liberian youth, particularly adolescent girls.
New Hope Academy (NHA) is a K-12 Grade subsidiary education pilot project of the Better Future Foundation (BFF) that offers core programs and services with focus on “Girls’ education, retention in school, leadership, and their sexual reproductive health rights.
In line with its founding mission, NHA’s female students are fast making a difference as it relates to increasing enrollment, top and brilliant academic performances in recent years in the school and regional exams.
Referencing the 2025 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE), conducted by the West African Examination Council, WAEC, all thirty-five (35) 12th graders of the NHA, including 19 females and 16 males made successful pass.
For the 2025 academic year, the three top dux of the NHA were all females who included Hannah Y. Kamara, Hawa Kanneh and Sonneh Jallah of K-II, 2nd Grade and Fourth Grade classes respectively.
Delivering her message in the auditorium of the NHA, Dr. Falayajo cautioned the graduates to always remember the values they have been taught at the NHA.
‘‘You have been taught integrity, diligence, and kindness. Keep them,” the UN Women official further urged the graduates.
Ms. Falayajo who is also a medical doctor, passionately encouraged the graduates to, at all times, strive for good character. “Character is what you do even when nobody is looking at you,” she stressed.
The UN Women-Liberia Deputy Country Representative also encouraged the graduates to always serve as good ambassadors of the New Hope Academy, their communities, families, and the Liberian Nation.
‘‘As you move through life, life is going to try to define who you are. Life may try to take away that hope in your heart and the stars in your eyes, but you must always remember who you are,” she stressed.
“You must always remember your relationship with your community and your families,’’ the UN Women Executive further asserted.
“I do not want you to neglect your community. As you move into the journey of life, your community and association will tend to change. People will try to draw you to all kinds of communities, into all kinds of societies, but the community that you will choose to surround yourself with matters,” she pointed out.
“If you do not surround yourself with people who have good and positive intention as yourself, you are likely to be where you never thought to be. And so, you must be intentional about the people you surround yourself with,” Ms. Falayajo emphasized.
“The school environment has been able to create a positive and forward-looking community for you, and you must take that forward,’’ she further cautioned.
The UN Women-Liberia Deputy Country Representative also told the graduates to never lose curiosity, because, according to her, “curiosity drives innovation.”
“You must never stop learning. Always be curious by asking questions. You must also never lose your courage. Courage got you where you are today as happy graduates despite the many economic and other tedious challenges you encountered in your academic journey,” Madam Falayajo asserted.
The NHA’s invitation to the UN Women-Liberia Country Representative, Comfort Lamptey, follows her recent engagement with Rev. Augustine Arkoi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Better Future Foundation (BFF), at the “Positive Masculinity: Changing Minds, Changing Attitudes towards Women’s Leadership” dialogue in Monrovia.
The dialogue was convened, with support of UN Women by the African Women Leadership Network (AWLN); a testament to the UN Women Country Representative’s leading global advocacy work in Liberia.
In his valedictory address, Kokulo Kalaplee, on behalf of the 2025 graduates, lauded the school administration, teachers and parents for their individual sacrifices that led to the students’ successful graduation from the NHA.
Mr. Kalaplee who characterized their graduation as a “journey that matters” and “a defining moment—between where we’ve been and where we’re going” spoke on the topic “Embracing the Journey: Turning Challenges into Opportunities.”
“We’ve faced long nights, difficult exams, and moments when giving up felt easier than pushing forward. Some of us battled personal losses, health struggles, or financial hardships. But, even in those dark moments, we found light—in our teachers who believed in us, in friends who stood by us, and in ourselves, even when we didn’t feel strong enough,” Kokulo told the gathering.
“The truth is,” he stressed, “challenges are part of every story worth telling. They test our strength, stretch our limits, and reveal our true potential. Without them, there would be no growth. No wisdom. No resilience,” he added.
“But we didn’t just face challenges—we turned them into opportunities. We learned how to lead, how to adapt, how to support one another, and how to rise after every fall. We discovered talents we didn’t know we had. We became more than students—we became problem-solvers, dreamers, and doers,” the NHA 2025 Valedictorian Kokulo Kalaplee concluded.
The New Hope Academy’s 30th Gala Anniversary/23rd Graduation of the Grade 12th Class climaxed with presentation of diplomas by the UN Women Deputy Country Representative to each graduate, with a deep hug of embrace and encouragement through an emotional song, which she sang, titled: “You Can Move That Mountain,”.
The song was not only powerful and emotional, but decoded her keynote message, which left many in the audience, particularly the graduates to literal tears of joy/reflection on the “Mountains of challenges” they had to overcome to graduate, as well as the “Mountains of challenges” to be overcome in their future academic and professional sojourns.
“I am deeply motivated by our Guest Speaker’s storytelling. I promised to persevere and overcome all mountains that may come my way, so that one day, I will become a global professional and expert like Mama Yemi Falayajo,” said one of the female graduates, Hannah Korsor, while sobbing in tears.
Hannah nearly dropped out of school last academic year, due to multiple domestic challenges, including financial, health complications, and negative peer-pressure.
Speaking at the occasion, the Chief Executive Officer of the Better Future Foundation, Rev. Augustine Arkoi, heartily congratulated the graduates for their demonstrated resilience, determination, commitment and resolve that enabled them to successfully and meritoriously complete secondary school.
While praising the graduates for their indelible academic gains, Rev. Arkoi also motivated them to strive for higher education including professional, technical and vocational training and skills that would enable them contribute effectively to societal development and growth.
At the same time, Rev. Arkoi, who is also Proprietor of New Hope Academy, disclosed that essential learning and other key facilities of the NHA are currently being grossly under-utilized, challenging the more than 20,000 residents of New Hope Community, Peace Island, predominately young people, to make maximum use of the facilities including sporting, youth capacity-enhancement and peace-building programs and mind-development activities.
Rev. Arkoi also underscored the need for local and international partnership aimed at creating opportunities for youth development and empowerment, using the facilities of NHA.
He highlighted the desire and resolve of the school Administration to collaborate with the National Commission on Higher Education, and local and international partners for establishment of a vocational and technical college for the New Hope Academy.
He disclosed that if established, the college will enable many graduates of NHA and other secondary schools in the densely populated Peace Island, New Hope Community and neighborhoods youth residing in Paynesville to easily access much-needed and basic vocational and technical skillsets to compete with their peers on the regional and global employment market.
Rev. Arkoi who is also a respected Civil Society leader and founder of the Better Future Foundation advocates for post-war reconstruction and development of Liberia through the educational empowerment of women, youth and children, particularly the underprivileged.
The BFF CEO Augustine Arkoi, use the occasion to appeal to the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Education, and international development partners, particularly UNICEF, UNFPA and UNESCO, among others to support the fencing project of the New Hope Academy school campus.
According to Rev. Arkoi, New Hope Academy is not only a community based academic institution, but a multipurpose school facility that is regularly used as a referral center for students from other schools to sit for WAEC Exams, hosting of MoE Zonal Teachers meetings, a major polling center during national elections, and community sports/re-creation center for physical and mental rehabilitation services, among others.
“The fencing of the New Hope Academy campus must be treated with urgency, as it borders around child protection, the right to education, and health security of vulnerable students.
Currently, the New Hope Academy facility is vulnerable to constant encroachments and threats to life/property, posed by motorbike riders, criminal trespass, including uncontrollable open defecation/urination by community dwellers,” BFF CEO Augustine Arkoi told newsmen in Monrovia.