This was only the fourth census to be done in Liberia (others done in 1962, 1974, and 1984). In 1984 they made a law to do census every ten years but then the war happened so 2008 became the first post-conflict census. They have accounted for 3.4 million people and 63% of them fall into the youth category (in the age range of 10-24). Wow, certainly a young population. I also learned that 90% of youth in the world live in developing countries. Liberia also has 56% literacy rate but shows more boys than girls in school.
Along with the presentation of the findings, both guests of honor spoke. Dr. Ostoimehin was great to listen to and had many awesome things to say:
-He spoke about education and said that it is important to educate for the market not just literacy but skills that can get individuals a job too.
-He said that in order for the UN's Millennium Development Goals to be reached, empowerment of young woman and girls is necessary.
There were also two quotes of his I absolutely loved:
"In any country, human capacity is the most valuable resource."
"The face of poverty is the face of a young girl."
The girls from THINK concluded the program by making statements that were very powerful. They all stated their name and age and then said things like:
"I want to finish my education. I am too young to become a teenage mother."
"How can I achieve my goals if a big man comes along and ends my dreams? I need you, Mr. Vice President, to make laws to protect me."
"The way I dress is not an excuse for you to rape me."
"We must work harder to bring perpetrators to justice."
They then each ended with what they wanted to be when they grew up: a medical doctor, a petroleum engineer, a nurse, a mechanic, etc. Ah, the audience absolutely loved this!
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